Foreign nationals can apply for patents in other countries. But each patent is only valid in the country where you got it granted, so a US patent doesn't protect you in Japan, or vice versa. You have to apply for protection in the countries where you hope to sell the invention.

It's expensive no matter where you apply.

... Thank you very much for the message ... , Dear James Demers ....

Well, I feel for your disappointment. You must feel very unhappy. :-(

Did you made sure that you are not allowed to represent yourself instead of using a patent attorney in your country? I am surprised that this is not an option. Probably the office did not provide you with all options.

Another point is the one made previously. You have to choose a country for seeking protection of your IP rights where you know that you can promote your patent rights.

You have to have the knowledge and the skills how to do that. Most of the time, you can learn about that by yourself and there is no easy way. Alternatively, you can hire a patent attorney (as you said, they may be very expensive and you pay for each one of the services as it goes and sometimes the practical service for getting money from your invention requires more than hiring of patent attorney).

Another point is to look into so name Intellectual Property Venture companies that are working with commercial quantities and they maybe able to offer you some deal but I would stay away from them.

You can start learning about IP rights and see how you can help yourself. That's one of the options in case you want to progress further.

Good Luck.

Thank you very much for the answer Dear Viara Van Raad ... ,

I see You are the specialist of the Patent law ...

Yes, I am disappointed... , I gave much time for my patents and ... I lose them all without any bonus ... , however I paid much money (as for me ...) to apply them ...

But You are right ... - I have checked now ... , since 20 February 2019 we have a new law ... - there is possibility to apply self ... , even by internet ... , but prices are still horrible , You may check there:

https://uprp.pl/uprp/_gAllery/79/19/79191/Rozporzadzenie_Rady_Ministrow_dotyczace_oplat_z_2016_r._poz._1623.pdf

And I still don't understand why ... ? , ... what is the reason ... ? (patent officers check again patents every year, month, week or daily ... ?)

Why patent protection is without time limit ... ?

In past I had to pay to patent attorney = officer ... - only he could represent me by patent office ... .

When I wanted get a grant from government - I had to give all ownership to them ... .

When I worked in corporation I had to patent all ideas only by corpo-attorney and I had two possibilities: I wouldn't require more than 5 000 $ for ownership or ... I would give up all money ... , but keeping my name in patent as the author ...

Now I still think prices are a barier for a single innovator ... , I think it would cost maximum 50 $ ... - the government should earn money from taxes of new products ...

Best Regards ...

Just some general remarks to understand the whole patent process and its players and stakeholders.

* First of all, the European patent convention states that residents of European contracting states are not obliged to be represented by a patent attorney when filing a European patent application: https://www.epo.org/law-practice/legal-texts/html/epc/2016/e/ar133.html.

* Second, be aware that there is a difference between a) the inventor, b) the patent owner, c) the representative and d) the business relations. A patent is a 'monopoly' right that gives a patent owner, when he (himself) or one of his employees invents something, to commercialize or to license the invention. In the case that the inventor works for a research company or a university, his employment contract determines that every invention will be owned by the employer.

However, a patent is only a 'legal' paper that should represent/protect a product or method (in other words a 'business'). Otherwise said, a patented invention that is not commercialized is a bad thing. You'll need to set-up a businees or to find business partners. However, a patent office grants the patent, but the responsability is in hands of the owner who can keep his patent during 20 years valid when he pays the renewal fees every year. So, when the patent owner doesn't succeed to commercialize his product/method, the cost to keep the patent alive keeps on running and without ROI! Very often is the inventor not the business man but an intelligent scientist and is the patent owner a business man but has no legal experience to write a patent. It is a matter of bringing these stakeholders together. Knowing that a patent is a technical/scientific text that has to be written in a way that it covers more than what is really invented :)))) , therefore, the role of a patent attorney is to discuss with the inventor and to analyze the invention in a legal way. What can be protected in your country (because patent procedures are different in many countries) and how can we cover as much as possible. Finally, in order to heat up the business relations, you'll need a strong and reliable protection. Again, a good invention is not always patented in a strong way which is required to make strong deals.

* At last, many countries try to stimulate innovation by giving financial support. Keep informed about the modalities and the conditions in your country how to get subsided for your innovations.

The patent law is still based on nineteenth-century international conventions, although there are recent ones that carry the same logic. Could it be that all aspects of intellectual property law should be updated to a new concept to better protect the interests of inventors and society as a whole?

