The hottest patent application strategy

Patent application strategy

self owned technology is the intellectual property of enterprises, and it is also an important wealth. Legal protection of intellectual property rights of enterprises can enable them to obtain greater benefits in technological competition and market competition for the benefit of the country and the people. At present, there are mainly two ways to protect technology, one is to apply for a patent to obtain the protection of the "patent law", the other is to adopt the way of protecting technical secrets by itself, and the technical secrets can also be protected by law. The way to protect the technology of the enterprise needs to comprehensively consider the advantages and disadvantages of the two, and choose the protection way that is beneficial to the enterprise

1 choice of patented technology and technical secret protection mode

patent right is the exclusive right granted by the state to the inventor to his invention and creation within the specified time according to the patent law, which has the characteristics of exclusivity, regionality and effectiveness. Technical secret refers to the technical information that is unknown to the public, can bring economic benefits to the obligee, is practical, and has been kept confidential by the obligee. It has the relativity of rights, the indefiniteness of existence, the postposition of recognition, the uncertainty of value and so on. The former is protected by the "patent law", which has strong legal protection and requires a certain fee. The latter has relevant legal protection, which is weak and generally does not require fees. In actual operation, we can decide whether to apply for patent protection or technical secret protection according to the following aspects

strength and R & D status of competitors

for high-tech products with high technology content, difficult to make, difficult to complete in a short time or impossible to obtain through reverse engineering, we can boldly adopt the way of technical secret protection. When a high-tech product is successfully developed, the first consideration is not to apply for a patent, but to take strict confidentiality measures. Once the competitor is about to complete the scientific research and development of the product and put it into mass production, it should immediately apply for patent protection, so that the competitor has no opportunity

own ability to deal with infringement and confidentiality

if the patent can be found in time after infringement, and has enough energy and ability to deal with infringement, you should apply for a patent, otherwise, it is more beneficial to protect as a technical secret. If the enterprise has a perfect confidentiality system, employees have a low degree of knowledge of technology and a strong sense of confidentiality. When making decisions, they should tend to adopt technical secret protection

product cycle and market status

for projects with relatively short life cycle and less obvious economic benefits, technical secret protection should be adopted as far as possible. If the product can not be launched immediately and can not form economies of scale, it is appropriate to adopt technical secret protection. On the contrary, it should apply for a patent as soon as possible

compared with patent protection, technical secret protection has wider adaptability, wider protection scope and stronger flexibility. However, the non exclusive nature of technical secret determines that it cannot exclude others from making the same invention and creation. As long as it is not obtained by improper means, it will not bear the law. The exclusivity of patents determines that whether you obtain technical information through improper acts or develop it yourself, as long as the technology has the same content, you must bear the corresponding legal responsibilities. Applying for a patent means occupying a market. Compared with the protection of technical secrets, the legal characteristics of patent protection are more obvious and the rights conferred by the law are larger

the development trend of global economic integration makes enterprises face more and more challenges. It is a general trend to implement enterprise patent strategy and strengthen patent protection. Especially today, with the increasing openness and transparency, it is more and more difficult to protect the high-tech achievements of enterprises by means of technology secret protection, so patent protection is becoming more and more important. In many cases, patents and technical secrets can transform and complement each other. Sometimes, cross protection can be adopted, and some technical contents can be retained as technical secrets, so as to achieve monopoly on the market with the open patented technology

2 selection of patent application type

before applying for a patent, we should first understand the social demand for invention, evaluate the technology itself, and analyze the competitors and market, so as to select a favorable application type

apply for different types of patents at the same time

enterprises can apply for different types of patents for the same invention technology at the same time. If an invention technology applies for invention patent and utility model patent at the same time, generally speaking, the utility model patent can be patented first, and the authorization cycle of invention patent is long. Even if the invention patent is authorized in the future, one of them can be abandoned according to the specific situation to reduce the cost. In this way, the enterprise can obtain the patent right earlier, according to the introduction of Mitsui chemical. For example, a company applied for both invention patent (application No.9) and utility model patent (application No.0) to the patent office on November 13, 2001 for the technical scheme of "roller roller roller with protruding foot device" of the road roller. On October 9, 2002, the utility model patent was authorized, patent No. zl 0 In this way, as long as there is a patent registered first, the rights and interests will be protected

