| Why are patents important for
protecting ideas?
To understand why patent protection should be sought by a company or
individual one must first understand what ideas are subject to patent
protection. A company can protect its intellectual property by obtaining
patent protection for certain ideas. “Whoever invents or discovers any
new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter
or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent
therefore.” The term “useful” means that the subject matter of the
patent has a useful purpose. A process is a method of treatment of
certain materials to produce a given result. Certain software programs
may be considered patentable processes. A machine “is a concrete thing,
consisting of parts or of certain devices and combinations of devices.”
A manufacture is “the production of articles for use from raw or
prepared materials by giving these materials new forms, qualities,
properties or combinations, whether by hand labor or by machinery.” A
composition of matter is a composition of two or more substances and may
be in any state of matter (i.e. gas, liquid, powder, or solid).
A company or individual may try to protect any of the above ideas and
gain a competitive advantage over others. Some companies try to gain
patent protection for every reasonably conceivable software method for
completing a process. The patents may then be used to generate a revenue
stream, by requiring competitors to license the process or risk
litigation. In this example, the company is using the patent in an
offensive manner.
Patents may also be used in a defensive manner. For example, obtaining
even one process patent may deter competitors from entering a market.
The patents may also be used to defend against others claiming exclusive
rights to a process.
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