Ask Your IP Lawyers How a Patent Application Could Help Your Business

Depending on the type of intellectual property you are looking to protect, it may be appropriate to take the route of applying for a patent. Simply put, a patent is a document registered with the appropriate national or international authority, which describes the invention in detail and restricts the opportunity for enjoyment of commercial benefit to the inventor.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, an invention is "a solution to a specific problem in the field of technology", which may be a product or a process. Normally a patent remains valid for up to 20 years (depending on renewal) after this period others then become able to commercially benefit from it.

By owning a patent, an organisation simply has the right to prevent others exploiting the idea or concept which has been described in that patent. There is no onus on them to manufacture products themselves, but of course if they fail to fully exploit the commercial benefit of the invention, during their "lock out" period, then it is their loss.

This is demonstrated quite clearly by the way the pharmaceutical sector works. Any new drug will be patented, and the drug company that has developed the product will then market it as hard as possible to ensure maximum use and market penetration. When the period of patent protection ends, then others can benefit from the information previously held within the patent, so producing "generic" drugs. The company producing the drug finances the creation of the brand name which is closely connected with the chemical composition of the drug, this gives the creation some distinction even when the protection finishes. And it will have priced its patented creation at a high level, in order to recoup its development costs and help fund its future research, while generic drugs - which the National Health Service will always choose where possible - are substantially cheaper.

But patents can be used to protect many more developments in products than just drugs, and so if you have a new idea or have developed a significant improvement in a process, then it is high time you had a conversation with an intellectual property lawyer. A legal IP specialist will help you define and register your development, and advise you on the best route to ensuring it is protected against being copied in the future. With the correct legal protection, you will be able to defend your intellectual property against any attempts to undermine its commercial viability in the marketplace by copying aspects of it. Protecting your IP is always preferable to solving an infringement, so don't delay - your idea should be legally protected from the beginning.