Patents of Invention / Utility Models / Industrial Designs.
 What is a patent of invention?
Is the exclusive right granted to inventor (or to the person to whom this rights are assigned), to exploit an invention for a determined period of time.New products and procedures for their manufacturing can be protected by means of patent. In Ecuador patents are granted for twenty years terms and constitute the main juridical instrument for technological development.
Which are the requirements that an invention should comply with to be subject of patent?
Basic requirements for an invention to be subject of patent are:
Inventive level: that is not obvious for a person skilled in the art subject of the invention.
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Industrial application: that it can be used in the unlimited and uniform reproduction of products; and,
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Novelty: that subject has not been disclosed, neither known before filing the patent.
Which are the rights granted by a patent?
Exclusive right to exploit the patent for a 20 years term, according to claims filed together with the application.
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Right to impede third persons to manufacture, offer in sell, sell or use the product (when it is a patent of product) without the consent of the owner of the patent.
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Right to impede employment of the procedure for the obtainment of the patented product or of a patented procedure.
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Exclusive right to transfer or license the patent.
What is subject of patent?
Every product or procedure that is novel, has inventive level and can be industrially applied; that is every invention in any technological field.
Which are the differences between a Patent of Invention and a Utility Model?
Protection through a utility model has a 10 years term, while patents enjoy of 20 years of protection.
Requirement of inventive level for the protection of a Utility Model is lower to that demanded for a Patent.
When is it advisable to file a Utility Model application instead of one for Patent of Invention?
When the product aimed to be protected has a low inventive level.
What is the use of a Utility Model?
To protect the new shape of a product.
What is a drawing or industrial model?
Every combination of lines, shapes and colors are considered a drawing, and models are any plastic shape, associated or not with lines or colors, which serve as prototype to manufacture an industrial product or handicrafts and which difference from their similar by means of their configuration.Industrial design –as it is also known- refers to the ornamental and esthetic aspects of a product or good, which can result from any reunion of lines or combination of colors or of any bi-dimensional or tri-dimensional external form, line, contour, configuration, texture or material, without changing the aim or destiny of such product.
Industrial design makes a product more attractive, thus increasing the commercial value of the product.
Why is it important to protect drawings and industrial models?
Drawings and models, in general, are an esthetic creation.As such they are subjects of juridical protection within Intellectual Property Rights.When a drawing or industrial model is protected, owner has rights which furnishes of:
Exclusivity: nobody else exploits your creation without corresponding authorization, and you can negotiate granting of licenses, thus generating more income.
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Faculty to act against any third person that does not respect exclusivity, inclusive through secondary modifications of same design.
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Faculty to impede others manufactures to import, offer, introduce in the market or commercially use products with such design.
How should I protect my Design and which are the requirements?
The protection of your industrial design starts with the REGISTRATION, which grants 10 years term of exclusive exploitation.This protection corresponds to designer, but his rights can be transfer (lifetime) and heir (post mortem).
Requirements:
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