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A Guide to Patents: Patent Information
Your research and development partner General enquiries Websites of interest Wealth of technical know-howIn today's world of rapid-fire technological change, the company with the competitive edge is usually the one tapped into the latest developments in a given field. Many people tend to think that only large firms with sophisticated research and development departments can afford to stay abreast of new technology. They are unaware of the gold mine of inexpensive, readily available technical know-how waiting to be used at the Patent Office. Patents and patent applications can serve as resource materials—much like trade or research journals. They contain a thorough explanation of a particular technology in language that anyone in the field can understand. The patent document provides a wealth of information: a capsule description of a particular technology; background history of a problem; how the new invention overcomes these problems; a complete description for making the invention; and any conditions under which the invention will not work. Thus, protection for the inventor is only one part of the patent story. By providing information, patents also promote research and development, stimulate the economy and increase the overall level of knowledge of our population. Your research and development partnerWith so much information stored in each patent, it's not surprising that the Patent Office has the largest collection in Canada of current technological know-how from around the world. The CIPO library contains over 1.7 million Canadian patent publications (grants and laid-open applications), most of which are searchable on the website or by doing a search in the CIPO Client Service Centre (CSC). One can also search the more than 6 million U.S. patent publications in the CSC via the USPTO patent document databases. Patent publications from most industrialized countries are also available. It receives more than 40 000 applications annually, covering technologies ranging from biotechnology to disposable diapers. Some of these patents are merely for "end-of-the-line" improvements, but many are important, pioneer inventions that open up whole new fields in technology. Electronics, for example, started with a patent on a vacuum tube. The information in these patents not only covers every conceivable field, but may very well be the most up-to-date information available. That is because patent applications are now generally made public long before patents are granted or refused. Indeed, about 70 percent of the information contained in patents does not appear in any trade journal for at least five years after the patent has been granted. At least 50 percent of this information is never published in mainstream technical literature. An historic example of how patent documents tend to be more current than other publications concerns Hollerith's punched card for computers. A patent was issued on this important invention in 1889, but no other publication told the story until 1914, 25 years later. A prime goal of the Patent Office is to make patent information available to Canadian industries, universities and research centres, to help them keep abreast of innovations. The resources of the Patent Office are especially useful to small and medium-sized businesses which may be unable to conduct their own research and development. In fact, ignoring Patent Office resources could cost you time and money, especially if you end up "reinventing the wheel." Some 10 percent of all research and development in Canada does just that, by duplicating patented technology. A search of the patent literature may prevent this kind of wasted effort. Learning the existing solutions to certain technical problems can also give you ideas for better inventions. In almost any field, some work has already been done somewhere. It makes sense to attack a problem with all the available knowledge at hand. Perhaps the solution to the problem exists in a foreign patent, and you may be able to use it without restriction here in Canada. Patent documents can also reveal trends and sources of new products, show what the competition is doing at home and abroad, and help you find new suppliers, markets or know-how that you can use under licence. Keep in mind that Canada is a net importer of intellectual property, including patents. Of the more than 30 million patents in the world, approximately 1.5 million are Canadian and all are available. Most of the state-of-the-art technology from highly industrialized countries such as the United States, Japan, or Germany comes to Canada via the patent system. Summary of benefits of a patent searchIf you are a business person, researcher, engineer or student, a search through patent documents can help you:
Your competitors may be using the information in patent documents to their advantage. Can anyone afford to ignore it? General enquiriesThe CIPO Client Service Centre supplies information on a variety of subjects such as:
Information Officers provide information on:
Websites of interestCanada Business Note: Several of the above sites will require Adobe's Acrobat Reader, a free multi-platform application. Note: This is just a sample of the sites available. There are many more. A Guide to Patents |
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Last Modified: 2006-11-28 |  |
Important Notices |
