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ARTICLE · 09 NOVEMBER 2022

What You Need To Know About Patent's Mechanics

BCF Business Law
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Entrepreneurs will sometimes say that they have "registered their invention" or obtained a patent to "protect a product against copies".

CanadaIntellectual Property
Jean-Sébastien Brière
Jean-Sébastien Brière
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Entrepreneurs will sometimes say that they have "registered their invention" or obtained a patent to "protect a product against copies". However, these two comments indicate a misperception of what a patent is and how it can be used to create value for an innovative company.

In other words, these comments indicate a misunderstanding of the patent's mechanics.

A patent is a legal document issued by the State which grants its holder certain exclusive rights regarding a given "technical territory". Hence, no product is protected as such but rather a combination of technical specifications defining the extent of this "technical territory" with reserved access.

By protecting a combination of technical specifications giving a market value to a product or raising interest and commercial success, the patentee gets a monopoly extending beyond his product: this monopoly will not only allow him to avoid being copied but will limit the marketing of alternative and

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