How to obtain a patent for the invention and not to merge information to competitors

To innovative idea became the capital, you need to successfully launch it on the market. It is not enough to create a product, it is important to take care of the protection of intellectual property and patent development effectively.

High-quality design patent - a legal monopoly, the company's capitalization and investment tool in the business. Often, however, the inventors, when submitting documents for the patent, trying to keep secret details of the technology for fear of theft of ideas. This leads to a narrowing of the scope of the rights and reduced resistance to challenging the patent. To protect yourself from mistakes should be aware of the nuances of the process.

risks publicity

To begin to understand how the patenting procedure itself. On behalf of the inventor or by a legal entity in the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (FIPS) served a package of application documents. It includes:

• Patent formula (essence of the invention in the same sentence);
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• An exploded description that explains the details;
• essay;
• an application for registration of a patent.

Also, the application may be accompanied by drawings and other documents in more detail revealing the idea.

Package served in the FIPS, and after one and a half year information about the invention is published on the site office.

It is at this stage - after the publication of the description of the development - the innovator risks arise.

On the one hand, the applicant of the patent description should make sufficiently detailed and clearly to abstract One skilled in the art to reproduce the invention and obtain the declared technical result. Otherwise, the owner of the idea of ​​risk to be refused FIPS patenting.

On the other hand, the publication of the patent will be available to everyone, which means that anyone can reproduce the invention. In terms of legislation, the patent holder has the right to defend his idea from illegal use, but the track offenders and deal with them is very difficult. Therefore, to balance the need to describe its development.

How to obtain the rights to the invention and to maintain a competitive advantage

Method 1. Classify the information as a know-how

How to implement a protection strategy? When applying for a patent, you can save the information in secret, or, as they say, as the know-how.

According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the know-how (trade secret) are recognized as information of any kind, having actual or potential commercial value due to the uncertainty of their third persons. Such information from third parties should be free access to the legal basis and the owner of such data I am obliged to take reasonable measures to comply with their privacy, including by introducing a regime of commercial secrets.

Example. Innovator first invented to use nickel slag as an aquarium ground. In this case it is enough to specify general information about the composition of the slag, the technology of its production and purification, which allows to use it for its intended purpose, or is just an example of the invention. In this case, you can enter the enterprise mode of trade secrets or confidentiality and issue as know-how, especially cleaning and preparation of slag, defining its highest consumer characteristics.

This strategy is more suitable for patentability of uses and methods based on new principles.

Then the total essence is reflected in the patent, and detailed and the most important information remains confidential, and the employees of the company are responsible for ensuring that data is not left in the wrong hands. As a result, potential competitors, which will attract a patent, it is necessary to spend a lot of time and resources on their own research, and the creator of the idea that time can bring your product to a new level of quality.

Method 2. Disclose information about all possible and impossible embodiments

As paradoxical as it may sound, but the inclusion of a description of a large amount of information can be reliably protected against illegal use of the idea. When submitting documents to the FIPS, it is possible to commit one interesting maneuver - providing the maximum number of embodiments of the invention.

For example, in the patent can be summarized best, worst, and even non-existent options for its development. This will help to get the greatest amount of rights and at the same time to protect the valuable information, hiding it in the lengthy terms.

The overall picture significantly eroded due to a variety of options, and competitors will be harder to figure out what a stipulated maximum efficiency.

The owner of the idea will play into the hands of the use of so-called hyperonyms or generic terms. We are talking about the most broad terms the idea of ​​individual characters.

Example. Creator distiller double distillation is no need to specify in the formula a particular embodiment of the apparatus. Designate idea can be as follows: "distiller comprises two series-connected distillation cube, one placed inside the other." The description thus it is possible to attach a large number of drawings with different embodiments of the placement and connections stills, among which will be the best.

This strategy is especially relevant in the patenting of devices when it is extremely difficult to maintain carefully design features as they can be determined by reengineering products. Blur descriptions allow dispel the focus of attention as a potential producers of counterfeit goods at least until the scale of output, due to which the right holder will be able to be back on the pitch ahead.

Method 3. Mark the application range and classify important

When it comes to patenting of substances, methods of their production or other technological aspects, as a rule, at patenting the claims include information on various process modes, or on the chemical composition substances. Such information should be presented in the form of ranges.

The inventors that use this technique incorrectly, without risk to remain patent even after its registration. The fact that often when using Inventor ranges indicated by their random or expands to such an extent that the solution stops working. At the same time, few people know about the possibility of challenging the patent on the criterion of "industrial applicability" when patent recognized as invalid if its formula and the description is not possible to obtain the claimed technical result. How correctly specified ranges?

It is necessary to experimentally determine the upper and lower limits of each parameter, ie, to determine under what maximum and minimum performance remains working technology.

Example. Scientists have invented a water purification substance from oil based microgels of polysaccharides. The concentration of microgels in water should be between 0.1 to 20 grams per liter, the process had the desired result. At a lower concentration of microgels will not capture oil in general, and in larger material immediately precipitates.

In this case, in the patent must examples indicating the technical result, when the concentration of polysaccharide microgels will be within these limits. It should be added one or more examples indicating the concentration within this range. It is also worth provide a rationale for why the technical result can not be achieved outside the specified range.

With this approach, an innovator, on the one hand, gives reliable information about the technical solution, and thus eliminates the risk of failure in the registration and to challenge the patent. On the other hand, did not disclose, and may classify as a know-how of the most effective embodiment of his ideas. Inventor wins again as long as competitors try millions of combinations of various parameters in the search for the most effective options.

Total

The above tools can improve the effectiveness of patent, to reduce or eliminate some of the risks, however, are not a guarantee of protection. An integrated approach to intellectual property management processes in each individual case, taking into account the peculiarities of development, the right holder, art, competitors and more.

It is important that the inventor understood the need to be open and honest in relation to a patent expert. It should provide complete information, immediately pointing to the space, which contains the know-how, and talk about all the embodiments of the invention. Providing false information, the inventor of the risks to remain inoperative patent.