Patent and Copyright Laws.

Jackovarian

Hi all,

I have an idea which i cannot disclose to the general public. I'm worried that if i go to the rounds of patenting the "device" and getting intellectual copyright (if i need too) in Ireland that I would have no legal standpoint if somebody from another country uses the idea or whatever, you get my point.

If i go to the rounds of patenting it across the globe I'm going to be up to my backside in debt. Then somebody may rework it to bypass the law anyway...

so, is it worth going to these rounds? or should i just look for an investor, sell up, and let somebody else deal with the trouble?


sorry if this is all too vague or trivial.

r14

It completely depends on what you want the patent for. Are you worried about the idea being stolen and used abroad or is it purely Irish centric.

Have a look at http://www.epo.org/. You can get a european patent for all the EEA States but it can get pretty pricey as you have to translate into all the languages of the States.

Is it worth it? Completely up to you. Do you think it's an idea worth billions?

Pines

Jackovarian wrote: »

Hi all,

I have an idea which i cannot disclose to the general public. I'm worried that if i go to the rounds of patenting the "device" and getting intellectual copyright (if i need too) in Ireland that I would have no legal standpoint if somebody from another country uses the idea or whatever, you get my point.

First, you're right that you cannot disclose it without jeopardizing the chances of getting a patent. However, you can disclose it to a patent attorney in confidence, and the conversation will be privileged, and you're unlikely to be charged very much (if anything) for basic advice as to whether you have a patentable idea.

Jackovarian wrote: »

Second, regarding people in other countries copying the idea, a patent gives you the right to prevent manufacture (in the country which granted the patent) and importation (into the country which granted the patent). So if you are happy with protection in (say) the UK and Ireland, then you only need patents in those two countries. Someone else can make it in Germany, but they can't bring it into Ireland without infringing.

Jackovarian wrote: »

If i go to the rounds of patenting it across the globe I'm going to be up to my backside in debt. Then somebody may rework it to bypass the law anyway...

There's an International treaty called the Paris Convention which says that you can file a patent application in just one country first, and then wait up to a year before filing abroad. The idea is to allow you to get the ball rolling, put some basic protection in place, and market your idea before spending major bucks on filing in many countries.

However, by the end of the 12 month period you have to be ready to file outside Ireland ... so it's only worth going this extra step if you ahve some real, demonstrated commercial interest by the time that 12 month deadline comes around.

Jackovarian wrote: »

so, is it worth going to these rounds? or should i just look for an investor, sell up, and let somebody else deal with the trouble?

The problem with the "sell up and let someone else handle it" approach is that you have nothing to sell unless you have a patent application, or copyright in some valuable copyright work, or a registered design, or know-how/expertise that the investor can't get anywhere else. In other words, nobody's going to throw money at you unless they both want and need something you have to sell them.

Hope this helps.