The basic theory of the patent system is simple and reasonable. Improvement of the industrial techniques is always in public favour. In order to encourage improvement and to encourage also the disclosure of improvements the inventor of the invention is granted an exclusive right for a specific period. After that period, the invention passes into the public domain.
A patent is the grant of an exclusive property right to the inventor for the benefits of an invention or improvement, granted by the Patent & Trademark Office for a specific period of time. A patent is granted for the new inventions which vary from the Prior Art which includes inventions made available to the public before the date of filing of the patent.
A publication of the invention before the date of filing, even by the inventor himself, can be used to argue that the invention does not fulfill the requirement of “novelty.”
The invention applied for patent must also meet another requirement for protection – “inventive step”. The invention or idea must be new (novel) and has not been iterated. The originality of the invention must be obvious and it must be useful.
The term of a new patent has changed over time and is currently 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date. Once the term has ended, if no extension has been filed and approved, the patented invention enters the public domain.
We at Intellectual Property Logium deals with all matters relating to the patent including:
- Conducting patentability analyses;
- Preparing and prosecuting Pakistan and foreign patent applications;
- Managing patent portfolios and technology transfers; and
- Enforcement
Patents grant an inventor the right to exclude others from producing or using the inventor’s discovery or invention
