International Intellectual Property Legal Blog

Did you know that filing a patent in one country does not protect your idea from being used by someone else in another country? This is because patents are based on location or territory, and every country has different patent laws. If you file a patent in the United States, it will only apply in the United States and its use is only protected in that territory.

The problem is that we live and work in a global economy. Doing business abroad has become a norm, including selling goods across the internet and working with suppliers and producers in other countries. This makes it critical for staying competitive to know how to protect your ideas and inventions from your home country as well as abroad.

In June of this year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued its ten millionth patent for an invention that improves laser detection and ranging (LADAR) and may be used in autonomous vehicles, for space exploration, and in other high-tech industries. That's impressive work for a department that began more than 200 years ago with one patent, signed by George Washington, for "making pot ash and pearl ash."

For the past 30 years, as technology and industry have advanced, the number of United States patent applications have increased substantially. Patents are, and always have been, a foundation of the global corporate landscape and serve as a bellwether for innovation and trajectory. Patents can be leveraged for revenue growth, defending market position, putting competitors on the defensive, and other tasks essential to implementing a corporate vision. And, as countless in-house counsels will attest, patent strategy closely mirrors corporate priorities across many industries. Recent data may give insight into corporate patent filing strategies.