A Patent is a method by which
an individual organization can claim exclusive rights to a
process, technology or product, for a period of time, by
disclosing the information to designated Patent Office(s).
The Various forms of Patent
Protection include:
Provisional
Patent Application (Informal Application, United States):
A temporary, one year, simplified patent application, which
allows the applicant to claim a date of filing and
patent pending status. This patent application is used when the
technology is still under development or in a case where
short term funding is a concern. The Provisional
Patent Application is in effect for one year from the filing
date. A Utility Patent Application (Formal Application) would
have to be applied for within the one-year limit or the
right to Patent the item would be lost.
Utility
Patent Application (Formal Application):
An application for a 20-year Patent, which protects the
function, method or use of an item. This is the most
common form of patent protection for technologies, products and
methods. Innovative Licensing & Promotion, Inc. normally
files the Utility Application in Canada and the United
States simultaneously. The applicant then has one year
in which to decide upon a PCT (Paris Convention Treaty)
Application (see below).
PCT Patent (Paris
Convention Treaty) Application:
A 'world wide' Patent Application which streamlines the
process of filing a Patent in up to 128 countries. The
PCT Application allows the applicant an additional 18
months (approximately) to decide and prepare for the
filing in other countries. Each individual country and
the European community have varying costs specific to
each filing thereafter. While the PCT patent can be filed
instead of a Utility or Provisional Application, it is
normally filed within a year after one of these.
Design Patent: The Design Patent is specifically for Patent
protection on items where the esthetic or ornamental
appeal of the item is unique.
Trade Mark:
Trade Mark is a form of
protection that protects a significant name, logo or phrase
associated with a product or company. Examples of Trade
Marks include: Velcro, Coca-Cola, the Nike 'Swoosh' and any
logos or symbols associated with these names. Trade Marking
is especially useful to an inventor when a unique name has
been invented that represents the product idea well. In this
case a Trade Mark can be applied for and the inventor could
potentially sell the rights to the name as well as the
patent, increasing royalty revenue.
Copyright:
Copyright protection is
probably the least expensive form of Intellectual Property
Protection. Copyright protects creative works such as books,
poems, paintings, films or anything involving artistic
integrity.
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All Innovative Licensing & Promotion, Inc. Patents are
prepared and filed by Registered Patent Agents with a
minimum of 12 years of Patenting experience and engineering
knowledge.
