A patent, like a utility model, is an exclusive right granted by the government for an invention. Protected inventions can range from simple things like safety pins to sophisticated items like juice processing machines.
An invention that is
- Novel,
- Inventive, and
- Industrially applicable may be granted using a Patent.
The term of protection for patents is 20 years. In return, applicants are obliged to disclose their inventions to the public in a manner that enables others, skilled in the art, to replicate the invention. The patent system is designed to encourage innovation by providing innovators with time-limited exclusive legal rights, thus enabling them to appropriate the returns from their innovative activity.
For the patent to remain in force the patent holder is required to pay annual maintenance fees.
novelty
Must be new
inventiveness
Original thought
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILTY
Able to be reproduced for commercial benefit
Challenge & Solution
A Utility Model is also known as a petty patent. So if your application is rejected for not being patentable, you still have the choice of registering your ideas under the Utility Model regime
Novelty – the invention must be new