How good and effective? What do you mean by good and what do you mean by effective? There lies the real question. WHAT is the purpose of patent law in your country? To facilitate foreign investment? To reward inventors? To allow a country to sign up to TRIPS? To improve the long term standard of living of the citizens OR the short term? To keep mad inventors happy? For my part, I see patent law as a means to encourage investors in new technology to risk their money. For countries other than the US, national patent laws have little effect in this regard. So, for such countries, stringent patent laws function to support foreign investors. Seen that way, they function in one of three ways (i) to encourage foreign investment; (ii) to get new technology into the country quickly; or (iii) to gain access for local technology-poor products to the markets of technology-rich countries.

I agree with Mr Cockbain, national patent applications are often used as priorities to extend waiting for Investments by business angels or crowd funding opportunities which is I think not wrong. However not many isolated inventors are able to succeed unfortunately. On the other hand TTO use the national patent systems to gain time for gathering empirical data as background for worldwide protection.

Dear Nico Deconinck ,

Thank you very much for the answer and for the messages .

Sorry, but as the inventor I can't agree with several rules in the European patent convention like:

- "there is a difference between a) the inventor, b) the patent owner, c) the representative and d) the business relations" .... - an inventor should be in application considered as the only owner ... , without another possibility ... , later he could sell it ... , ... if all costs of applying would be maximum 50 $ he wouldn't need any representative or business relations ...

- " a company or a university in an employment contract can determine that every invention will be owned by the employer " ... - why ? , ... an employee is a slave ... ? , ... and has no law to his own invention ... ? , ... so kind of contract should be forbidden ... , if the employer wants the invention - let him find it out self ... , even better ... , naturally he could have a possibility to buy it as the first during a few next months, but the price should be accepted by the owner-inventor ...

- " a patented invention that is not commercialized is a bad thing. You'll need to set-up a business or to find business partners" ... - why ... ? , ... if an inventor doesn't accept eventually offered conditions , why he must lose his private property ... ? , ... it is not a Bolshevism ... ? , ... and why the owner-inventor must pay every year for the same ... ? , ... and why the protection has been max only for 20 years ... ? , ... imagine Yourself please a situation ... : ... You have built a house - why You must buy it from any office again ... , and moreover - You must pay every year again for it ... , … and You may live in it only 20 years - it is the normal situation ... ? , … if the patent protection would be without time limit, a concurrent would need to find out a new patent … - what would create a free market of patents … , because where is not a patent, which couldn’t be replaced by another, often better one …

I think that in the European patent convention the officers and patent-attorneys have too big role to play ... , and the role of a free market of patents is just destroyed ...

In Poland the financial support is given by NCN and NCBiR but only to government institutes and for universities ... , but most of them (even 70 % ...) to those in Warsaw (where is the government base ... ) and in Kraków (where is the base of NCN and NCBiR ... )

The best financial support for inventors would be, when all cost of patent applying would be max 50 $ and patent protection would be without time limit ... , it would appear the free market of patents … , would be a lot of patents … , the industry would roll up …

Best Regards ...

Dear Julian Cockbain ,

Thank you very much for the answer ... ,

but I am afraid that Your way of thinking just justify the patent law which really doesn’t protect innovators, but it protects the business of corporations ...

Naturally the inventors which believe that finally will get money for their work and will be able to keep their intellectual private property for a very long time ... - may be considered as the "mad inventors" ... , but justifying the system which makes shorter terms of protection of patents (and steals the inventors) by sentence: " To keep mad inventors happy? " shows me a man, which makes money in the patent business ...- so I am glad that You have interested in question I had given ...

For me, as the inventor, the patent law is good when protects the intellectual private property of the inventors and is effective when cause an increase of the number of patents by protection of the free patent market ...

It is the role of governments to roll up the industry by creating the best conditions for introducing patents into the industry, but with respect for the intellectual private property of the inventors and without privileges for corporations which make possibilities to steal patents ...

Best Regards ...

Dear Mr Murawski. Thanks for your reply. I understand your concerns as an inventor. When you are a sole inventor, you deceide alone what will happen with your invention and thus your patent. Very often in alle research team, there are many inventors. So what? Secondly many inventors do not have the financial means. Third like I said many inventors are not business men... Patents should protect inventions, which should be novel. In order to stimulate innovation the scope of protection is precisely limited geographicaly but also in time. This offers the opportunity for competitors to gain freedom to operate but also to progress with technology trends and to reinvent. This is the difference between patents and copyright for artists.

