Patent Analysis
The legal system in the United States has long enshrined the concept of intellectual property rights, and the patent system is the most important form of that in the nation. The U.S. Patent Office continues to grant patents each year and in turn creates a vast wealth of information available to researchers and inventors. In order to maximize the use of this resource, inventors and researchers need to understand how to analyze patent information and apply it to their own work. This article provides a brief overview of patent analysis and its importance.
A patent is a legal instrument providing the holder with the right to exclude others from making, using or selling the invention protected by the patent. A patent holder can negotiate with others to acquire a license or franchise to use or manufacture their invention. The design of a patent is to encourage the development of new inventions by providing a limited monopolistic right for a limited period of time. This helps ensure that inventors will be rewarded for their innovative efforts and encourages others to keep innovating. Thus, patents not only protect the interests of the inventors, but also the interests of the public by stimulating technological growth and improvements.
Patent analysis helps inventors, researchers, and others to identify what others have already patented, as well as how their own inventions fit within the scope of already patented technology. Many times, an inventor might apply for a patent on an invention and be rejected because of the prior patent statues. By analyzing patents of related or similar technology, inventors are better able to craft inventions that can be successfully patented. This helps to make best use of the limited time and resources of innovative research projects, as well as provide greater assurance that the results of the project are protectable. Moreover, patent analysis also helps researchers and inventors to identify potential gaps or flaws in the current patented technologies.
Analyzing a patent can also be a daunting process. Patents are generally divided into parts, with the patent “Abstract” summarizing the invention, the “Specification” providing the detailed description of the invention, and the “Claims” enumerating the rights of the patentee. A thorough patent analysis should address all of this content in order to determine the scope of the patent protection as it relates to the researcher’s own invention. Additionally, the prior art references cited in the patent application should be examined to determine the scientific or technology background that the patent claims advance upon.
In conclusion, although the patent system can often seem intimidating to inventors and researchers, performing patent analysis can provide valuable insight into the scope of current patents, aiding inventors in crafting successful patent applications as well as helping researchers identify areas where new research could easily be done. As such, performing a thorough patent analysis should be a necessary component of any research that involves inventions and intellectual property rights.
