Securing Patent Grants

We’ve designed this article to give you a short overview of the patent grant system. Patents are important within the world of innovation. If you’re an inventor, you will need a patent to be credited with your work and protect your financial future. As a result, an innovator, inventor or businessperson will need a strong understanding of the patent system. If you don’t, it may cost you your invention or even your business.

What Is A Patent Grant?

In order for you to protect your intellectual property, you will need to be granted your patent, and this is what is known as a patent grant.

However, applying for a patent doesn’t necessarily mean that one will be given. A patent application might be denied for many reasons. These can include the idea being too similar to something that has already been patented, un-patentable information (an example, for instance, would be an attempt to patent the alphabet or other common knowledge), or imply that the patent is too vague or otherwise unrealistic, e.g. “A flying car.”

How to Search A List Of Patent Grants?

To receive a patent grant, it is important that your idea is novel and not already subject to patent.

Even if you are not applying for a patent, you might want to search out existing patents if you are an inventor. Don’t be charged with stealing an existing patent in the creation of your invention. You can search the US Patent office, which has text and image based search engines.

The patents office has tutorials available to help you with your search. As always, it is worth taking these tutorials and doing so seriously, because a few hours’ of work will save you years of development – also, it can potentially save you from expensive lawsuits.

How To Apply For a Patent Grant

Applying for a patent might seem like a straightforward case of filling out an application. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. Patents are legal documents, and as such, must be worded very precisely. It is always best to consult an experienced intellectual property attorney before making a claim to any invention.

You must detail the invention in your application.  Then you will provide a claim supporting the patent. Finally, you will need to write an abstract for the searchable database and include as much information as you can. This could involve drawings, graphs and designs for your invention. The clearer you are, the better chance you have of  your patent being accepted. More importantly, you will be protecting your invention.

Closing Thoughts

We’ve given you a precise overview of the importance of patents. It is worth noting, however, that this is a subject that people dedicate their entire careers to studying. Our final piece of advice: surround yourself with people who can help you achieve your goal.