Dear Mr Murawski

We are actually speaking on the same page. What I described is what patent law IS, not what it should be. To move from what is to what should be requires political action in your own country. Since individual inventors tend to have little if any political clout, the chances of improving things seem a tad low - this, however, doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. However, absent a national inventor with major political heft, or one with a Nobel-sized invention, you can sadly expect to be seen as a voice in the wilderness.

Best regards

Julian

Patent law is a very narrow specialty (a skill set I do not have). In fact, it is one of the few areas in US law that requires admission to a separate bar.

And defining a "good" law is awfully subjective!

Dear Nico Deconinck ,

Thank you very much for the answer - I strongly appreciate it ...

You have written:

-" Very often in alle research team, there are many inventors. So what? " ... , I think that the scientific researcher way should consist of: experiment (report), empirical formulas (scientific papers), theory with theoretical formulas (a scientific monograph), patent as the optimised case of the theory and an introduction the patent into the industry ... , so as You see, every researcher should be an inventor ... and I think that he can't be considered as a slave ... , for every work he made he should be honestly paid ... , so contract determining that every invention will be owned by an employer should be forbidden ... , the employer could have a possibility to buy it as the first during a few next months, but the price should be accepted by the owner-inventor ...

- " Secondly many inventors do not have the financial means. " ... , I think that it is the role of governments to keep scientific institutes and universities to roll up the science ... , but a government can't require contracts determining that every invention will be owned by the government-employer ... , not in the State of Law ... , naturally in so kind of State, private scientific institutes and universities also should have a possibility to roll up the science ... , but with the same condition ...

- " many inventors are not business men... " ... with all respect, but You are wrong ... , everyone buying food in a shop is the naturally "business men" ... , that the Patent Law is not simple and honest like a buying food ... , I think that all patents should be to buy, so should be at ones with prices stated by owner-inventor in patent-bases ... , without limit of time and additional charge ... , but should be paid with taxes on them in case they would be sold ...

- "Patents should protect inventions, which should be novel" ... , of course ... , and it just is the role of patent officers ...

- " In order to stimulate innovation the scope of protection is precisely limited geographicaly but also in time. " ... , yes ... , but only in Bolsheviks States ... , I think that in the States of Law it is not acceptable ... , so kind of thinking is straight against the idea of Private Property ...

- " This offers the opportunity for competitors to gain freedom to operate but also to progress with technology trends and to reinvent. " ... , I think that this is privilege for corporations which make them possible to steal inventors ... , what cause in longer time that a number of patents decreasing and number of disappointed inventors increasing ... , finally it leads to slump in the industry ...

-" This is the difference between patents and copyright for artists. " ... , I think that shouldn't be any difference in meaning the Law to the Privet Property ... , the scientific papers and monographs should be protected by copyright just like art goods ... , I think that those differences are created in Bolsheviks States to allow stealing one by others ...

Best Regards …

Dear Julian Cockbain ,

Thank You very much for the answer - I strongly appreciate it ... ,

In my country ... , however after changes in 1989 year ... , still there are old communistic systems in many branches of life ... , the worst situation is in the justices .... - old communistic judges still rule Polish citizens ... , Poland is now under European Union conventions , what blocks any deeper changes in Polish Law ... , moreover there are many crypto-communists in Polish parliament and government ... , even there was a situation, that a new act of Law resolved by Polish parliament about changes in Polish Justice, excluding the old communistic judges - was blocked by Polish President ...

So I just asked ... , maybe where is anywhere a pretty, free, really State of Law ... , where I could renew my patents (maybe in slightly changed form ... ) , ... that’s all ...

Thank You very much for Your interesting answers again ...

Best Regards

Dear Charles Glasser ,

Thank You very much for the answer - I strongly appreciate it ...

For me, as the inventor, the patent law is good when protects the intellectual private property of the inventors and is effective when cause an increase of the number of patents by protection of the free patent market ...

I think that in common meaning the patent law is good when gives the "gold middle" between inventors and corporations , i.e. the "balance point" between businesses of inventors and corporations .... , i.e. when the inventors will not be feel stolen and get their bonuses from the sold patents as well as the corporations get their bonuses from sold goods ...

