Patents
What is a Patent?
A Patent is the title supplied by the State, which grants the exclusive rights to exploit an invention to its holder, for a period of 5 or 10 years in the case of industrial models and drawings, and 20 years in the case of inventions. It reflects the fulfillment of the conditions foreseen in the law granting the right.
What are the protection modalities?
Invention Patent:
In general, any new and inventive product or procedure that provides a technical solution to a specific problem is known as a Patentable Invention. The reforms, improvements or modifications introduced in objects already known that also provide a new technical solution are also the subject of a Patent.
Industrial Model Patent:
It is understood by any plastic form combined or not with colors, and any industrial, commercial or domestic object that can serve as a type for the production or manufacture of others and that differ from their similar ones due to their different shape or configuration
Industrial Drawing Patent:
Any disposition arrangement or union of lines, colors and lines and colors intended to give any industrial object a special appearance.
Steps to apply for Patents
Steps:
Gather the requirements for the Patent Registration application (Documents, forms, folders and payment of fees):
1.-Documents:
- Patent Draft. Two (02) identical supports of a descriptive memory, one (01) on paper and one (01) on CD or DVD in PDF format.
Natural Person:
- Copy of the identity card or passport and if applicable, authenticated power of attorney and copy of the identity card of the attorney.
- If the person is domiciled abroad, authenticated power of attorney is mandatory. That document must be authenticated, apostilled, and, if applicable, translated by a public interpreter, as the same time, with a copy of the identity card of attorney.
Legal Entities:
- Copy of the Act. of incorporation of the company or copy of the publication in the press. Submit original ad effectum videndi, so that it can be seen (national applicants only).
- In case the company has been constituted for more than 05 years, the interested party must present a simple copy of the last meeting act where the legal representation is detailed. Submit original ad effectum videndi, so that it can be seen (national applicants only).
- Copy of the company’s RIF (valid and legible. National applicants).
- Copy of the identity card or passport of the director or president of the company and their respective RIF (valid and legible).
- Authenticated power of attorney and copy of the identity card of the legal representative (national holders). In the case of foreign holders, the document must be authenticated, apostilled and, if applicable, translated by a public interpreter and a copy of the identity card of the legal representative.
- Inventor’s declaration and assignment document, with the respective signatures of the assignor and the assignee. In case of foreign owners, such document must be authenticated, apostilled and, if applicable, translated by a public interpreter
Proxies or Agents of Industrial Property:
- It must be present a broad and sufficient power of attorney, authenticated, apostilled and, if necessary, translated by a public interpreter. Taking into account that the attorney must be a lawyer in accordance with Article 5 of the Lawyers Law.
- The original numbered power of attorney is recorded in the POA Book and the numbered copy is given to the requesting attorney.
In case of Claiming Foreign Priority (Optional):
- Certified copy of the foreign priority document by the competent authority, when such foreign priority is claimed and, if applicable, a copy translated by a public interpreter.
- NOTE: All documents must be submitted in Spanish, those in a different language must be translated by certified public interpreter and apostilled if applicable.
2.-Forms and Folders:
- Form FP-01, which must be duly completed before filing the patent application. Also available through the WEBPI Online Care System (http://webpi.sapi.gob.ve).
- First annuity form.
- Folder labeled according to the corresponding protection modality (Invention Patent, Industrial Model Patent or Industrial Drawing Patent).
NOTE: To know the costs of forms and folders consult on the web the current rates: Rates and Tax Unit, in the section of Patent Fees.
3.-Payment of Fees:
- Proof of payment of the Patent application fee (See current fees).
- Proof of payment of the fee for first annuity (See current fees).
- National Tax Stamp or SENIAT form (See current rates).
- Fiscal Stamp of the Capital District (See current rates).
Submission of the Application:
Submit the patent application with all the requirements at the principal head office SAPI, located in Centro Simón Bolívar, Building Norte, Floor 4, El Silencio (on the north side of Plaza Caracas).
Admission of Patent Registration Application:
Having verified according to all the requirements of the law, it will be assigned a date and number of submissions to the patent application starting with the process to the patent register. The year of filing and the number assigned when the application is admitted to processing it constitutes the identification of such a request throughout the process (Ex. 2017-004321).
