Patent Rights

A patent is a right to deny, based on which the patentee has an exclusive right for the commercial utilization of a specific invention. Obtaining a patent requires that the invention is novel and that it has not been made public before. The invention must also be industrially applicable and inventive. Patent protection is limited in time. Also the patent legislation varies somewhat between different countries.

For instance the following matters are discussed during the basic course on patent rights:

• Applying for a patent in Finland
• Why apply for a patent?
• The content of a patent application and the meaning of the different parts of the application: description, claims, abstract, and figures
• Preliminary searches before an application is filed – prior art
• Prosecution of patent applications after filing and before granting
• Granting a patent—what to do if a patent is not granted?
• Opposition process and appeal process
• Utilization of priority
• Applying for a patent outside Finland: How, when, where?
• National patent applications, regional systems and PCT (international patent application)
• Special practices of some countries (e.g. USA).

After the course, the participants master the basics of the patent system.