September 2009
Mr. Marcelo Copat and Mr. Dan Lechleiter , patent attorneys from Baker & Daniels LLP , treated us to a very useful discussion of patent fundamentals. Here are just a few of the highlights (you should'a been there ...). In exchange for disclosing your invention to the public in an issued patent the U.S. government gives you a set of negative property rights. You don't get the right to benefit from your invention, but you do get the right to stop others from benefiting for the duration of the patent. What good is that? Many inventors cast their inventions upon the waters of the market, and a patent helps prevent dilution of any profit the market might return. By excluding others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing your invention in the U.S. you: • may dominate (or at least position yourself well in) the market, by eliminating most competitors and by persuading most of the rest to cooperate with you...