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The rights associated with a patent are the rights to exclude others from making, using, offering to sell, and selling the patented invention as explained in how to patent an idea with InventHelp article.

Does this mean that a patent is useless? No, the right to exclude others from doing something can be very powerful. Imagine if you owned the patent on the cellular phone; everyone would need a license from you to use their phone! But what if sub-portions of the cellular phone, for example the display or the electronics inside, were patented by someone else? Let’s look at two examples so we can answer that question.

Example 1: Someone else has a patent on the automobile. You obtain a patent on an automobile with an automatic transmission. Because your patent right is a right to exclude, you can exclude others from making automobiles with automatic transmissions. But can you necessarily make an automobile with an automatic transmission? No, not without permission from the person with the patent on the automobile because they have a right to exclude others from making automobiles.

Example 2: You have a patent on the hammer. No one else has a patent on any sub-portion of the hammer. You are the only one who can make a hammer, but only because you can exclude everyone else from making the hammer, not because the patent gives you the right to make a hammer.

So coming back to the example of you having a patent on the cellular phone, it would not be safe to assume that you could make cellular phones without first checking to see if sub-portions of your phone were patented by others. However, you could still exclude others from using cellular phones.

The important thing to take from the above is that obtaining a patent does not grant you carte blanche rights to make or use an invention, merely to prevent others from making or using it. Others may have patent rights in sub-portions of your invention that are necessary to make your invention. Therefore, it is always better to consult with a patent agency, like InventHelp patent agency, if something confusing.

Changes in the law resulting from the GATT treaty have provided for a new kind of patent application which may be helpful to some inventors. It is called a provisional application, but it is not a substitute for the complete, non-provisional application. A provisional application provides a filing date for the technology disclosed in it and delays the time when a complete application must be filed. A provisional application has the same description and drawing requirements as a complete application, and differs in content by its lack of claims (the concise definition of the invention). The filing fee is also significantly less than for a complete, non-provisional application. But it is best to consult with professionals, like InventHelp patent an idea company, before filing.

A provisional application is not subjected to an examination by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In fact, a provisional application is destroyed unless a non-provisional application is filed within one year of the date of filing the provisional application. Therefore, a provisional application should not be considered a less-expensive alternative to a complete, non-provisional application. Instead, it is preliminary to a non-provisional application.

The primary benefit of a provisional application is the fact that it buys an inventor time. First, it provides a filing date. Obtaining the earliest possible filing date is usually desirable because the filing date is used to determine what is included in the prior technology over which the invention must be an improvement. Second, because of the GATT treaty, a patent issuing from an application filed after June 7, 1995 is in force for 20 years from the filing date of a complete (non-provisional) patent application.

The provisional application gives an inventor a filing date, allowing him or her to make the invention public, without starting the 20 year period. The 20 year period does not begin to run until a non-provisional application is filed. But it must be emphasized that a provisional application will not result in a patent being issued unless a complete (non-provisional) application is filed within one year after the provisional application was filed.

A provisional application will ordinarily cost less than a non-provisional application because the filing fee is lower and there are no claims. Not drafting claims for the provisional application results in less attorney time, since about half the time in drafting a patent application is spent drafting claims. However, that portion of the attorney’s fees are merely delayed for a year, since it will be necessary to draft claims if a non-provisional application is filed. Depending upon the quantity of work patenting agency, such as patent invention InventHelp agency, the client wants, the cost for a provisional application can vary from $500 for simply placing existing disclosures in non-provisional patent application format to as much as the cost of having a complete (non-provisional) patent application prepared.

If you run a business in Nashville, you well know the importance of having a professional website designed for your company. It is not just about having any website – it is all about having a site that will help you get ranked top in search engine results, that also looks great. It is important that you enlist the services of a professional website design company so that you enjoy several benefits.

Increase the Visual Appeal of Your Website

When you choose an experienced Nashville web design agency to manage your design, you will get a visually appealing website. The master web designer uses themes and various other visual effects to support your marketing objectives and content.

The contractor you choose will work with web background colors, slogans, product images, captions, pictures, videos and more so that the desired effect is brought out.

Enjoy Regular Updates

A professional website design firm in Nashville have a way to update the materials on your site regularly. This keeps the content fresh and dynamic so that your customers get something fresh every time they visit your website. The design firm comes up with a procedure for uploading new videos, adding new pictures, posting contents, changing the theme, and more. This will always keep your website fresh and appealing to your visitors.

