What is a patent?
A patent is an exclusive right that provides you the right to prohibit others from utilising your invention commercially.
Commercial utilisation means for example manufacturing, selling, using, or importing a product. Patents protect intellectual property in the same way as fences, locks and insurances protect your material property. However, a patent does not automatically give the owner the right to utilise the invention commercially, as the owner may need permits granted by other authorities or by owners of other patents. You can sell your patent or license someone to commercially utilise the patented invention.
For how long?
A patent is in force in the countries where it has been applied for and granted. In Finland, patents are granted by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH). The European Patent Office (EPO) also has the right to grant European patents that are valid in Finland. The patent is in force for a limited period of time, usually no longer than for 20 years from the filing date of the application. To keep a patent in force, you have to pay annual fees.
Read more about how to apply for a national patent in Finland.
Read more about the European patent.
Patent fees and their payment.
Why patents?
Patents are a way to make inventions public. A patent is an exchange between the inventor and society: you disclose your invention to a patent authority and agree that it is made public after a period of time, normally 18 months from filing the application (the filing date). Provided the invention meets the legal requirements, you will be given the exclusive right to the invention for a certain period of time.
What kind of inventions can be patented?
To be patentable, an invention must
- be new
- involve an inventive step
- be industrially applicable.
Novelty
An invention must be new in relation to what was public knowledge before the date of filing your patent application. A patent is not granted if your invention represents old, previously known technology. We advise you not to disclose your invention publicly before filing a patent application, as revealing the invention – even by the inventor – makes it prior art.
Inventive step
Your invention must involve an inventive step to be judged substantially different from all that was public knowledge before the filing date of the application. The difference is not allowed to be so trivial that the invention is obvious to a person skilled in the art.
Industrial applicability
Patentable inventions must be technological in nature, and they must solve a technical problem. The subject matter may be a process, method, device, product, or a new way to use existing ones. Consequently, an idea or a theory alone cannot be patented. The description of the invention in the patent application must include adequate information for a person skilled in the art in the relevant technical field to carry out the invention. The invention, i.e. the technical solution, must also be repeatable. The word “industrial" should be given a wide meaning: besides regular industrial fields, it includes fields such as trade, horticulture and fishing.
The following, as such, are not regarded as inventions:
- discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods
- aesthetic creations
- schemes, rules and methods for performing mental acts, playing games or doing business
- programs for computers, or presentations of information
- methods for surgical or therapeutic treatment or diagnostic methods, practiced on humans or animals.
None of the above can be patented, but related inventions can, if the invention is technological in nature.
More information:
Patent guide in Finnish: Patenttiopas
Our patent manual in Finnish: Patenttikäsikirja
Protect your invention
If you want to exploit your idea and invention in an effective way, you should protect it using legal tools. The purpose of patents is to make information about inventions public. In return, a patent gives the inventor the exclusive right to exploit the invention for a period of time.
If you anticipate that your product will only be on the market for a short time, you might want to protect it by keeping it secret. Toys and fashion phenomena are such inventions. Keeping the Coca-Cola formula secret is based on the idea that it is not easy to copy the product.
However, the worst scenario is that secrecy will harm the commercial exploitation of the product. Moreover, it is possible that someone else comes up with the same idea, and a product based on your idea will be patented. You should therefore be aware that secrecy only works in certain cases.
Advantages and profitability
Patents often deal with new technical solutions that may require a lot of development work. For example, pharmaceutical research is very expensive, and the life span of medicines on the market is often long, which is why it is profitable to invest in a patent. When pondering whether you should apply for a patent, you should weigh up the potential yields against the patenting costs.
A patent may give you advantages in many different areas:
- Marketing
Patents are important to your marketing because they put “an innovative label" on your product, which may increase its value. - Value of your business
Patents are used as one factor when assessing how much a business is worth. - Attractiveness to investors
Capital investors do not normally invest in businesses that do not have an appropriate patent strategy. - Source of income
Licence fees can be an important source of income to your business. - Strategic benefit
Patents are an integral part of a business’s IPR strategy, together with other forms of protection such as the design right and trademark.
Choose the right protection form
The following can also be protected: the appearance of a product or a part of it (design right), or a trade symbol for your business’s products (trademark). The statutory right to a literary or artistic work is in force without any separate application (copyright).
Our patent experts are ready to advise you about how to protect your invention. For example:
- Does a design right protect my innovation better than a patent?
- What does a patent really protect if it is difficult to figure out the manufacturing method from the end product?
- How much does patenting my invention cost?
- When is a utility model better than a patent?