Most people think of patents in relation to major scientific breakthroughs such as Edison’s first electric lamp or large corporations investing large sums in research and development. In fact, there are approximately 750,000 patents granted around the world every year. Though many of these relate to the same inventions being patented in many countries, it is hard to imagine that so many scientific breakthroughs are being developed every year. Most patents are granted for less significant inventions including improvements that make the products or processes more efficient or more marketable. In addition, certain countries have specific legal provisions for protecting rather incremental innovations under the form of utility models (also referred to as “petty or innovation patents”) which have a shorter duration than patents and are generally easier to obtain.

While it is certainly true that not all enterprises develop patentable inventions, it is a misperception to believe that patents only apply to complex physical or chemical processes and products or are only useful to large corporations. Patents may be obtained for any area of technology from paper clips to computers. There already exist thousands of patents for simple everyday products such as pens, glass bottles, textile fabrics, or bicycles. (See also "How do you Turn Inventions into Profit-making Assets of Your SME.")

The costs of patents may be divided into four types of costs.

Firstly, the costs relating to the application fees and other prosecution fees paid to the national or regional patent offices. Such costs may vary widely from country to country (information on the fees may be obtained directly from the national IP offices)  and are typically lower than the other costs referred to below. Secondly, the costs relating to patent attorneys/agents who assist in drafting the patent application. While the use of a patent attorney/agent is usually optional (unless the applicant is not residing in the country and the law requires that he be represented by an attorney or agent admitted in the country), it is generally advisable to seek legal advice when drafting a patent document. Patent attorney fees will vary significantly from country to country. Thirdly, costs of translation. Such costs are only relevant when seeking IP protection in foreign countries whose official language is different from the language in which the application has been prepared and may prove to be high, especially for highly technical patent applications. Fourthly, the cost of maintaining applications and patents through payments to the patent office. Such fees are usually paid at regular intervals (e.g. every year or once every five years) in order to maintain the application or the patent. Protecting patents for the entire term of protection (in general, 20 years) in various countries may prove an expensive undertaking, also taking into account that annual maintenance fees are usually increasing the longer the protection is maintained. Such costs (see WIPO help desk)  would have to be compared to the wide range of benefits that could derive therefrom (see “How do you Turn Inventions into Profit-making Assets of Your SME”). For SMEs willing to apply for patent protection in various countries, the service offered by the WIPO-administered PCT system may considerably reduce fees and simplify procedures.

Applicants may prepare their patent applications and file them without assistance from a patent attorney. However, given the complexity of patent documents and the legal skills required, it is highly advisable to seek legal assistance from a patent attorney/agent when drafting a patent application. Furthermore, the legislation of a country may require that the applicant whose ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside the country be represented by an attorney or agent admitted (which usually means, resident and practicing) in the country.  Information on the admitted attorneys and agents may be obtained directly from the national IP offices.

The time required for a patent to be granted will depend on the registration procedure and a number of other factors that will vary from country to country. In countries where no examination as to the substance of the patent application is conducted, the procedure will generally be relatively fast (it will usually be registered within a few months). However, in countries where the patent office conducts a thorough substantial examination to check whether the patent meets the patentability criteria of novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability, the entire procedure from application to grant will generally take over 12, and in many cases over 18, months. It should, however, be noted that the procedure may take longer, particularly wherever the law provides for opposition proceedings prior to the grant of the patent or where the law allows for so-called deferred examination (i.e., the patent will only be examined upon a corresponding request to be filed within a certain period of time which may be several years).  On the other hand, the deferred examination system gives an applicant more time to decide whether his invention is worth patenting in view of the possibility of commercialization and the costs involved to obtain a patent.

Patents are granted by patent offices in exchange for a full disclosure of the invention which is thereafter published thus becoming available to the general public. Publication, however, may take place at different stages of the procedure. In some countries, the patent document with the patent claims and the description of the invention is only published at the time of grant. In other countries, patent applications are published generally 18 months after the filing date or, where priority has been claimed, the priority date (for more detail on your country’s procedure for patent application, check your country’s IP office’s website).

In most countries, if an employee has developed an invention in execution of his employment contract, i.e., usually during his working time within the enterprise, the invention (and the related patent rights) will belong to the enterprise. To avoid confusion and possible disputes, employers often specify issues of IP ownership in employment contracts. Depending on the merits of the case, the employee may, however, have a right to equitable remuneration in accordance with legislative provisions or his employment contract.

The term of protection under most modern patent laws is 20 years from the filing date of the application.  However, in some countries, the term of protection may be renewed or extended for applications in certain fields, such as pharmaceuticals or foodstuffs, which need to undergo an administrative approval procedure before they can be put on the market and, therefore, the patent owner could not enjoy his right, in certain cases, for a considerable period of time after the grant of the patent.

Once your patent application has been published before a patent is granted, you have the right, under most patent laws, to take legal action against infringing acts. However, you can bring such an action only after the patent is granted and if you can prove that the act in question would have infringed the patent.

It often happens that many people are working at the same time to find solution(s) to a particular technical problem. However, only one of them can be granted a patent for the same invention and most countries follow the so-called first-to-file-system in granting that patent to the one who filed the application first. When you are seeking patent protection for the same invention in several countries, the principle of priority is very useful since you do not have to file your application in several countries at the same time. The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property provides that once you file an application in one country party to the Convention, you are entitled to claim priority for a period of twelve months and the filing date of that first application is considered the “priority date." Therefore, when you apply for protection in other member countries (of the Paris Convention) during those twelve months, the filing date of your first application is considered to have “priority” over other applications filed after that date. In such a case, you still succeed in being the first-to-file in other member countries, even if there are other applications filed before the filing date of your application in those countries.