How To Strengthen Your Patent Value And Enforceability Of Your Patent
Enforcing your patent through ethical ways can be vital for the commercialization of your Patent. Here’s how you can strengthen your patent value and enforceability of your patent.
The ultimate goal of a patent is to secure the invention, secure the rights of the patent owner, and commercialize the invention. One way to do this is by selling/licensing the invention to others so that they can use the invention for their products/technology. Many people believe that Filing for a patent will protect their idea/invention which is true to a great extent. However, there is still the possibility of idea theft in many ways. Many competitors find their way around by making slight changes in the patented claim by solving different problems, tweaking the technology, or engaging in complex legal proceedings.
To save yourself from all the mess, here are the 8 tips to strengthen your patent value and enforceability of your patent.
Do lots of research
If you have an idea in your mind do a ton of research to be sure whether the idea has already been patented or exists in the market, and how your idea is different from the others. You can hire a professional patent attorney who can help you document the invention process for further protection.
Review prior arts
One of the best ways to improve your patent claim is to review the prior arts. It may reveal and give you a fair idea about the descriptions and the claims of the related patented inventions that will bolster your claim.
A good prior art research will help you foresee the potential risks and the similarities between your inventions and others. You can find differences and key features and if you find any similarity you can use the information to differentiate your invention in your patent claim.
Good research of prior art not only strengthens the patent claim and patent value along with the enforceability of your patent but also defines the position of your invention in the market.
Set out strong and to the point claim
Claim is a statement that defines the subject matter of your invention, illustrating its novelty and non-obviousness. Make sure your claims are not too broad or too specific.
The best types of claims are broad but are also to the point. Also, you can file continuations after filing an initial application, so your claim evolves as your product evolves or changes occur in law in the future.
While drafting a patent application you must know others are waiting to use, reproduce, or improve your invention. A well-drafted application will make their process difficult and expensive which will give you a competitive edge and strengthen your patent value and enforceability of your patent.
Build a prototype
By building a solid prototype, you can find issues that your invention has and discover new ways other people might try to work around your invention.
If you build an invention without a prototype, someone else will come up with a new and better version of your invention that will solve the problem efficiently, and jump into the market that you are planning to cater to. It is only waste your money and hamper the patent value and enforceability of your patent.
Involve in the manufacturing process
Immense yourself in the manufacturing process. Don’t pass your idea and let someone else work on it. It will allow them to find the bugs and exchange thoughts and he/she can claim to be the co-inventor of your invention/idea. Instead, learn about the manufacturing and simply ask the doubts about the process so that the power to solve the problem and make changes remains with you.
Focus on usability rather than novelty
You can patent the invention to secure it with no intention to sell or issue a license to someone else. But do you think is it worth it to invest a hefty amount solely to secure the patent what’s the point? Obviousness and novelty do matter to a great extent but usability plays the biggest role. Even courts are willing to enforce patents that are developed beyond prototypes, making patents valuable.
Include specifications while patent drafting
The patent specifications should be written with care and the claims should be mentioned properly to ensure that the documentation passes and should satisfy the entire angle from legal as well as technical perspective.
Also, when the patent application fails to explain your invention clearly and concisely patent drawing comes into play. It serves a useful purpose in explaining the intricate details of the innovative product, product, or process.
Focus on Patent Marketing to Attract investors
To attract your investors or for marketing purposes, get animated video of your invention. It will effectively communicate your invention and can help others to visualize and understand your patent better along with explaining key factors and claims you have made in your patent application creatively in the story format. It will not only strengthen your patent value and enforceability of your patent but also communicate the clear message and agenda behind your invention.
The author's opinions expressed in this article are strictly his/her own and should not be attributed to any others, including other attorneys at Anuation or the law firm as a whole.