It doesn’t matter which industry your business belongs to, if you invest in research and development, then you have to protect your achievements. One of the most significant and viable ways to ensure that you will be the one to reap the full benefits of your investments is patenting. Remember, an invention is not your own until it is patented but once it’s done, rest assured, nobody will steal the share of your revenues.
Let’s take a closer look at the main reasons why the patent is important for any business.
Patent Safeguard Your Invention
First of all, a patent is important simply because it ensures the protection of your invention regardless of whether it is a product, a design, or a process. If your invention meets certain criteria in terms of originality and utility, a patent will safeguard it for up to 20 years and in so many countries as you want. In other words, you will get a monopoly and other individuals or companies won’t be able to create similar products within the same scope. This monopoly on your own idea embodied in a certain product or service is what experts call the gold standard of IP protection.
Patent Helps Your Business Grow
A patent can help every company build market share and margins. Let’s take one very popular example that is usually used to explain the benefits of obtaining patients. We all know that Apple’s iPhone is far from being the most sold product on a global scale. In fact, it has a very small piece of the international smartphone market pie. However, we also know that it captures the great bulk of the market’s profit just because people behind the brand were really quick to patent everything they could.
Well, they obviously had excellent lawyers that knew exactly how to develop a viable strategy and protect their client’s inventions. Of course, Apple is not the only company that has made the most of patent legal advice, there are a myriad of such examples, from giants like Amazon to family enterprises you have never heard about. The point is when you have something that can be used by other people, you can make a heck of a lot of money and grow your market share far beyond your expectations, but only under one condition – if you get your invention patented.
Patent Defends Your Market Share
Did you know that the now omnipresent “one-click” purchase system was patented by Amazon? Well, you probably did. Anyway, it won’t be an exaggeration to state that it was a historical move, which enabled Amazon to become an indisputable leader in online retailing. Some companies tried to copy this process for their own use but without success – Amazon sued them, filed a patent infringement suit against them, to be precise, so the retailing behemoth still enjoys a huge competitive edge over all other competitors in the market.
Patent Provides New Sources Of Revenues
And more than that. Patents can help your business secure financing and significantly reduce its cost of capital, and if you didn’t know that, the world sees patent-secured financing as a huge trend already. If you have a decent patented invention, finding the necessary funds for your future projects is getting much easier. Why? Simply because lenders gladly lower the cost of capital in the cases when the loans are supported by the company’s most valuable assets, and those nowadays are nothing but intellectual assets.
When it comes to the new sources of revenues, they are mainly generated from licensing of a patient to non-competing companies. Believe it or not, many businesses today have way bigger profits from patent licensing than from their primary activities. And it does make perfect sense – you have invested plenty of money and efforts in your brainchild and now it’s time to reap the benefits. Of course, before being ready to license your product or service to third parties, you should consider plenty of things, review your business goals, and negotiate the best possible deal.
All renowned experts agree that in today’s marketplace, being IP-aware is of the utmost importance for every business. With a viable patent strategy, you will not only be able to keep competition at bay but also grow your business, expand and defend your market share, as well as find new sources of revenue. Do not let others take over your brilliant ideas and benefit from years of your hard work and hefty investments. Do not miss your chance to get the reward you really deserve.
