Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Patent Registration: The Process

Patents are exclusive rights that have been given to a particular person or organization for limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of the idea to the general masses. The patent is a way to protect the individual and intellectual property of a person. The process of applying for a patent is the same everywhere and applies to all the countries. If there is an invention or any idea then one can legally tie to inventor’s name to it so that no one can fraudulently claim it to be theirs. Thus, one can apply for a patent registration. Some points need to be kept in mind before trying to patent an idea because several times it might so happen that the idea already existed beforehand and hence, applying for such a patent will prove to be futile. So it is vital to carefully peruse the United States of America Trademark and Patent website in order to the whether the idea already existed.

A patent is a legal ownership to the idea or the invention and it fixes the ownership to the name of the inventor. If anyone claims for the idea, then this patent can come useful and one can sue the person who claimed it in terms of the patent ownership.

There are two types of specialists who can help in getting the patent done and are very well versed in their own fields. One is an agent and the other is an attorney. Both of the professionals: the patent attorneys and the agents are made to practice before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Both need to necessarily have the practical or precise background that is required by the PO in order to sit for the Patent Bar exam. However, Attorneys have an advantage over here because they are already well trained in the legal procedures and methods, and hence the bar exam is a breeze for them. The agents on the other hand are excellent scientists or researchers. But they have negligible knowledge on legal procedures and the bar exam might be a tad bit difficult for them.

Most people or rather inventors make the biggest mistake when they decide to file or apply for the patent registration process themselves. This is a dangerous practice and can prove to be quite harmful for the invention as well as the inventor. The agents and attorney both can help to file for a patent application and prosecute it in the court for the inventor.

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