For a company, innovation means renewal. Inventions bring new perspectives. It’s a guarantee of economic dynamism and attractiveness. It is in the company’s interest to apply for a patent: to acquire a monopoly, and exploit it to the full without fear of infringement. A freedom-to-operate study produced by an industrial property attorney enables you tostudy the anteriority of patents that may exist on the invention. Here are 3 good reasons to carry out such a study before starting your formalities withINPI.
1 – Make sure you’re not infringing an existing patent
The patent application consists of a procedure before the INPI. A set of documents, including a description of the invention, are submitted to the examiner. On the basis of the elements submitted, the applicant and the examiner exchange arguments. If the examiner is satisfied with the description of the invention, the patent is granted.
Did you know?
The patent holder has a 20-year monopoly. The invention must be new, and not obvious to a person skilled in the art.
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In France, current patent law (January 2019) does not require inventive step criteria for the issuance of an industrial property title.
2020 : The criterion of inventive step is now required for a patent to be granted. The industrial property title should be more difficult to obtain, but for better international recognition.
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2 – You can oppose the granting of a patent that interferes with your work
During the examination phase of a patent, the INPI examiner may receive observations from third parties. These documents provide additional information that could cast doubt on the patent application. It may be invalidated or limited.
By carrying out a freedom-to-operate study in advance, you can identify a competitor’s patent application which, if granted, could prevent you from exploiting your invention. You can then try to have it rejected or limited so as to have a free field.
3 – You carry out the right procedures to exploit the invention and continue your company’s development.
What should you do if you realize that your solution has already been granted a patent? A freedom-to-operate study carried out by an industrial property professional will tell you which technical points are precisely common.
If you consider the patent to be valid, and therefore do not wish to bring an action for invalidity before the Tribunal de Grande Instance, this is a springboard for you, as you will be able to judge in concrete terms which avenues to pursue in your research & development work in order to continue innovating to circumvent the patent.
At the same time, if you need to use an invention that has already been patented, for example to market a product, you can contact the owner of the patent. The owner can either assign the patent to you, or grant you a license to use it.
- Read more: Can you protect a business project?
Along with the customized patentability study, the freedom-to-operate study is one of the searches that should be carried out before starting patent filing procedures. The process of obtaining a patent takes time and money(see our patent cost simulator). It is therefore advisable to optimize the formalities and ensure their success with the advice of an industrial property expert.
