Frequently Asked Questions on patents
[Generic]
- What is the meaning of “public’s advanced accessibility”?
- Can a patent be filed in a provisional form or at a Notary’s office?
- What is the difference between a patent and a trademark?
- What are the guarantees of secrecy in the months following the filing of a patent?
- Can an idea be protected without a patent?
[how to file a patent]
- Is there any facilitation for filing an invention for those who can prove of not having any available funds?
- Can I patent something by myself or do I have to consult an expert?
- I have to file a patent in Spain as I am negotiating with a local firm, but I have been told I cannot do it, as I must file it in Italy. It seems absurd and I would like to know how I could resolve this problem.
- Can a foreign citizen patent something in Italy?
- How can a patent be filed?
- In order to get an object patented in Italy is it sufficient to check that nothing of the kind has been patented there, or is it necessary to take some other precautions?
- Can I file a patent abroad?
- To file a patent must I have a prototype? If not, who takes care of verifying if the invention really works?
- To file a patent is it necessary to have a prototype?
- Must a search be done before patenting?
- What values do claims have, and are they really necessary?
- Is it possible filing a patent with validity throughout the world? If yes, how can it be done and what is the cost?
[Ownership of the patent]
- Can a patent be filed in the name of a person who is not the inventor? If yes, are there any particular conditions?
- Who is entitled to the rights in case of an invention been commissioned to a third party?
- Who is entitled to the rights of an invention of an employee?
- If I file a patent application in Italy, since we are part of the European Community, is it automatically valid in all the Community countries?
- I am a researcher for a public company and regularly remunerated, I have realized an invention during the course of my researches. Can I have the patent on my name or can the company where I work claim some rights?
[Maintaining the validity of a patent]
- Can the annual fees be paid directly without the help of an expert in patents?
- Must annual fees be paid in order to maintaining the validity of the patent?
- A year ago I sold my patent to a company. Now the office, which followed the file for the patent, warned me that the annual fee is expiring and it should be paid within 30 days. Must I pay it or not, since the patent is no longer mine?
[Invalidity of the patent]
[Limit of protection of a patent]
- I have to purchase a patent by a private person in order to produce it in my company. How can I be sure of its validity? Is it sufficient to have a declaration of this released by the inventor?
- What happens if we patent something already existing, but has never been patented by others?
- Is a European patent valid in Italy?
- I have to present a patent for a new instrument invented by me. On one hand I don’t want to lose time to prevent that someone else patents it before me, but on the other hand I am worried that it can be improved and therefore someone could get around it. If I patent it now can I claim rights even on the improvements?
- Can various configurations of the same invention be protected with the same patent?
- How long does a patent last?
- Is it better to patent an invention abroad too before presenting it to a foreign company?
[Situations]
- I have filed a patent application but I have not yet had any reply from the Italian Patents Office, and I don’t know whether it has been accepted or not. Do I have to wait for the granting of the patent, before producing my object?
- I have assembled a racing bike weighing “X”, by using commonly sold components even if most of them come from abroad. Can I get the copyright or other forms of protection just on the weight?
- I purchase with the exclusive right, patented products from a company. Now I notice that the patent has actually been granted a long time after I started buying the goods, and a friend told me that, if this is the case, I could also produce it myself, without using the company and without being harassed. Is it true?
- In 1995 I filed an application for a European patent, through a friend of mine who is an accountant, but since then I have done nothing else and I have not heard anything more. How can I be sure that the patent has been granted?
- After I filed the patent application, can I exhibit my invention to the public, even though the 18-month period needed for the publication has not yet passed?
- If I patent an object in Italy and then I show it to a company to commercialize it, can this latter (after refusing my proposal), file the patent abroad in order to get it granted and thereafter exploiting it in Italy and abroad?
- I have produced a particular type of a very beautiful money purse that, after I introduced it at an exhibition in this sector, has roused the interest of many people. I would like to have it patented but I have been told that I can’t as it is now too late, is it true?
- I manufacture a machine for pasta-making factories and, unexpectedly, within a few days, I received first, an action against me for forgery with an invitation to attend a civil hearing, and after one week I received a brochure showing the patent that I would have infringed. Is all of this normal? Shouldn’t I have first been informed of the existence of this patent?
- A friend and I have started producing on our own an object, which before, in order to sell it, we used to buy by a competitor company; at a certain point this company became unapproachable about the supply, and has also increased the prices a lot, but they wrote to us stating that they had a patent. At a first check it really looked that way, but it seems to us that there are other prior equal patents. What can we do to revoke it and continue producing it?
- If I make a prototype of my invention after having filed the application for patent but without having it granted yet, are there some risks? Could others gain advantages by seeing what it looks like?
- I have invented a new system that enables to precisely detect the out of play. How can I realize it? Can the patent be granted all on my name or do I have to half it with whoever makes it?