| Chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology | | | | rules than the US Patent and Trademark Office. |
| companies spend large sums of money so that | | | | In Europe, you should file your patent first; selling |
| their employees burn the midnight oil and come up | | | | comes later. |
| with great inventions, be it on a novel drug treat | | | | Although the inventing companies deliberately do |
| a heart disease or a process to make large | | | | not wait more than a year to file the patent, |
| quantities of a chemical used in the manufacture | | | | question often comes up as to when did they |
| of a plastic. They know that patents are powerful | | | | actually start selling. This is because, in modern |
| when it comes to resisting competition. They also | | | | business life, often several parties work together |
| know that a patent provides an exclusive right up | | | | to come up with a new product. For example, |
| to twenty years. Thus, once they get their | | | | one company may agree to give funding for |
| patent, they should be smiling all the way to the | | | | carrying out research while another company |
| bank ...correct? | | | | may agree to do the laboratory work. There |
| The answer is not always "yes". The competition | | | | could be several exchanges between the two |
| will try to unravel the patent and find many ways | | | | companies, often over a period of 3, 4, or 5 |
| to discredit the patent. If businesses find out, five | | | | years or more. Unbeknownst to the parties, such |
| or ten years down the road that their patent is | | | | exchanges could have triggered the legal selling |
| invalid, then all that investment and related jobs | | | | date or offer date. |
| go down the drain. | | | | Take the case of the DNA patent where the |
| One way a challenger could tear up the patent is | | | | company obtained a patent for DNA for detecting |
| that he could claim that you sold the patented | | | | gonorrheae. The company that developed the |
| invention before applying for a patent. The United | | | | DNA sent out a sample of it to its agreement |
| States Patent and Trademark Office, like many | | | | partner and received payment for it. However, it |
| other patent offices through out the world, has | | | | waited 13 months to file the patent. The high |
| strict rules and regulations for filing patents. One | | | | court for patents in our nation's capital ruled that |
| such rule says that you must file your patent | | | | the patent is invalid for having waited too long. |
| within one year of selling your product or offering | | | | The laws relating to patents are highly complex |
| to sell it. If you wish to sell your product | | | | and hence it would be prudent to seek competent |
| overseas, you would need a patent in one or | | | | counsel, when filing a patent, or if you are |
| more of the European countries or in Japan, for | | | | contemplating buying a company with patents or |
| example. The European Patent Office has stricter | | | | licensing a patent. |