Both in Spain and in the rest of the world there are people who, at some point in their life, have a brilliant idea. The problem is that you can't talk about it without someone stealing it from you. In fact, it wouldn't be the first time; there are many cases in the history of the world of people who have stolen the patent from others simply because they have trusted and talked before carrying out the paperwork.
Therefore, if you have an idea, or think that it may be the case, you should know how to protect it legally, thus preventing other people outside of you from getting ahead of you and stepping on the idea. Do you want to know how? Today we explain how to patent an idea.
What is a patent
According to the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, a patent is "A title that recognizes the right to exclusively exploit an invention, preventing others from manufacturing, selling or using it without the owner's consent".
This means that a patent is a title that shows that you are the owner of that idea or brand that is being registered, and that this applies in a certain country (or worldwide if it has been requested internationally).
Currently, it is the only way an inventor has to protect his ideas and at the same time to market with them.
Can anything be patented?
When it comes to patenting an idea, we must tell you that not everything is capable of doing so. In other words, there are a number of requirements that you must meet for your idea to be patentable.
These are:
- Make it totally new. You need that what has occurred to you is not done already, that it be something totally original.
- That it is inventive, that is, that it is not something that anyone can invent.
- That is not abstract. And also that it can come true.
That implies that, if it is a scientific theory, a mathematical method, a rule, a formula to study, even a computer program, you will not be able to patent it. Only in the latter case is there a similar system to patent, but the normal thing is that the programs do not have a patent registry.
However, an improvement or improvement of a product could be patentable.
Where to patent an idea
In Spain, there are two organizations where you can patent an idea. These are:
- The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, known by its acronym OEPM. Manages intellectual property rights on patents and utility models, distinctive signs and designs.
- The Intellectual Property Registry. It is in charge of patents that have to do with literary and artistic works.
Depending on the type of idea you want to protect, you should go to one place or another. In the second case, the steps are much easier since after paying the fees and requesting it, in just a few days it will be patented and the right to that work will be legitimately recognized.
What do I need to patent an idea
Now that you know where you should go to patent an idea in Spain, you need to know what else you need to patent. Specifically, you must go with:
A patent application
You can get this at the OEPM. But, in addition, it must contain the applicant's data, description of the idea, plans, drawings, sketches ... in short, everything necessary to evaluate that patent and to be able to carry out a prior examination to accept or deny the application.
Pass a pre-test
If the documentation you submit is accepted, then the next step will be to set a filing date. That day you will have to come and present the idea itself, so that they can evaluate it. In fact, a prior examination to verify that everything is really okay.
Patent application in other countries
At the same time that the idea is being tested, you can consider applying for the patent in other countries, to protect you internationally. When it is something that can change the world, it is advisable to carry out this procedure, no matter how expensive it may be, since the benefits are going to be greater than that cost.
Search report to patent an idea
Before accepting the patent, the corresponding entity will carry out a search for ideas that are similar to yours, in order to see if there is already something patented that invalidates your process.
Publication
After 18 months of the patent application, the competent administration will make your patent public, and during 6 months you can decide if you go ahead with it (and in how many countries do you do it) or you give up.
If you do the latter, the process will be finished at that point, and you will lose the patent right (since you have not reached the end).
Thorough examination
If you go ahead to patent an idea, then the next step will be to put your idea to the test in front of three examiners who will thoroughly test it to see if it is actually patent-eligible. To do this, you must comply with the requirements that are requested according to the European Patent Convention.
The last step to patent an idea
If you pass the previous in-depth examination, then a notice will be published in the Official Gazette of Intellectual Property (BOPI) of the OEPM making the patent effective from that same day.
Does a patent last forever?
Unfortunately not. The patent alone will protect your idea for a period of 20 years. The first of those years has international protection (extendable for 18 more months if you request it through the Patent Cooperation Treaty). After that time, the patent will expire.
In addition, you must bear in mind that you have to protect the patent, and that implies paying annual fees that go up as time passes. For example, the last year of the patent you would have to pay about 600 euros.
How much does it cost to patent an idea
Another important point that you should keep in mind when patenting an idea is that this process is not free. And not cheap either.
In order to apply for a patent, it is also necessary to pay official fees, which go up year after year. At the moment, the price for that patent application fee is approximately 75 euros.
To this you owe add the Report on the State of the Art, that is to say, a document in which a descriptive memory of the idea is made with all the data that is needed. And it is not cheap, since it can cost around 700 euros.
In case you want a international patent application, you will have to pay another 75 euros more, and more than 1200 euros in relation to a new international expert report.