Best Regards

very effective as the Kenyan government has a statute enacted to enforce any infringement of patentry. The act has given the following defenses to Patent Infringement

1. That the invention had been published and therefore lacked novelty

2. Absence of specificity in the claims i.e. the claims are not specific enough

3. Non-patentability of the subject matter because of exclusions

the following rights or Remedies are also provided for

1. Injunctions

2. Damages

3. Account of profits

4. Delivery up – an order that requires the defendant to deliver up all infringing material including all equipment and contraptions

I my country, Nigeria, Patent Law is still evolving. The main applicable legislation is the Patents and Design Act, Chapter P2 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. There are limited reported cases in this aspect of the law.

Good Morning @Krzystow Murawski,

sadly, the reality is the law is a very hard "tool" to change, regardless of what country you are talking about. Let's not make assumptions that patent law is easily changeable. Try to operate "within the true legal environment," e.g. you should learn the rules of IP law and try to follow them. For example, the latest law reform in Australia took about five years to be bedded in and settle in. Another example is that some IP laws date from the 18-19 century & even earlier than that, and these laws, remained, in their core, the same, for more than five centuries. So, I would suggest you apply for patents within countries in the EU, avoiding dealing with the Polish Office and approaching, for example, the Patent Offices in Germany, Austria, and/or France (note that these are examples only, you can go to RU or EA). In that way, you can keep your inventorship mind working and keep yourself happy, thus, your work can be beneficial for the broader society. As I mentioned before, you can file in DE or CH, depending on where you would like the eventuated patent of yours to be ideally licensed (I don't say that you will obtain a patent 100% there, of course!). Happy patenting.

Thank You very much Dear Viara Van Raad for Your advices ...

Krzysztof Murawski

You are welcome, Krzysztof!

I hope you are not disappointed by my response/answer.

However, that's the reality. People "vote with their feet." E.g. if there are not good services in one place, they go to another place, where they can find better options.

Good Luck.

Dear Mrs Van Raad, just a few additions to your reply: 1) don't forget that for some national legislations linguistic requirements are still a barrier to file patent applications. Many countries signed the London Protocol which makes that you don't have to translate after a granted European patent for those European counntries, ut national filing are differentb.2) patent fees, as well as renewal fees are all different in the European countries and 3) patentability conditions can still be different country by country... A patent strategy is often based on these financial/fiscal/economic determinants. So, if you would like to shop across Europe, be aware of these issues. Please have a look at http://www.innovaccess.eu/ At this portal, you'll find the national particularities and the calculations of fees (for so far that they are really up-to-date :)). However, a patent decision is always a battle of investments and ROIs.

Thank you for your additional information, Nico Deconinck . I wasn't aware of the London protocol ( as I am not working in Europe, and I don't keep fully aware of the EU's changes). My suggestions were based on general knowledge about the IP system across the world and they should not be taken in any way as a bit of advice, and just a piece of additional information that Mr. Murawski may use. The financial decisions about Return of Investments (ROI) and supporting a patent application by paying annuities and other fees/services are for the individual who wants to maintain the active Patent and tries to license the patent. This is another "story," which was beyond the scope of the conversation and I did not wish to discuss that subject matter.

Very Interesting & Valable discussion - Following . Indian Patent Act , 1970 have different schedule , Intelectual Property Right ( IPR ) - E Patent developement .

In Venezuela chavistas kidnapped patents. The best example is @orimulsion developed from extra heavy crude oil at Intevep in the 80's and 90's. Regards

Indian patent law is good one. The problem comes during enforcement of law.

Unfortunately, patent law is not perfect in my country. Many issues were corrected as to how this law was worded, e.g. in the 1990s. But unfortunately it is still not perfect and it does not motivate researchers, scientists, inventors to create new inventions, innovations, patents. It is a pity that this is because inventions, patents and innovations are an important manufacturing factor, an important issue of knowledge creating technological progress and implementation of new technological solutions, new innovations, inventions and patents for economic processes, for example to improve production processes and create new types of needed products and services and solving key problems of civilization development. These issues are particularly relevant in emerging knowledge-based economies. In my publications available on the Research Gate portal about the importance of innovation in the economy I raised these important issues.

Greetings,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

2 June MMXX

In Italy, respect for patent laws is minimum.

Cordially...

ASJ