when applying for a patent at the same time, it should be handled in accordance with the provisions of the patent law. If the technology of the invention is a shaped product, you can apply for an invention patent and a utility model patent at the same time. If the technology of the invention is a shaped product and a new method of using the product, you should apply for the invention on different topics at the same time. For example, someone invented a polygonal roller to compact the dam. He applied for both invention patent and utility model patent to the patent office on April 13th, 1999. The name of the utility model patent is "polygonal roller for land compaction inside the dam" (application No.0). In 2000, the utility model patent was authorized, patent No. zl 0 The title of the invention patent is "compaction method of the inner side of the dam with polygonal impact compaction roller" (application No.8)

combine with peripheral patents

re apply for patents around the related technologies of the basic patents or the improved technologies made on the basic patents, making them peripheral patents of the basic patents. It consists of basic patents and peripheral patents, making it an invincible fortress for competitors

combine with technical secrets

in order to avoid being imitated by others after the patent technology is disclosed, only the most basic technical content embodying the inventor's purpose is listed in the patent specification, and the process, best conditions, preferred formula, etc. that affect the technical effect are protected as technical secrets

change the type of patent application in time

during the priority period, the applicant can file a utility model patent application with the same theme for the applied invention patent, or an invention patent application with the same theme for the applied utility model patent. That is to say, the applicant can choose the most appropriate type of patent application according to the changes of the situation

3 timing and other strategies for patent application

preconceived ideas

China's practice of applying for the original patent first is a huge loss. Therefore, when an invention is basically mature, and even after the scheme is determined, if you want to adopt patent protection, you should apply for the patent first as soon as possible to avoid being preempted by others. However, in practice, it is still necessary to make specific analysis according to specific problems. For basic inventions, patent applications are generally filed after their application research and peripheral research are generally mature. Prevent other enterprises from making continuous improvement research on the basis of basic inventions, or preemptively applying for invention patents, resulting in the blockade and protection of their own basic inventions. For technologies with many competitors, strong market demand, or easy to be imitated, patents should be applied for as soon as possible. For the leading technology of the enterprise that is not easy to be imitated, you can apply for a patent when your competitors are about to catch up. On the one hand, it extends the protection period, on the other hand, it also avoids the premature disclosure of technology and gives your competitors an opportunity

advertising

sometimes the purpose of applying for a patent is not patent protection, but advertising. Marking patented products on products can play a promotional role. Others apply for patents, not for their own implementation, but for the transfer of technology, and patent documents have become advertisements for the transfer of technology

borrow a ship to go to sea

make necessary improvements on the basis of the technology patented by others, and apply for patents on some improvements, creating favorable conditions for the rapid development of the enterprise

of course, there are some strategies, such as: claim strategy; The purpose of applying for a patent is to obtain compensation through litigation one day. For this purpose, it is best to invite a patent lawyer who knows both technology and legal proceedings to apply for a patent on behalf of him. Defense strategy; The purpose of applying for a patent is to prevent others from stealing their own products, and to prevent others from falsely accusing themselves after applying for a patent

4 general principles of patent application

whether it is necessary to apply for a patent after the completion of an invention creation, whether it is possible to apply for a patent, whether it is possible to obtain a patent right, and many matters need to be demonstrated before application. In practice, the feasibility analysis of patent application should include the following principles

patentability

inventions should meet the conditions of patent application. The invention and creation have a high degree of innovation or technical content, meet the requirements of novelty, creativity and practicality, and should be within the scope protected by the patent law

optimization scheme

generally, it should be analyzed whether it is beneficial to apply for patent protection or to adopt technical secret protection. Or both, we should really go to the market

economy

whether the input of patent application can protect good economic benefits or bring additional output. In particular, the cost of applying for foreign patents is generally tens of thousands of dollars, and the economy should be taken into account

applicability

mainly considers the possibility of industrial application of the invention, and how much it can play in improving product performance, improving product quality and reducing cost. (end)