The patent protects
- an invention in the field of technology (or a business method in the US only)
- a basic principle or a solution in detail
- an invention which is new and not obvious over the prior art
- during a lifetime of 20 years from the filing date
- in the country in which the patent application has been filed.
Prior art
- is everything that has become known to the public prior to the date of filing in writing, verbally or any other manner
- regardless of whether publication has been made by the inventor himself or anybody else
- a (partial) exception is the grace period in the USA and in Japan
Inventive acitivity
- requires that the “average person skilled in the art” does not find any suggestion in the prior art which would lead him to the invention
The examination process
- is conducted in every country for which the grant of a patent is requested
- always comprises a formal examination relating to the prescribed (usually com- prehensive) formalities
- frequently comprises a substantive examination including a search of the prior art and the assessment of the inventive step based on the search. Some countries such as Switzerland or South Africa for example do not perform such substantive examination
Protection in a plurality of countries
- is preferably based on an application filed in a first country (“the first application”)
- the first application generates a priority right for 12 months during which the invention can be filed in further countries without prior art which has become known in the meantime being able to be held against these further applications
- the applications in the further countries can be made via the PCT-route od via indi-vidual applications in the countries desired
- the patent family thus obtained offers protection for the same invention in the de-sired countries
The patent specification includes
- a general description of the invention (prior art – problem and solution)
- a detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention
- the claims which define the scope of protection of the invention and
- the abstract which is used for the later searchability of the invention described in the patent