Patents are a valuable asset for any company. It is possible to use them to create new streams of revenue for the business. However patents need to be managed efficiently to ensure they remain profitable. This post will show you how patents can become an efficient profit center for your business — and how a Houston Patent Services: Houstons Experienced Patent Law Firm can help you get there.
What does patent law mean and how do businesses use it?
Every country has patent law, the aptly-named legislation that governs patents. Inventors with patents have the exclusive right to make, sell, and license their inventions. They are an asset for any company because they protect business methods, offer an additional revenue stream through licensing deals, and can be used as a guidebook & reference for research into future product design. However, patents need to be managed efficiently, so your business`s products don`t become worthless due to lack of attention to the documents that protect them.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is the place to register patents in the US.
How Patent Law Can Generate Revenue for You
From patent application to registration, there are 2 chief ways you can give your inventions a greater ROI: save costs with the help of a patent lawyer, which is explained in better detail at Patent Attorneys for Houston Businesses: Navigating the Complex World - Ayrshire Country Sports, and increase revenue with a patent portfolio.
Patent attorneys (or patent agents) may set you back a seemingly big fee, but in the long run, the savings in cost will be worth it. By getting it right the first time, you`ll avoid the onslaught of needless expenses that come from patent application rejections.
It is possible for your invention to be covered by an entire portfolio of patents. Inventions with patent portfolios are often protected by both of the 2 main types of patents: design patents (aesthetics), and utility patents (functions and mechanisms).
If you have a patent portfolio, the law allows you to better utilize your advantage over the competition, which can push you ahead in saturated markets.
Apple develops entire patent portfolios or patent systems for individual products in order to maintain their branding. This grants them greater power in battles against patent infringement, so that unauthorized imitators won`t get away with it.
Patents can even be used as an engine behind brand new & creative marketing campaigns, which can turn out long-lasting.
Patent Monetization through Licensing
Another way to turn your patent into an efficient profit center is to license it. You can generate income off others` legal use of the patent while still having full rights over it.
Licensing patents will allow you to leverage other people`s R&D investments and give them access to products or methods that may have taken years or even decades for them to develop themselves. Also, when it comes time to bring your product to market, you`ll have less competitors! This is all possible because you get to work collaboratively, not competitively, with your competition.
Patents turn into profitable assets when you sell them outright rather than try and recoup the investment in patents.
How patents work: A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by government to an inventor for a limited period of time – normally no more than 20 years from date granted (including several maintenance fees over this term) – to exclude others from making, using or selling their invention without permission. For successful patent registration, inventors must disclose the details of their invention to the public as soon as it becomes available.
Patenting usually comes at the finish of product department when the product is ready for primetime. If you think you`re ready to be a new patent applicant, don`t fall for landmines: have the guidance of a patent lawyer (Patent Attorneys for Houston Businesses: Navigating the Complex World) so you`ll come out happier & more successful on the other side of your patent application process.