Our first lecture on patent law.
patent protection is a limited exception to the basic general free trade agreement.
was early on used by the British to grant exclusive royal concessions.
Modern patenting started with national legislation in the 19th century.
the Paris convention in 1983.
Why is it important to achieve patent protection?
the date of application as a reward for disclosure of new ideas.
the possibility to charge monopoly rents during the term of protection.
allows a creative and dynamic development.
Patterns are costly to obtain and to maintain.
will cost its owner more than 100,000 euros.
the disclosed knowledge is open for others to use.
incentivizing employees to develop and share new ideas.
nondisclosure, and noncompete provisions to the benefit of the company.
Every new invention should not necessarily be protected.
other patents will not hinder the exploitation or view at new technology.
fields should be subject to patent protection.
in order to prevent others from patenting the field.
Sometimes it may be more beneficial to simply keep the know how secret.
The well design strategy requires good organization.
Patent persecution is an expert activity in itself.
Patent applications must be filed in a timely and correct way.
Objections from patent authorities must be addressed and fees paid.
secure that no one else has access to it.
It is an inexpensive solution without time restrictions.
that the same invention is made by others, and the entire advantage is lost.
Secrecy agreements must be entered into to prevent unauthorized disclosure and use.
Patents are just one way of legally protecting an ingenious development.
which in EU grant up to 25 years protection for a non-functional shape.
could also cover arts, craftsmanship and similar physical products.
could actually also protect the distinguishing shape.
if also covered by design or copyrights.
trademark which retains value, long after the patent has expired.
It may be strategically important to see these alternatives as complements.
Maybe you know Maglite flashlight.
A well known US product.
it is a barrel shaped aluminium flashlight designed to use A cell batteries.
CND cell batteries have been on the market since the early 1970s.
Maglite has been active in aggressively protecting its exclusivity on the market.
Features on the minimal light torch were patent-protected.
its distinctive shape, style and overall appearance.
during the life of the original inventor plus 70 years.
in almost evergreening its protected position.
protection from the date of application and for a period of 20 years.
It's so relatively short period.
the life of the author plus some 50-70 years.
Even a design right can be prolonged up to 25 years.
No rational can explain these differences, and they impact the industrial behavior.
the 20 year long patent protection does not carry the same significance.
development and regulatory requirements demand very long lead times.
to allow the company to recover its investments.
through a special patent certificate, referred to as SPC.
is that know how is difficult to maintain secret.
its production process to the regulatory authorities.
This information will be kept secret for a limited period of some ten years.
After this period, the generic competitor may refer to the secret knowledge.
In that sense, secrecy does not always secure exclusivity.
At what time in the development should protection be applied for?
There is a general tendency that technical advances come step-wise.
And it becomes a race to the patent offices.
And they're the first to file principle.
Which would suggest that the application should be made early in the process.
rarely the original invention that becomes the final product to the market.
This would support withholding the application as long as possible.
Again, a very difficult balance.
of course, that the duration of the protection is prolonged.
Once the 20 year clock starts running, the applicant must act rapidly.
rather the final years when sales normally are at a peak.
Pattern protection has its limits.
prevent further sales of that specific physical product.
can commercially handle it without being prevented by the protection.
means that sales in one country does not necessarily exhaust sales in another.
Different exhaustion principles apply internationally.
market, consisting of a number of independent member state?
Each with their own patent legislation.
of property ownership which could indicate that this was only a national concern.
of among others, the protection of industrial and information property.
relied on the last sentence in article 36 of the GT.
disguised restriction on trade between member states.
approach to parallel trade in the Union.
In the early 70s, and addressed goods from foreign countries in the late 90s.
the court of justice established a Euro-wide exhaustion principle.
in a legal manner, by the patentee himself or with his consent.
in particular in the case of a proprietor of parallel patents.
This principle has gradual been established in all EU IPR legislation.
The draft patent regulation also confirms the exhaustion principle in Article 9.
unresolved until the judgement in case C-355/96 Silhouette.
that exhaustion does not apply to goods from outside the European Union.
European patent protection can be invoked to prevent such importation.
must be considered as a strategic tool in ordinary business transaction.
an alternative may be to simply keep the technology a secret.
No time limitation and no costs, but the risk that it comes into the public domain.
then to capitalize from the mark after patent expiration.
example the mobile telephone industry.
as late in the development process and as one dares.
limits the control of the rights of the patent holder.