Question: What is a patent?
Answer:A patent is a type of enforceable legal protection for intellectual property, namely new inventions and ideas. A patent confers exclusive rights on the owner or creator of the new invention, which allows them to exploit the invention for commercial purposes and to generate revenue. To be eligible for a patent your invention must be a device, substance, method or process, which is new, inventive and useful. The ‘newness’ of the patent is important in the registration process, if a similar idea already exists or has been registered then you will not be able to patent it. Also, if you’ve discussed your invention or idea with others it may not be regarded as ‘new’. It is therefore very important to speak to a patent attorney as soon as you start thinking about protecting your new idea.
