IP Introduction – What is special with patents?
Intellectual property (IP) covers a wide range of topics with Copy Right as one of the most common in public perception. Considering IP from an industrial viewpoint protection of technical know-how is more important and companies apply for patents to protect their inventions against imitation. As part of the business of getting inventions patented they have to be laid open in the patent description thus making them part of the technical literature open to the public.
The lecture provides a short description of the patenting process from invention to patent application, publication and finally grant. Further, an overview is given on key issues related to using the patent literature as part of the companies’ information gathering efforts: free and commercial patent databases, patent searching techniques and strategies, results processing and analysis. Illustrative examples will complete the presentation.
