Patent Benefits – Business Value of Patents
Does it Make Sense to File a Patent Application for My Invention?
There is no quick and easy answer to this question. An inventor must make an assessment based on several primary considerations, including:
1. What are some of the USPTO requirements to be granted a patent? (See the What is a Patent page on the Overview menu, and also the Patent Searches page, above).
2. If a patent is granted on my invention, will the financial benefits of the patent exceed the cost of the patenting process?
3. If a patent is granted on my invention, will the non-financial benefits (such as excluding competitors from making and selling invention) justify the patenting process?
Why are some of the Benefits of Patents?
A patent is a property right granted by the US. federal government to the patent owner that allows the patent owner to legally exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing the patented invention in the United States during the term of the patent.
In the event another party infringes the patent, ( ie the other party without authority makes, uses, sells, offers to sell, or imports the patented invention in the United States), the patent owner may seek significant damages against the other party by initiating legal action in a Federal Court.
How Inventors May Profit from a Patent
Inventors who are granted a patent may have a number of attractive options to profit from their patent, including:
- Market the Invention: A patent owner may produce and market his invention in his own business enterprise. For this option of course the patent owner must possess the financial resources and expertise to initiate a startup firm.
- Sell the Patent Rights: In return for financial compensation, a patent owner may sell their rights to a patent by using the assignment process, which “assigns” the patent rights to another person or firm.
- Licensing: In return for a share of royalties or other compensation, the inventor might grant rights to another person or firm to make and sell the invention. However the rights to the patent will remain with the patent owner.
Patents may therefore contain significant financial value, depending on the nature of the invention patented, and the quality of the patent.