Say you’ve started a business to sell an ingenious invention of your own design, or you’re working on that million-dollar idea. You know no one has ever devised a product like this before and you also know that the second it hits the market, copycats will start making knockoffs of your hard work. This is where patents can come in to save your business idea.

But that’s not to say patents can guarantee protection from copycats. Take Bitten Design, for example. “We own the worldwide patent for the mustache pacifier, but if you go and look on the internet and type in ‘mustache pacifier,’ there’s a load of copies,” says Al Cuttell, Bitten Design co-founder. The Bitten team believes that legally stopping the dozens of companies copying their products isn’t possible.

“We don’t want to spend time in such a negative way,” Al says. “We look at other companies who copy our products and sometimes it’s actually quite nice, because you realize that you’ve done something good that other people want.”

A patent is a legal document granted by a government authority that gives an inventor exclusive rights to make, use, sell, and distribute an invention for a certain period of time, typically 20 years from the filing date of the application. This exclusive right is intended to incentivize innovation by allowing inventors to potentially recoup their investment in research and development.

1. Novelty: The invention must be new and not known to the public before the filing date of the patent application.
   
2. Non-Obviousness: The invention must not be obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the field related to the invention.
   
3. Utility: The invention must be useful and have some practical application.

• Utility Patents: For new and useful processes, machines, manufactures, or compositions of matter.
  
• Design Patents: For new, original, and ornamental designs for an article of manufacture.
  
• Plant Patents: For new and distinct, invented, or discovered asexually reproduced plants.

• Utility Patents: For new and useful inventions or discoveries of a process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement thereof.
  
• Design Patents: For new, original, and ornamental designs for an article of manufacture.
  
• Plant Patents: For new and distinct, invented, or discovered asexually reproduced plant varieties

• Novelty: The invention must be new and not known to the public before the filing date of the patent application.
  
• Non-obviousness: The invention must not be obvious to someone with ordinary skill in the relevant field.
  
• Utility: The invention must be useful and have some practical application.
  
• Patentable Subject Matter: The invention must fall into a category eligible for patent protection (e.g., not an abstract idea or a natural phenomenon).

• Idea Conception: Develop a detailed description of the invention, including drawings if necessary.
• Patent Search: Conduct a search to ensure the invention is novel and not already patented.
• Preparation of Application: Prepare a detailed patent application, including a written description of the invention (specification), claims defining the scope of protection sought, and any necessary drawings.
• Filing the Application: Submit the patent application to the relevant patent office (e.g., the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the USA).
• Examination: The patent office reviews the application to ensure it meets all legal requirements. This may involve correspondence between the examiner and the applicant, known as office actions.
• Grant or Rejection: If the application meets all criteria, the patent is granted. If not, it can be rejected, but the applicant often has the opportunity to amend and resubmit the application.

• Utility Patents: Typically last 20 years from the filing date.
  
• Design Patents: Usually last 15 years from the grant date.
  
• Plant Patents: Last for 20 years from the filing date.
  To maintain a utility patent, periodic maintenance fees are required. Design and plant patents do not have maintenance fees.

A patent grants the patent holder the exclusive right to:

• Make the invention.
• Use the invention.
• Sell the invention.
• Import the invention into the country.

• Enforcement: It is the patent holder’s responsibility to enforce their patent rights. This typically involves monitoring for infringement and taking legal action if necessary.
  
• Infringement: Occurs when someone makes, uses, sells, or imports the patented invention without permission. The patent holder can sue for damages and seek injunctions to stop the infringing activities.