Patent Attorney: securing and defending your inventions

Patent attorneys and the protection of inventions

Patent attorneys are involved at every stage of a patent’s lifecycle.

Drafting, filing and follow-up of patents

Their duties include:

• drafting the claims (a key element of the patent);
• managing the filing with national or European offices;
• following up on procedures and responding to examiners.

Poor drafting can significantly reduce the scope of protection, or even jeopardise the grant or validity of the patent.

Prior art search and patentability

Before any filing, it is essential to assess patentability.

Analysis of technical and legal risks

The patent attorney carries out:

• an in-depth prior art search;
• an analysis of the risk of conflict with existing patents;
• a strategic assessment of the protection.

More than 80% of the world’s technical information is published in patent databases.

A medical-sector SME avoided a costly dispute (estimated at EUR 250,000) thanks to a prior analysis carried out by a patent attorney.

Patent defence and the fight against counterfeiting

The role of the patent attorney does not stop at filing.

Protection and enhancement of rights

They also intervene in cases of:

• counterfeiting;
• technical disputes;
• licence negotiations.

Key facts:

• A well-planned strategy can reduce this risk by 40%

• The average cost of an intellectual property infringement lawsuit in Europe can exceed €500,000

A French company detected a copy of its product in Asia. Thanks to its patent attorney, it was able to negotiate a licensing agreement generating more than EUR 300,000 in additional revenue.