Patents etc. Flashcards
What is a patent?
- A limited-time monopoly, granted by
government, in exchange for publicly sharing
new, useful knowledge - 20 years from filing date
- Periodic maintenance fees (on utility patents,
not plant or design) - Gives owner the right to exclude others from
practicing their invention - Owner’s right to practice may be limited by
others’ prior patent rights (e.g. when extending
a patent with more specific claims)
What are the requirements to obtain a patent?
- Not previously sold or publicly described
- First to file
- Novel:
*beyond what is already patented or known
*prior art must be cited - Useful:
*for some demonstrable need or value
*initial commercial success may demonstrate - Not obvious:
*“to one of ordinary skill in the art”
*prior art “teaches against”
*inventive, rather than simple modification
What are the pro’s of patenting?
- Collaborate/license
technology to company - Attract funding
- Protect research
- Stop competitor
Why would companies choose not to get patent? What are the alternatives?
- Maintain trade secret for example Coca cola
- Publish for example Volvo 3 point safety belt
Who has the ownership of and right to use IP?
- The creator/author/inventor owns the right per default
- As of yet, there must be a human creator involved for
IPR to be awarded - Ownership can be conveyed through agreements
- Owner can be a person or an organization
- The owner may allow others to use the protected asset – licensing
- The moral rights of copyright always stays with the creator
What happens to the ownership of IP when employees create?
- Outside academia: Employers usually at least have the right to use
the intellectual property created by employees.
(Legislation and collective agreements) - In academia – teacher’s exemption:
Teachers at Swedish universities own their creative results,
including patentable inventions (legislation) and work covered by copyright (practice). Researchers fall under the teacher’s exemption
What happens to the ownership of IP when AI creates?
AI as a part of the whole:
- AI tools can be a part of a patentable invention
- The results can be eligible for copyright
- Information about an AI tool can be protected as a
trade secret
- A database created by an AI tool can be eligible for
database protection
What is patent landscaping?
- Broad search - covers whole area of a technology
or an aspect of a major technology - Often spans over several technologies
- Extensive list of keywords
- Search performed in all text fields
- Need to understand the full scope of the
technology for a good search
What does the process look like for a patent landscape analysis?
- Specify purpose, goals and scope
- Develop a detailed research plan
- Search in patent database
- Clean up data
- Create and populate categories
- Create charts/tables and visualizations
- Continually monitor and update
What is a PEST analysis?
Understanding the political, economical societal, and technological context & dynamics – what are their impacts on product
development?
Discuss SWOT in relation to PEST
- SWOT assesses a particular company (can be a competitor), product or idea. A PEST analysis considers
a market - SWOT relies more on internal information
- SWOT works well in a workshop format, with little
preparation - SWOT has a synthesis element
What is the concept of target market?
Target market refers to the
group of customers that
- is interested in a product (or service), and
- has the resources to purchase the product (pay for the service), and
- is permitted by law or other
regulations to acquire the
product
