Information in this guide is not intended to be legal advice.
For laws and legislation, contact the appropriate patent and trademark office or KAUST Legal department.
Patent: "the right granted by a national government to exclude others from commercially exploiting such as making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing the invention." — World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Patent protection is enforced only in the countries where the patent has been applied for and granted and the maintenance fees have been paid.
Generally, protection can be granted for a period of up to 20 years.
Why are patents granted? Companies, universities, and other entities receive patent protection so they can recover their research and development costs. In exchange for this protection, the information about the invention must be fully disclosed to the public.
What qualifies to be patented? National patent offices rigorously review patent applications to determine whether they qualify. Generally speaking, to be patentable an invention must be:
Facts, concepts, and natural phenomena cannot be patented.
Patents are a rich resource that should not be overlooked:
There are many practical applications of patent searching:
For more information, see: Why researchers should care about patents by the European Patent Office.