PATENT
What Is a Patent?
Simply put, a patent is your right to benefit exclusively from your own creative work. This right is granted through a formal application process involving the US Patent and Trademark Office to ensure that your idea is original, and that it is uniquely yours. The purpose of patents and intellectual property regulation is to encourage entrepreneurship and invention, because it guarantees the benefits of any hard-earned discovery to the originator as opposed to the group with the greatest ability to quickly commercialize an idea. The term of a patent is usually 20 years.
More Specifically, There Are Three Recognized Types of Patents
1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;
2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and
3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.”
The topic of intellectual property is of large consequence for entrepreneurs because the heart of successful startup is the idea which its operations are centered around. If this idea is protected from being developed by other organizations, which may or may not have a deeper pool of resources to draw from, then innovation is worth the opportunity cost.
Benefits of Owning Intellectual Property
Right to exclude others from engaging in the making or selling of the property which you have the intellectual property rights to.
Protects your start up from being overrun by larger organizations.
Is the real bargaining chip adding weight to having stake in the company, engaging with other companies, and is the main source of value for a new firm.
Challenges to Owning Intellectual Property
A patent is only as useful as the amount of money you are willing to spend to defend it. It is the responsibility of patent holder to identify, report, and litigate against patent infringements. The USPTO does not assist or enforce intellectual property rights.
Process to apply is extensive and expensive. Can be a few hundred dollars to several thousand for small entities applying with basic patents. Large patent applications can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Consider a provisional patent as a means to inexpensively buying time for your idea, and you work to make it profitable and
Be very careful who you describe your idea to and in how much detail. The more an idea is considered public knowledge, the less likely the USPTO will grant a specific individual or entity the rights to it. The date of first public description of your idea, known as the Date of Disclosure is relevant to the application process.
How Can I Be Sure My Idea Isn’t Already Patented? What Can I Do If It Is?
In a highly competitive landscape, it is likely that your idea may be clouded by existing or pending legal protection. It is illegal to engage in any activity (i.e. manufacture, sale, operation) which infringes upon the patents in existence. If there a very specific idea that you are pursuing it is also likely that the patents out there do not address your goals fully, leaving room to operate or potentially patent an idea yourself. For example, UBER and Lyft both exist and operate legally as their IP portfolios do not conflict with one another though they operate similar organizations.
You can do basic patent searches using Google Patents to get a sense of what’s out there in the IP space, and understand more about what technologies other related corporations are using. Seek legal counsel for a more detailed patent search to be completed for you and advice to be given on a patent strategy. The UW-Madison Law & Entrepreneurship clinic is a free legal service which is set up to help entrepreneurial groups through these kinds of challenges.
Utility and Design Patents
Other Useful Resources
You can (and maybe should) spend hours looking through all the resources and information available on just the following three websites.
US Patent and Trademark Office - https://www.uspto.gov/patent
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. The USPTO advises the president of the United States, the secretary of commerce, and U.S. government agencies on intellectual property (IP) policy, protection, and enforcement; and promotes the stronger and more effective IP protection around the world. The USPTO furthers effective IP protection for U.S. innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide by working with other agencies to secure strong IP provisions in free trade and other international agreements. It also provides training, education, and capacity building programs designed to foster respect for IP and encourage the development of strong IP enforcement regimes by U.S. trading partners.
UW-Madison Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic - https://www.uwle.org/
The Law & Entrepreneurship Clinic (L & E Clinic) provides free legal services to nascent entrepreneurs and early stage companies through the work of law students supervised by faculty and private sector attorneys.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation - https://www.warf.org/
WARF invests in the university by partnering with UW–Madison to steward the cycle of research, discovery, commercialization and investment. Founded in 1925 by visionary alumni, WARF is among the oldest and most successful technology transfer offices in the nation. As the designated patent and licensing organization for UW–Madison, WARF advances transformative discoveries to the marketplace to benefit humankind across Wisconsin and the world.