What is Patent?

Patent is an exclusive right to appropriate an invention.

Patent is often considered a luxury to a small and midsize business. More often than not, you find out about the importance of patents after someone accuses you of a patent infringement. It could be a cease and desist letter or a service of process.

Without an understanding of how patent works, you will never know if you are safe from patent lawsuits.

The problem with a patent lawsuit is that it’s so expensive that most small businesses can’t afford it. What happens then? You enter into a settlement agreement to avoid going to the courthouse. In fact, this can be cheaper than winning the lawsuit after costly legal proceedings.

Even worse, it could happen that:

  • you actually came up with the idea yourself, but didn’t apply for a patent;
  • you have no idea what are the infringing activities that the patent owner claims, or
  • the patent is just bogus (e.g. it’s a standard technique in your industry).

Read more and avoid expensive mistakes for your business!

By Youngsik Jeon, Esq.

J.D. Chicago-Kent College of Law; Georgia & Illinois Bar Member; USPTO Registered Patent Attorney