19. Invention, Intellectual Property & Income

Patent… Invention… Intellectual Property… what's all this?

Let's start from the beginning…

What is intellectual property?

According to the USPTO, Intellectual property (IP) refers to creative works or ideas that are embodied in a form that allows others to duplicate, emulate, or manufacture them.

Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets are diverse sorts of intellectual property.

What is an invention?

An invention is any human creation that allows the transformation of matter into energy that exists in nature for its use by man to satisfy his specific needs.

What is a patent?

A patent grants the creator exclusive rights to their creation. This implies that once you patent an innovation, no one else may produce, use, or sell it without your permission.

So, in Mexico, the law states that the natural person who makes an invention shall have the exclusive right to exploit it for his own benefit, by himself or by others with his consent, through a patent in the case of inventions.

✓

About patenting...

Patentability requirements must be followed:

New
- New: everything that is not in the state of the art; something that has never been created.
- Everything that is not in the state of the art.
- State of the art: the body of technical knowledge that has been made public by means of an oral or written description, by any means of dissemination or information, in the country or abroad.
- WIPO, WIPO > > > Regulators / IMPI (Mexican Institute of Industrial Property) > > > in Mexico.
Are they the result of an inventive activity.
- Inventive activity: a creative process whose results are not deduced from the state of the art in an evident way for a technician in the field; that is not obvious since there was a trial and error process.
- The result cannot be noticed.
- For this reason, it is not obvious.
Be susceptible to industrial applications.
- Industrial application: the possibility that an invention has practical utility or can be used in any branch of economic activity.

Then, you must send your patent application to IMPI, and it must contain the following:

Title of the patent.
Description: Clear and complete description of everything that contributes to the invention, it is made by experts in the field - technician, expert, specialist - so that a third party can carry it out. It is how to carry out the invention.
Drawings: The drawings necessary for comprehension of the explanation.
- To verify that it is of the invention.
Claims: Clear and concise and may not exceed the content of the description (claims). They determine the scope of protection.
- Anything that is put in the description and does not go into the claims, does not protect it and becomes public domain.
- Anything you put in the claims must be supported by the description.
- What is my exclusive right = What I am entitled to.
- Delineate the invention = Essential features of the invention.
- It is what you truly created, what you claim as your own.

This is known as formal examination, since the IMPI will make a review of the compliance in the filing of the application.

How did you patent in another country?

There is the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which is a patent cooperation treaty. It has the following characteristics

Ability to seek protection from many countries at the same time by filing an "international" application.
- Ability to file patents in multiple countries.
There is only one formal examination by the office.
- Less costly and less time-consuming.
Substantive examination in each country.
There is no PCT patent as such; in some countries it can be granted, and in others it cannot.
- Or you get a utility model.

How does it work?

You file a patent application at the National Institute of Industrial Property.
- Example: Loreal patent in Chile.
The application consists of an ink that makes the labile pencil indelible.
The institute will make the examination form.
- Analysis of 4 things: title (not trademark; they are technical), description, drawings, and claims.
When you file the application in the form, you indicate which countries you want.
- For each country, they charge you a small amount in comparison with hiring a lawyer to do the process in each country.
- You choose the number of countries.
When Chile tells WIPO that you have passed the formal examination, WIPO will send an email to each of the offices to which you have applied for a patent.
Each one of the countries performs the substantive examination.
Three requirements are reviewed: novelty, inventiveness, and industrial application.
Some countries may deny you.
You can replicate.

Things you should consider when patenting:

Only inventions are patented.
The inventor must be a natural person.
The patent holder can be a natural person or a legal entity.
A patent provides protection for the invention to the patent holder. Protection is granted for a limited period, usually 20 years.It then enters the public domain.
An invention may be a combination of several existing inventions, but it must have a single inventive concept.

Types of patents:

Process: the process to develop a product is licensed.
Finished product.

Utility Models

It can be formed from objects that are already known, but something can be done with it for another purpose.
Objects, utensils, apparatus, or tools that, as a result of a modification in their arrangement, configuration, structure, or form, present a different function with respect to the parts that integrate it or advantages with respect to their utility.
They depend on something already created; therefore, they cannot be patented.
They last for 10 years.
No inventive activity.

Industrial Designs

They last from 5 years (Mexico) up to 25 years, varies by country.

Of independent creation that differs to a significant degree from known designs or combinations of known characteristics of designs that are already registered, they can be:

Industrial drawings: a combination of figures, lines, and colors. Two-dimensional shapes.
- Paper tapestries, flooring, application interfaces, wheel rims, etc.
Industrial models: three-dimensional forms that will be ornamentation or that will serve as prototypes to produce products with that design. Functionality is not taken into account; it is a mere "casing".
- Formats for...

Note: There was no inventive activity.

About my final project…

What is my dissemination plan?

In the instance of my project, it would apply to a utility model because the mechanisms employed are already present; the only difference is that they are being used for a different purpose.

My innovation would meet the standards of novelty and industrial application, and in a nutshell, it is an enhancement to an already known invention that adds additional value or advantage to the previously existing one.

What are my Future Posibilities?

Partnerships with Toy Companies: Collaborate with toy manufacturers to integrate didactic material into educational toys.
Licensing to Book and Magazine Publishers: Licensing content to educational book and magazine publishers.
Educational Certifications: Obtain certifications from educational organizations that endorse the quality and effectiveness of the material.
Mobile Applications and Educational Games: Develop a mobile application that includes the didactic material. This could incorporate interactive elements such as games, quizzes, and activities that make learning more engaging.
Augmented Reality (AR): Use augmented reality technology to have children interact with colors in a digital environment that overlays information and activities on top of the real world.
Auditory Experience: Include a speaker in the system in order to provide an auditory experience where colors and emotions can be related to everyday sounds such as laughter and ocean waves, among others.
New Modules:Include new modules to create more color combinations and to provide more diversification.