Defence by patent applications

Patents are normally considered a threat against possible imitators of an idea in a technical field. Sometimes, however, a patent application is not intended to be a threat, but a defence against unfriendly competitors. An early patent application including all conceivable variations and modifications can prevent someone else monopolizing an idea later. Even a dependent patent can put pressure on the owner of a more principal patent. Moreover, some improvements are worth patenting if only to have official confirmation that the improvement was not obvious in the light of an older patent still in force. This prevents some chances of the owner of such an older patent to claim infringement on the grounds of equivalence.

Keywords:

• Patent
• Application
• Publication
• Novelty
• Dependence
• Equivalence
• Invention