Get More Functionality

A professional web design company in Nashville have had experience handling thousands of orders from other clients. They will use these skills and knowledge gained from working on other projects to your website. You will get a site that has more functionality in a variety of browsers.

This will serve the purpose you desire to achieve uniformly across all browsers. The professional designer is able to add in more features than you ever thought possible so that your site may deliver more. For example, you will be able to leverage the advantages of social media in your website.

Custom Metal Fabrication plays a major role in companies manufacturing efforts. The key to proper metal fabrication is precision. In a world of exact measurements, specifications and requirements quality custom metal fabrication companies utilize the best technology and hire the right people. If you need a custom metal fabrication company for a project consider hiring one with expertise in creating what you are looking for.

In addition if your metal fabrication project needs to be completed rapidly make sure the company you hire can get the job done within budget and finished on time. Today shipping from one end of the country to the next is pretty simple so distance should not be a major factor in selecting a qualified metal manufacturing company.

A great question to ask your potential metal fabricator would be what are your capabilities? Make sure they have a broad spectrum of in-house sheet metal fabrication capabilities, in addition to having the ability to custom manufacture your unique sheet metal project. From prototypes to production for simple to complex fabrications, they should have the machinery and team with the ability to exceed expectations.

Make sure the company you select specializes in precision custom fabrication. You need a company who routinely handles requests, and manufactures multitudes of custom metal products. It is these companies who need who understand the complexities of getting the job done on time and within budget.

Do not forget to make sure the company you select works with a variety of materials, finishes, and tolerances.

With the development of any new technology and its eventual commercialization, formulation of an appropriate IP Strategy for protection and maximization of the return on R&D investment is a core business consideration.

Typically, with the advent of a new technology, particularly where it is a process, a conundrum can present itself – to patent the IP of the technology, or maintain it as a trade secret?

Patents vs Trade Secrets: the Key Difference…

Patents and trade secrets both offer a means for keeping the IP of a technology under the exclusive control of a company. However, they differ in one key way.

Put simply a patent is a statutory monopoly right offered by the government which grants the patentee the exclusive right to manufacture and use the technology, in return for the patentee fully disclosing to the public details of its technology and how it can be implemented.

A trade secret on the other hand necessarily requires the company to ensure it does not disclose details of its technology to the public so that competitors cannot make use of it.

There are also other notable differences between the two forms of protection. For example, a patent only has a term of 20 years before the monopoly right expires, at which point any one can make use of the technology. However the protection afforded by a trade secret can, in theory, last for 20 years or more, provided it is kept secret and competitors are unable develop the technology independently – Coca Cola or KFC being cases in point as you can see from this step by step guide for inventors.

The Importance of Context …

So when is it appropriate to patent the IP of a technology and when is it prudent to maintain it as a trade secret?

Answering this question requires consideration of what the commercial objective(s) are with respect to the technology, and then analyzing these objective(s) taking into account the following factors:

The likely market for the technology – Is it a niche market? What is the size of the market? What’s the market worth? Can the market be saturated? How will the technology be exploited?

The likely competitors for that market – Who are they? Are they conducting R&D in the area of the technology? How advanced is their research?

The nature of the technology itself – Can the commercial end product be reverse engineered to identify the IP of the technology used to produce the product? Can the IP of the technology itself be kept secret? How will the IP be kept secret? Is it a rapidly evolving technology? Can the technology be fully exemplified at the time of commercialization? Is the technology ready for commercialization?

Ownership – Who will own, or have rights to the IP of the technology? How will the IP of technology be maintained as secret?

Commercialization – Who will manufacture and/or market the technology?

It is only once the commercial context of the technology has been defined that the benefits of protecting the IP of the technology via a patent or keeping it a trade secret can then be meaningfully explored. The answer to the conundrum could turn on only a single factor, or may be decided by several factors.

In some cases, a decision as to whether to patent or maintain as a trade secret may need to be deferred until more information is at hand. In such situations it is generally prudent to lodge a patent application to keep both options alive until such information is available. However, in other situations, one needs to be ever mindful as to the date when the contents of the patent specification become published so as not to forgo the trade secret option as you can read from https://www.iedunote.com/just-starting-out-as-an-inventor-inventhelp-is-everything-you-need.