“I have thought through and worked out the innovative concept in my mind. Can I patent it at this stage?” The inventor is typically in a dilemma as to when he/she should proceed to start the patenting process. The life cycle of converting an innovative idea into a product typically runs into many years. During which of these stages should one file for patent protection – when the inventive concept is firmed up, at a first level prototype, mature prototype, early product phase or in the maturity stage of the product lifecycle? Surprise of surprises, the timing for patenting is not determined by the stage of the product life cycle. It is dependent on when you plan to publicly disclose the innovative idea, or market the new product. With intense competitive product development occurring in some of the hot and well funded areas like software, electronics, nanotechnology and biotechnology, it is prudent to protect your idea at the earliest stage, possibly at the point when the innovative or inventive idea is conceptualized.

“Hitting is timing, pitching is upsetting timing,” said Warren Spahn, a famous American baseball pitcher. In every country of the world except the United States, the patent is awarded to the first to file. The US is the only country that grants a patent to the person who was the first to invent and this rule is scheduled to be changed shortly to bring the US in line with the first to file rule.

In many countries, the inventor loses the right to file a patent if the invention is publicly disclosed before the patent application is filed. Therefore, prudence dictates that an invention not be disclosed before an application for it has been filed in the patent office. Developed countries are exposed to developing technologies at an early stage of the technology. They can envision new applications of these technologies ahead of their counterparts from developing countries. Hence, it is to their advantage to patent an innovative idea, at the concept level, before their counterparts in developing countries.

“Can a patent application be filed for a prophetic invention, i.e., for an invention based only on an idea that has not been tried, tested, perfected, prototyped or reduced to practice?” The answer is: Yes. “Does the patent office require one to have a fully working or marketed product before filing a patent application?” The answer is: No. A new concept is patentable provided the concept is workable and the inventor discloses in the patent application how to make and use the invention. An invention comprises an inventive concept plus a reduction to practice of the inventive concept. The courts have held that filing a patent application based only on a workable, inventive idea is the equivalent of a reduction to practice. However, if the invention, on its face, is impossible or unworkable, the patent application will be rejected. When Thomas Edison invented and filed a patent application for the light bulb, he was nowhere close to a robust working light bulb!

In the United States a patent application can be filed within 1 year of a public disclosure of the invention. Under US patent laws there is also a provision to protect your idea by filing a provisional application. The provisional application must be followed up by the filing of a non-provisional application within one year from the date of filing the provisional application. Failure to do so will result in the applicant losing the claim to priority date of the earlier filed provisional application. The period of priority is limited to six months in case of industry design and trademarks. If the non-provisional application cannot be filed within 1 year of filing of the provisional application, the applicant may file for another provisional and get another priority span. However, in this case the original priority date no longer holds.

The time tested and safest route for a company that wishes to protect its innovative idea is to withhold commercialization or publishing details of the invention until a provisional or a non-provisional application is filed and a “patent pending” status is obtained for the innovative idea.



By: Ash Tankha

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Individuals who are passionate towards decors and want to create wow factor to surroundings and interiors of their homes and workstations, for them photo canvas art is contemporary art form that comes as rescue and acts as innovative tool for decors.  Canvas prints made from this art form brings new life to walls and creates positive impression on the viewer about the owner of the house.

Earlier, wall paintings done by a professional artist were used as decorative tool to bring new life and add value to the painting as well as to complement interiors. With the introduction of wall art, many people took advantage of it and started implementing it on day-to-day basis. But, the main drawback of using real painting as decors was that it failed to provide features like durability and long lasting life, with introduction of latest technique named “photo canvas art” the things drastically changed and soon replaced wall paintings in the wall art arena.

The advantage of using photo canvas prints for wall art is that you have option of choosing your favorite photographs taken from digital camera to be printed on to quality canvas and can be transformed in to read to hang wall hangings. As people are looking out for different innovative options in the field of interior decoration, with the combination artistic skills and latest techniques used in delivering high quality canvas prints has made “photo canvas art” as their first choice for home decors. These photo canvas prints gives look and feel of originally painted portrait done by professional artist and motivates them to create painting of different styles that is more graceful.

According to survey done by many countries, it is found that the demand for decors are increasing day by day, so to meet the demand of the same, many online companies are putting their extra effort  to introduce new products meeting the latest trend in the field of interiors decoration to attract more customers. Currently, the wall art products that are in demand include designer series of photo canvas prints, framed canvas prints, pop art canvas and giclee prints. It is also important to choose the decorative item that perfectly suits for your interiors and admired by all.

Apart from all these features, wall art products made from photo canvas art are affordable and can easily fit within your budget. For workstations, wall hangings made from real canvas creates comfortable work environment and grabs the attentions of the visitors.

So, use photo canvas art as your source to add beauty to your interiors of home and workstation.

By: yourwovenphotos

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