Patents are an essential part of intellectual property law. They give you a legal right to prevent others from using your invention without permission.
In today’s digital era, patents don’t just protect new inventions—they also help protect existing products.
For example, Apple has been using its patented design for the iPhone since 2007 and therefore has strong patent protection against knockoffs (like clones).
Utility Patents
A utility patent protects the way something works. This is the most common type of patent, and it’s also called a process patent because it covers an invention that makes use of existing processes or machines to perform some function in a new way.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) considers utility patents more important than design patents because they can be used to stop competitors from selling similar products at lower prices. If you want your product or service to be successful, you need to protect yourself against copycats by getting as many utility patents on it as possible—and fast!
Design Patents
Design patents protect ornamental designs of useful objects. The design must be new and non-obvious, which means that it can’t have been used before in any other way. It also must be applied to a useful object, so if you make a pair of socks with your new twist on the traditional heel, they will not be eligible for design patent protection unless they qualify as an ornamental design.
The scope of this type of patent protection is rather broad: it protects any “new” or “useful” ideas, whether they’re novel or old hat—and if you’ve got something new and useful on deck right now (or even just something old), then it might be worth checking out what protections are available through this route before moving forward with your next big project!
Plant Patents
Plant patents are used to protect plants that are asexually reproduced, and they have a 20-year term.
This means that if you want to own a plant patent on your favorite variety of tomato, you can register it with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at any time during its lifetime—even after someone else has already registered their own version of the same type of tomato!
Having Patents is Crucial to Protecting Your Intellectual Property
Having patents is crucial to protecting your intellectual property. Intellectual property is a form of intangible asset that you can register with the government, which gives you the right to prevent others from using or selling the ideas for which you hold patents.
For example, if someone came up with an idea for a new type of computer chip and patented it, they would be able to prevent anyone else from making or selling this part.
Patents also protect other forms of intellectual property such as copyrights and trademarks (which we’ll talk about later).
Verdict!
It’s important to know that patents are not just for inventors or creators. They can protect your ideas, too! While the tech world is flooded with patents for new products, those in other industries might not have access to any at all – even though their inventions could be just as valuable. If you’re struggling to come up with a good idea and want some help getting it patented, call our patent agency today!
