What is a patent? A patent is a government granted intellectual property right relating to inventions. A patent provides rights to those who invent new or improved devices, materials or processes. A patent may be obtained by drafting and filing a patent application with the patent office in the country in which protection is sought. The grant of a Canadian patent gives the patent owner the exclusive right to make, use, and sell the invention defined in the patent in Canada for a period of 20 years from the filing date of the patent application.

The Law Office of Sean Langan has considerable expertise in a wide range of scientific and engineering disciplines, including mechanical, civil, environmental, electrical and computer/software engineering. Our patent services include:

• Comprehensive patent searching services
• Patentability, infringement and validity opinions
• Patent application drafting and filing services in Canada, the United States and throughout the world
• Right to use opinions
• Patent portfolio management and maintenance fee payments
• Drafting and negotiating license agreements
• State of the Art and competitor intelligence searches
• Patent litigation and enforcement proceedings before the Federal Court of Canada

Is my invention patentable? To be considered patentable, an invention must be novel, unobvious and useful. An invention lacks novelty if it has been made available to the public anywhere in the world prior to the filing date of the Canadian patent application. However, a one-year grace period is provided in the Patent Act if the first public disclosure of the invention was made by the inventor. Obviousness is assessed in view of the skilled worker in the field of the invention based on the common general knowledge available at the relevant time. An invention will not be patentable if it would have been obvious to the skilled worker in the field of the invention. Lastly, the invention must have utility in a commercial or industrial sense. Inventions which that require certain mental or manual skills (such as the fine arts) are not patentable, but may be subject to other forms of intellectual property protection.

I own and operate a small manufacturing business. Why should I pursue patent protection for my new device? The exclusivity provided by a patent is extremely valuable to small and medium sized businesses. Once a patent has been granted, the patent owner has a complete monopoly over the practical application of the invention. This monopoly will enable you to prevent your competitors from using the invention for a period of 20 years. Alternatively, you may choose to license the patented device to your competitors and collect royalty revenue.

What happens if I don't patent my new device? An inventor is not required to seek patent protection before they put their invention into practice. However, with the exception of a one-year grace period in Canada and the United States, once the invention is made public (i.e. used in public), the inventor will be unable to prevent competitors from using the invention immediately.