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MenuWhere is the place to patent a product for a non US citizen in order to have the best coverage?
Product is hardware developments
Answers
The ultimate coverage is to patent your solution functionality (utility patent) and aesthetics (design patent) in each and every country around the world.
However, practically I chose to patent in a single country usually UK or US to register priority date. Since priority date is the most important element after the patent content itself.
If your product is mainly focused on bringing new aesthetics then you can go for a design patent, which usually require minimum documentation and is registered relatively fast. On the other hand, if you have novel functionality digital or physical then you are better off getting a utility patent, however this could take years to be granted.
I not a lawyer and this not a legal advice.
Hi,
Our operating company has twenty years of experience creating and monetizing intellectual property in the US and abroad. I'd be glad to help!
In general, the choice of country for a patent filing has less to do with your citizenship, and more to do with the country in which you are selling your product or service that the patent covers.
For instance, if you have a physical good covered by a patent, and it's primarily sold in the United States and Ireland, but is made elsewhere, you should really only be pursuing patent coverage in the countries in which the good is sold.
By doing this, you can use a patent to prevent someone from selling a product made with the process that you patented in your desired market. You should be less concerned with pursuing patent protection in the country where the product is made, unless you plan to sell your product in the same country.
If you'd like to chat more about this, let me know! I'd be glad to help you create a patent strategy that makes sense for your product.
Related Questions
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What should we do to avoid patent litigation?
Since you do not have a duty to disclose prior art to the USPTO, you could approach your competitor and try to negotiate a license for their patent pending technology. However, there are two caveats to this approach. First, your competitor does have a duty to disclose prior art to the USPTO. If they learn about the prior art in the course of negotiations with them for a license, they would need to disclose that prior art to the USPTO if the patent has not yet issued. The patent could be declared invalid if they later sued an infringer and it came out during litigation that they did not disclose known prior art. Second, it is much easier to notify the USPTO of this prior art while the patent is pending than after the patent issues. You would only have to pay $180 and would have six months after the application was published to file the prior art with the USPTO (under the new rules of 37 CFR 1.290). The USPTO will only consider written documents, so there would need to be some kind of published document relating to the prior art you found, such as a company brochure showing or describing the feature. I would be happy to assist you with this matter whether you decide to negotiate with your competitor or submit the prior art to the USPTO.MS
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Can i create and sell my invention before filing for a provisional patent and maintain my rights to the invention?
The answer is yes, but it always depends. Let me begin by saying that the more knowhow, etc. involved, the easier it is to sell something without any patent protection. Otherwise, you are trying to sell something without protection and you get no protection until the patent issues, which may take years. The acquirer may just run with it (I would) without licensing knowing there is no cost until your patent issues. Then, when you file, they will see your claims and try to modify their product around your claims. It is slightly vicious in nature. That said, I may not act much different if you file first, unless I can buy your patent or the license costs are very inexpensive. Secondly, many countries have absolute novelty and you will not be able to protect your invention there ever, even if a licensee arises and wants to enter those markets. This too, is a serious limitation for licensing. My conclusion would be that you are underfunded to address your IP and that I can get away with murder. Filing the application is your way of telling people that you are serious. That said, it is not necessary and I have a lot of clients that file later or never file.GF
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Can a provisional patent act as a catch-all?
A provisional patent is good for two things. It is a date-stamped proof of invention and gives you time to determine whether to incur the cost of filing a full patent. Yes, so long as the individual component pieces you think are useful are sufficiently described in detail within the one general application, it sets you up to later claim utility patents for any and all of these, providing they really are unique. But in general, I would really caution you from spending time and money to file patents for a software company. I've built many innovative software products over 20 years of work in our industry and only filed one patent in my life, and even that patent is only to protect people from abusing a truly transformative and world-changing technology. That said, a provisional patent is inexpensive and if any expense is going to be incurred here, a catch-all is sufficient if you feel inclined to file anything at all. If your goal is an acquihire or acquisition, utility patents do actually make a difference in the acquirers valuation (at least for now) but if you're thinking about it from an actual defensive perspective, I'd really advise that it's not worth your time (and distraction) and money. The best defence is a great offence. Scale up, get great engagement from users who love your product and you'll be in a much stronger to fight competitors. Lastly, if you do decide to file a provisional patent, don't claim to anyone that you have I.P. You don't. :) Happy to talk through this in a call with you. Best of luck!TW
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My friend and I started a new business to patent and license a new piece of equipment. What kinds of pitfalls should we avoid?
Below is a link to a resource I provide my investors. The 50 questions are specific to product design/development but the 15 categories are questions that apply to any industry. If you can answer these questions about your deal you will have gone a long way to avoiding the common pitfalls in the product commercialization process. http://www.jaredjoyce.com/freetreats/50questions.pdf Once you have answered the questions for your deal if you'd like to call me I can evaluate your answers, educate you on what strategies are available that would be the best fit for you, and then help you execute your strategy.JJ
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Do I need an International Patent for a Kickstarter Campaign if there is a similar product in Spain that holds an EU Patent already?
You should ask a patent attorney.CH
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