You are probably wondering what could happen if you do not patent your invention. Here are some examples of what could happen and that you should consider when you are deciding if you should patent your invention.
If you don’t patent your invention, competitors will probably take advantage of this and could be tempted to make the same product by using your invention without even asking for your permission. for their inventione fact that you did not patent your invention. Larger companies may try to produce the product cheaper and compete at a more favorable price which could reduce your company’s market share for the product.
Also, the possibilities to license, sell or transfer the technology behind your invention could be reduced if you don’t patent your invention. Without patent protection, all sides could be very suspicious of disclosing their inventions during talks about selling it with the fear that the other side might “run away with the invention”.
You also have to consider the possibility that someone might patent your invention first. The first person or company to file the patent has the right to the patent. This could mean that the employees of your company or someone else, who may have developed the same or similar invention, may apply for a patent. They could legitimately exclude your enterprise from market, limit your continuation of prior use and/or ask your company to pay a licensing fee for using the invention, if they have it patented before you.
If you do not want to file a patent application, one way to ensure that no one is able to patent your invention is by disclosing the invention to the public so that it becomes prior art for any prior application filed after you make it public knowledge. This is known as placing it in public domain. Later filed patent applications containing the same or similar invention will be refused by the patent office on the grounds of the lack of novelty or inventive step because of the existence of prior art. It is also important to realize that disclosure of your invention before filing a patent application could severely limit the possibility of obtaining patent protection for that invention.
You should hire a patent attorney who can help you decide if your invention is considered patentable or not.
