What is the most elegant patent application?

I associate the word "elegant" with solutions to problems that are well-defined. With that point of view, the word does not even apply to a patent application. That is, "elegance" is not even a goal when preparing a patent application.

Patent Law Firm in Vietnam

Basically, writing a patent application is like creating software, within a budget (explicitly stated or implicit) that is going to be released into the wild for maybe 20 years, with no opportunity to fix it after it has been released.

Actually, writing a patent application is a little more difficult than that. It's more like creating the software and also writing a description of it. No matter what the software functionally can do, it is limited by its description, so you want to make the description as broad as possible. On the other hand, the description can be attacked if it says the software does more than it actually is capable of doing, so you don't want to make the description too broad.

One of the first tasks is to try to anticipate all the problems that might arise over the next 20 years or so, which is already very challenging. Then, of course, you have to try to address those problems as best you can.

Therefore, it is much more important to make a patent application as strong and robust as possible, given the limited resources available, than it is to make it elegant.

That said, as with pretty much any job, it is possible to come up with clever or even out-of-the-box solutions to certain sub-problems within the overall job. However, those solutions, while satisfying to the patent attorney, are almost always invisible to others.

I have had litigators who were enforcing patents I drafted and prosecuted, compliment me on the quality of the patent application, but it is rare that anyone else would have sufficient expertise and also an opportunity to examine a patent application closely enough to notice how good, or bad, it is.

ANT Lawyers - A Law firm in Vietnam is supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.

Source: Quora

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The Benefit from Protecting Invention Patent

Invention protection shall bring advantages for the owner of invention including the usage and application within the duration of 20 years. As Law on intellectual property of Vietnam, an invention patent shall be valid from the grant date until the end of twenty (20) years after the filing date.

Vietnam patent

Besides, Invention patent can bring its owner the followings:

The steady position on the market: with the invention patent, the owner of the invention shall have rights to prevent others from using their invention with commercial purpose. This will reduce the competitive capacity of competitors and bring preferred position for the owner.

Right to sell and license the invention: in case owners of inventions cannot use their invention by themself, they can sell or license the use of their inventions to other people or companies. They can license only the right of use and sell all of their inventions. This does not only bring them a lot benefits but also avoid risks because of the competition on the market.

When your inventions have been commercialized and got the significant position on the market, other companies or people might tend to copy and use your invention illegally or sell other products which are similar to yours. If your inventions were not properly registered at competent authority, the competitors and violators can use your inventions without breaching of law.

Therefore, it is essential to register a new invention to protect the owner’s rights to avoid unfair competition on the market.

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Three tips for successfully obtaining a patent for your invention

Securing a patent is no simple task. Not only does the applicant have to have created something distinctly original, they must wade through complex decisions such as what type of patent to secure (design or utility), what to reasonably invest in attorney fees (patents can cost upwards of $10,000), and how to protect their idea during the ‘patent-pending’ phase. Further, from the initial prep work until the final verdict, the entire process can take years to complete.

But for entrepreneurs who have worked hard to design something new and different - and want to financially protect their creative efforts - the effort is worthwhile.

Here is three tips for successfully obtaining a patent for yourinvention:

1.Ask Questions During Research & Development

If a manufacturer tells you a design can’t be made - which will likely happen when creating something that hasn’t been made before - asking questions instead of getting frustrated or defeated is your best strategy.  Answers like “We can’t do it” or “We don’t have the right equipment” should not be conversation-enders. Instead, they can open up a dialogue about the specific obstacles the supplier is facing.

Maybe it’s simply a question of testing a new procedure and the factory doesn’t want to pay for it (but you are willing to!). Or maybe there is a design tweak that will make the product more production-friendly without compromising its look or performance. Whatever the issue, you can’t address it if you don’t know exactly what it is.

Answering questions is important too, as suppliers who are educated about why your product is valuable are arguably more likely to help you bring it to life.

2.Understand the Importance of Language

From the very beginning of the patent process, coming up with a persuasive way to describe what you have designed is key. First, your filing attorney must be exceedingly clear about what sets the product apart from others, otherwise, you run the risk of including incomplete or faulty information in your application. Giving him or her the best possible understanding you can is paramount to successfully positioning your request to the patent examiner.

