subject: Protect Your Invention With Help from Specialist IP Lawyers [print this page] Protect Your Invention With Help from Specialist IP Lawyers
Registering a patent or any other form of intellectual property protection does not then mean you are obliged to produce anything as a result. However, with the protection in place for a limited period of time, it makes complete sense to exploit your advance commercially in the most profitable way - and that may well not mean going it alone.One way to make the most of a patent and make sure it gets to market quickly is to permit others a license to use the technology by making items that benefit from your invention and then paying you a sales based royalty. The exclusive rights might stay with the inventor, but it is possible that they can't use their discovery alone and instead need developments created by others to get their new invention to market.If this happens, there are several things you can do. First, the inventor can sell the patented invention completely, selling out for a lump sum or perhaps a share of future profits - in the business, this is known as assignment of rights.Alternatively, it may be possible to license your intellectual property. A license, drawn up by specialist IP lawyers, is a legal agreement whereby the inventor allows other parties to exploit, manufacture or otherwise develop the original invention. The agreement might restrict the licensee's activities to a particular geographical area, or a specific business sector. The licensing agreement should make clear the method by which the licensee will make payments to the inventor, and over what time period the license agreement is scheduled to be valid.Thirdly, there is a know-how contract. This could be on top of or as well as a license and it specifies the terms by which the inventor will give another party his knowledge. Know-how is often tangible, and may be industrially useful information such as architectural drawings, equipment diagrams or even job descriptions and client records. A big issue with know-how contracts is the prevention of someone newly introduced to the information, from going on to share it with other people that they are not authorised to pass it to.In all of the above situations, it is advisable to get expert intellectual property advice from specialist IP lawyers. They will help you to choose the best way to ensure your development is protected, draw up agreements to share and exploit your invention and also make sure that any legal contracts will hold their own in court if that becomes necessary in future.
