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Patents

What is a patent?

You might discover a new technical solution to an existing problem during a research or design project. You can protect your invention by applying for a patent. This is not free of charge! A patent will stop others from commercially exploiting your invention.

Examples of patents

• Speedo International Ltd. applied for a patent for the swimsuit and goggles of Olympic champion Michael Phelps in over 40 countries worldwide (patent number US2008141431).
  
• For her graduation project in Industrial Design Engineering, Noortje Naber invented and patented a balloon to prevent bleeding during abdominal surgery (patent number EP1954202).
  
• Senz Technologies BV protected their storm-proof asymmetrical umbrella with a worldwide patent, but had to go to court when another umbrella manufacturer made a prototype that Senz considered to be a copy (patent number WO2006132525). They won!

How do you find patents?

You can find patents in patent databases:

• Esp@cenet: over 60 million international patents
• Derwent Innovation Index (only available on campus!): for more advanced search options
• More patent databases can be found through the TU Delft Library website.

The patent will show the patent number, the applicant, the inventor's name, a complete description of the invention, drawings or schemes and claims.

What the patent number can tell you

The patent publication number provides some important information about the patent application. There can be several documents with different numbers for one patent. Look for the patent family to find all the documents related to one invention or claim.

If the patent publication number starts with WO, it means that the patent application was made simultaneously in several countries worldwide through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). If the number starts with EP, the patent application was done at the European Patent Office (EPO). Other numbers start with the code of the country where the patent was submitted.

A suffix to the publication number is used to identify the status of the application. In European patents, for example, A1 means "Publication of application with search report". This is only the patent application! If you want to know whether the patent was actually granted, look for a B status code in EP patents. Beware: in US patents, these codes mean something quite different!

How can you use patents?

You can use patents in any of the following cases:

• to find out how things work
  Note: the fact that a patent has been granted does not mean the invention has been tested!
• to check whether someone else has had the same ideas before you
• to provide inspiration for your own invention or innovation
• to produce or sell an invention that is not patented in the Netherlands
  

When can you apply for a patent?

The patented invention or solution must be:

• New: it may not have been published before. At least some aspect of the solution should be new.
• Inventive: the solution should not be obvious to a subject expert
• Industrially applicable: it can be made or used in some kind of industry.

If you you are planning to apply for a patent, you can consult the TU Delft Valorisation Centre. TU Delft Library can do the necessary literature search to determine whether your invention is patentable.