Patent is a form of Intellectual Property Right (IPR). The IPR refers to any work or product of human creativity. It can include inventions; works related to literature and arts; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Intellectual Property Rights like patents are given to promote creativity and help the creators earn recognition or financial benefit out of what they have created. This system of recognition and reward helps in encouraging further innovations.
A patent grants exclusive rights for an invention. That means, the inventor, who is the patent owner, can decide whether or not to allow others to use his / her invention. If the inventor doesn’t allow, he can exploit it and make products out of it or using it and sell them. If the patent owner decides that other can use his creation for a specified time, he will have to confer the right as well as the needed technical information in the publicly available published patent document. In that case, he will be compensated fairly for others use his “work” to make benefit out of it. Patent protection prevents unauthorised and fraudulent use of the patented technology by any parties. Thus, patents are concrete concepts and are important in our daily lives.
If an individual manages to get a patent for any invention he has made, he has exclusive rights over it. That means he has 100 percent right over it and can allow or deny others from using it. If he doesn’t allow the company to use it, the company can’t use the invention. If he allows, that will be for a specified time, and a fair financial reward.
Reference
World Intellectual Property Organization. “What is Intellectual Property?” wipo.int . n.d.
< http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/> 16 Nov. 2014.