A great attorney will advise you about which information to share, but preparing basic content in advance will help expedite the process. Prior to your first consultation, make sure you’ve written a detailed overview about why your idea is conceptually and functionally unique, with specific details about the the construction and design and and ways the product is measurably different than other items on the market. Reading legal websites and searching for people in your network who have gone through the patent process can also be beneficial prep tasks.

3.Work With People Who Are Experts At What They Do

This is a common lesson for new entrepreneurs. In an effort to get the best deal and make the most of their limited funds, they make decisions based on cost alone. To avoid this error, it’s important to remember two things. One, just because someone claims they can help with your project, does not mean they are the best person for the job. Being able to help and being a qualified expert in a given area are vastly different.  When hiring an attorney, look for someone with a deep knowledge of your product category and experience with similar types of inventions.

Secondly, while going with the most expensive option certainly doesn’t ensure success, investing in quality often means that you will have fewer hiccups while on your patent quest. Conversely, going with the cheapest attorney you can find may translate to wasted time and higher costs down the road, such as having to re-work expensive prototypes or re-start the patent application from scratch.

By applying these tips to your patent efforts, you increase your chances for a smoother application experience and ultimately a patent-protected product.

Source: www.forbes.com

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When should a startup file for a patent?

Each jurisdiction is different in terms of its “first to disclose”, “first to file” and “first to invent” rules. First to file and first to invent - Wikipedia

You should file a provisional patent application as soon as possible (to establish your patent’s priority date) if you are filing your patent application in the US because USPTO follows a “first inventor to file” rule. First Inventor to File (FITF) Resources

Vietnam Patent 

I’ll recommend the following course of action to help you file a provisional patent application as quickly as possible:

a) Conduct a through prior art search as soon as possible to make sure that your idea is novel, non-obvious to others in your field, and has utility in real life.

b) Draft your first independent claim. Draft any additional independent claims if you’ve more than one. Don’t waste your time on drafting any dependent claims at this stage.

c) Focus on writing as many possible embodiments you can think of for implementing not only your independent claim(s) that you have drafted but also for all possible dependent claims (that you’ve not drafted). Refer to 2164-The Enablement Requirement to guide you in writing your embodiments.

d) While drafting your embodiments, draw as many diagrams as possible to show your invention and its implementation. Follow Patent Drawing Rules: Everything You Need to Know. No need to use any fancy tools for doing your diagrams. Make your drawings by hand for now to save some time.

e) Provide a brief definition of any special terms that you are using in your patent claims and embodiments.

f) Draft a paragraph to serve as abstract. No need to write any paragraphs covering background of the invention or summary of the invention. Providing a list of prior art is also not needed at this stage.

You are now ready to file a provisional patent application. File it without any delay to establish a priority date. You’ll have a full year to file your non-provisional patent after this date. During this one year time, also called a “pendency period”, patent process is pending till you file your non-provisional patent application.

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Which is the best country to file patent rights?

With respect to your first filed patent application, you may not have a choice. Some countries have export control laws that require that you first file in your current country. Only after being granted a foreign filing license do you then have the option to file in other countries.

PCT National Phase Entry in Vietnam

According to the Paris Convention, you have within one year of your first filed application to file in foreign countries and claim priority to the filing date of the first filed application. Filing in many countries can be extremely expensive, however. A common strategy is thus to file a single PCT application, which can later be the basis for national/regional stage filings. This delays the expense, and allows more time to decide which countries are best. But one must realized that this strategy only applies to PCT member states. That does not include some countries, for example, Taiwan and Argentina. Applications must be filed there within a year of the first filing.

30 months after the earliest priority date of the PCT application, you’ll need to decide which countries (or regions) to enter the PCT application into. The best choice may be none. For example, if the PCT search report reveals prior art that is fatal to the patent application.

Assuming there are no major show-stoppers in the PCT stage, then there is a complex analysis that needs to take into account various factors, such as 1) your patent budget, 2) the market size in each country, 3) the likelihood of manufacturing in each country, 4) the strength of patent laws in each country, 5) the kinds of technologies patentable in each country. Balancing these against each other and coming up with an set of countries is extremely case specific. There is no generic answer as to what country or countries is best in the abstract. That being said, some of the most common countries/regions are US, Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, S. Korea, and China. Within Europe, patents are most often validated in UK, France, and Germany

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