Whether your aim is to create a new product for your existing business or you’re a new creator, it’s a good idea to stay informed on how you can protect and defend your ideas so that you can prove that they are yours and others cannot steal your innovations and hard work. Chances are, you will want to patent your new product to protect your intellectual property. But can you patent your concept? Here is a quick list of things that you can patent and a few things that you cannot.
Ideas and Inspiration – Make Sure to Patent It !!
There’s almost nothing as exciting as having a “lightbulb” moment of inspiration. Maybe you have an idea of a product that you think may help disabled people, or a way to innovate a construction process. Maybe you have a concept in mind for the design of a new keyboard or a new piece of cookware. When you’re excited, it can be easy to overlook protecting yourself — remember that you certainly can patent an idea or concept!! While it may be beneficial to reduce your concept to an actual, tangible product, it is not necessary. Many established companies don’t wait to complete their product design prior to filing and application and neither should you. Once you have an application filed you can continue working on a physical prototype or further refinements. This refined product can still be patented while claiming priority to your first patent application. This strategy will protect your potential patent rights while providing you with the earliest possible date of invention! This can be very valuable during any enforcement proceeding.
Math and Science Discoveries
It’s extremely exciting to discover a new mathematical or scientific principle. Your new knowledge can spread and lead to new innovation! Maybe you have a new understanding of a biological process or have developed a new formula. Unfortunately, you may not be able to patent this discovery, absent incorporating it into a method or product, as these scientific and mathematical principles already existed; you understand them but you didn’t create them.
As mentioned above, you may be able to patent a tool or chemical process that you invented that helped you to make your new discovery. Maybe you invented a new style of microscope that allowed you to gain a better understanding of a natural process? These types of new innoventions can also be patented.
Customizing Already Existing Inventions
When you put work into customizing or developing an already existing product, you may find yourself wondering if you can patent your design as a new invention, especially if the product or idea itself is in the public domain. You can patent an improvement to an idea that already exists!! Your innovation may be customizing a product’s appearance which can be protected with a design patent. Your innovation may be a way to utilize your improvement alongside another already existing product and the necessary linkage therebetween may be patentable. Many patents are issued on improvements to existing products, formulations, or methods of manufacture.
Need More Assistance?
Are you wondering if your ideas are patentable? Are you unsure what is the best way to protect your intellectual property? Do you feel overwhelmed by the thought of drafting the appropriate application for filing with the government? Contact Garcia-Zamor today to receive the legal assistance you need and know that our experienced attorneys will give you superb legal service. We will communicate with you about your needs and come up with the best legal protection for you.
