The fields of patents and commercial entrepreneurship are often intertwined. Commercial entrepreneurs often push forward successfully with a new commercial enterprise they are developing and in which they are investing a not insignificant scale of time and resources. Nevertheless, they only remember to protect their project only after making extensive investment in commercial activities, a business plan and marketing strategy and after making progress with the construction of a prototype.
In some instances, they could lose the protection accorded by registration of patent or design.
It is often the case that the danger of losing an invention only arises after the entrepreneur has published information regarding the invention, which is then in the public domain, or if there are many individuals involved in the commercial enterprise process and the efforts to raise capital. That can be the stage at which information about the invention is leaked either deliberately or unintentionally to a large number of people. Leaks can also occur when the commercial entrepreneur in person, presents the invention to potential investors or business partners, without requiring them to sign non- disclosure agreements. After investing a great deal of time and effort, when such entrepreneurs request patent, they suddenly discover that it was during the period in which they were working so hard on the invention that their marketing efforts had revealed so much detail to so many. In the meantime, someone else filed a request for patent on the idea even before the entrepreneur submitted a request for patent on their own ideas.
It is also true that very often, even if an inventor kept the invention a secret and insisted that all those involved sign a non-disclosure agreement, a request for patent on a very similar invention is submitted without any connection with the activities undertaken by the commercial entrepreneur. That is why it is usually a good idea to deal with the issue of request for patent at an early stage and as the commercial activities begin, which will ensure that there will be no surprises at a later stage, when it might prove impossible to protect the invention. In the worst case scenario, the commercial entrepreneur will be found in breach of a different patent and will be forced to abstain from any further activities regarding an invention. All the inventor’s efforts and investments will have been a waste of time and money.
That also explains why when the activities and the commercial entrepreneurship begin, it is worthwhile consulting with professionals in the field, who can provide advice on these matters and ensure that the appropriate protection will be in place.
Normally at this stage, if full technical details are not yet formulated, our Company executes the concept planning on which a patent attorney will base the professional work. At a later stage, when more details have been revealed during product development and commercial activities, it shall be possible to update add details to the request for patent – sometimes with and sometimes without the priority date for that request for patent.