How is a product patented? What does the patent registration process involve? These are some of the questions that we can help you with at Jesana IP. Should you require assistance in filing an application, preparing project viability reports, or performing technology watch and enforcing protection throughout the validity period, Jesana IP, an agency with a team of patent specialists, is ready and at your disposal.
What is a patent?
A patent is a title which grants its holder the right (for a limited time period of up to a total of 20 years, renewable on a yearly basis) to prevent third parties from manufacturing, putting on offer, introducing in the market, or making use of said patent. In summary, a patent (or a utility model) grants its holder the right to ensure that no one works or uses his invention without his consent.
Patent or utility model?
First, we need to be absolutely clear about what you need. Does your invention require protection through a patent or a utility model? The requirements may seem similar, but different features can be observed in their industrial application. Patents requires novelty (no similar projects have been published prior), inventive step (not being comprised within the so-called `state of the art´ and not constituting obvious solutions for one skilled in the art), and industrial applicability (i.e., reproducible at the industrial level).
However, when evaluating those requirements, utility models require a lower level of inventive step even though the novelty requirement is the same as for patents. Furthermore, utility models present certain particularities, such as they must always constitute objects, apparatus, tools, non-pharmaceutical chemical compounds, or small devices that entail an advantage or usefulness in manufacture and use. Therefore, inventions consisting of a new method cannot be protected as a utility model.
If your product is a computer-implemented invention (an invention consisting of computer program or software), it can be protected through a patent or utility model under certain technical conditions, essentially they must have an impact on a physical variable. In this case, at Jesana IP we are able to offer a comprehensive consultation service, providing you recommendations on the best way to protect your IT product either as a patent or a utility model and/or rendering advice with respect to copyrights and intellectual property rights (software source code registration).
How do you register a patent in Spain?
Patent application and registration are handled before the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (Office Española de Patentes y Marcas – OEPM) electronically over its internet site.
If you intend to market your product within the European Union, you may be interested in knowing more about the grant of European patents. If you wish to enter the international market or a strategic location in another continent, this target market may be part of the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty), and this will help you save a lot of time and obtain a significant advantage over other competing companies.
Requirements for the presentation of the patent application
In addition to the requirements required to obtain a patent, there are those required to formalize the application. In this sense, all the personal data of the inventor and applicant must be added, a detailed description of the invention and a summary of less than 150 words that affects the main idea of the patent project. In addition, one or several claims explaining the technical characteristics for which the patent is requested and, in cases that require it, they must also present drawings of the invention.
Of course, official fees will have to be paid. Here we leave the public prices of the different patents (international, national application and other forms of protection), as well as the cost of registering a brand, logo or trade name, which will often be the next step for the development of a project and power to begin to benefit directly from the rights obtained with the patent.
How do you know if a patent grant is viable?
Jesana IP offers a prior study, where reports will be issued to provide assessments concerning the viability of a patent and to thereby determine its novelty, inventive step, and possible industrial applications. We also offer all the required protection and surveillance later on so that you do not have to worry about anything throughout the period of validity of your patent.