WHAT IS A PATENT?
A patent is a legal right that protects new inventions or
discoveries.
It provides the owner with the legal right to stop others from
making, using, and/or selling the invention for 20 years from the
filing date of the patent application.
Patents are granted by a government patent office, e.g. PRV in
Sweden, or a regional patent office, e.g. the European Patent
Office (EPO). This means they are territorial and will only provide
protection within the jurisdiction of the office/s that has/have
granted the patent.
To obtain a patent, the owner of the invention must file a
patent application. Typically, the owner of an invention is the
inventor or their employer. In Sweden, we have Professor's
privilege which means that Professors and students own their
inventions, and this must be taken into account.
