Importance Of Patent Laws

By Sarah Walter

A patent gives an inventor exclusive legal rights on his invention and also for the process of manufacture that his invention would require. It has a significant role to play in the commercial world as it promotes innovative ideas and innovations.

When a person invents a novel and exclusive product that can be sold for a profit, he would not want others to take advantage of his creation, and the time and efforts invested in it. However, it is often difficult to protect your invention from all the unscrupulous people, as you might need to trust and discuss it with others for testing its viability and marketing prospects. It is here that patent laws step into the picture.

Patent laws enable the inventor to make exclusive use of the invention or the manufacturing process for a stipulated period and then allow the product or process to pass into the pubic domain where it can be accessed by anyone for any purpose. This enables the inventor to get significant returns on his efforts in a lawful way and also to prosecute any person who is found violating his rights over the product or the process.

Another factor that adds to the importance of patents is that they aid the inventor license out his invention for a good return, as most licensees are willing to invest in exclusive rights over a product. However, given the legal processes involved in filing and being granted a patent, they are not essential for products that are not commercially viable or are meant to be sold for a very limited span.

The true importance of patents lies in a situation where the inventor had to work hard and use his expertise to develop an exclusive product that has some commercial benefit and can be successfully mass produced. Had such investments in terms of time and energy not been given legal protection, there would have been no real benefit for people to come up with novel ideas and inventions. - 31397

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