NOTE: Remember that the application for Patent Registration with identification data, descriptive memory and the payment of the fee are indispensable requirements for the admission of a patent application.
Monitoring the Patent Registration application during all the stages of the process:
Any stage of the process gives or may give origin to a notification in the Industrial Property Bulletin that must be attended within the legal time limits established therein, for the purpose of giving continuity to the Patent Registration process. The status of the Patent application with its identification number can be consulted on the SAPI Web portal, through the WEBPI Online Attention System.
1.-Application Basic Evaluation: At this stage of the process, the administrative staff of the Coordination of Inventions and New Technologies reviews the documentation submitted and verifies that the Patent application contains all the requirements. If so, the application will continue to be processed, otherwise a return notification will be issued to the applicant so that the missing requirement(s) can be filled in. If the applicant does not respond within the established time limits, the priority of the application will be declared expired and the application will not continue with the processing.
2.- Publication in the Press: Having complied with all the requirements of form and once at least 18 months have elapsed from the filing date of the Patent of Invention application, or in the case of the date of the claimed foreign priority, the Registrar will order the publication of the application in the press (03 publications). For Model and Industrial Design Patents this period shall be at least 09 months.
NOTE: Remember that the three publications in the press are at the expense of the interested in the form established in article 60 of the Industrial Property Law and must be made within two months counted from the effective date of the Bulletin where it is notified.
The patent application must be published in any of the following newspapers or periodicals:
SAPI Digital Newspaper (See: How to publish your notices with us).
NOTE: If the publication is not made in conformity with the Industrial Property Law and within the time limits established in the Industrial Property Bulletin, the Patent application will be declared outdated (Art. 64 LOPA) and the process will not be continued. If at least one publication in the press has been made, the application shall be considered public domain.
3.- Publication in the Industrial Property Bulletin: The Patent application is published as requested in the Industrial Property Bulletin, after it has been published in the press according to the Law.
4.-Patent Grant Opposition Process: During the publications, any person that have a legitimate interest may object the application and oppose the concession of the Patent in accordance with the provisions of Article 63 of the Industrial Property Law. If any opposition is filed, it will be notified to the applicant of the Patent, by means of the Industrial Property Bulletin, so that the applicant may present his arguments as he deems convenient.
NOTE: The effective date of the Industrial Property Bulletin where the application is published will establish a 60-day time limit for the filing of oppositions to the concession.
5.-Evaluation of the Patentability Requirements: In this stage of the process the Patent application is technically evaluated to determine if the claimed subject matter can be the object of a Patent and if it complies with the patentability requirements, which in the case of Patents of Invention are, innovation, inventive level and industrial application; and in the case of Patents of Models and Industrial Designs are innovation and originality. If the application, including the claimed subject matter, complies with all the requirements of the Law, the result of the evaluation will be favorable and the Patent will be granted, otherwise its Registration will be denied.
NOTE: The clarity of the information contained in a Patent document is essential for the patentability evaluation to be possible.
Payment of Rights and Patents Certificate Emissions: Once a patent is given, the Intellectual Property Bulletin is notified to allow the solicitant to proceed with the payment of the tax for the Patent Registration Right and the corresponding amount for the emission of the Patent Certificate, which will be issued by means of an electronic certificate that can be downloaded directly from the SAPI web page, through the Online Attention System WEBPI. The non-payment of the Patent Right in the time established by law, will result in the non-effect of the Patent issue.
NOTE: To maintain a valid patent during the time that was issued, the respective payment must be cancelled every year in an anticipated manner.
Patent modalities
Protection Modalities
Invention Patent:
A patentable patent is generally known as any new or inventive product or procedure that generates a technical solution for a specific problem. The reforms, upgrades or modifications introduced in already known things that provide new technical solutions are also a patentable object.
Industrial Model Patent:
It is understood as any plastic form combined or not with colors, and any industrial, commercial or domestic object or tool that can be used in the production or fabrication of other objects and is different from its similar by its shape or distinct configuration.
Industrial Design Patent:
It is understood as any disposition or union of lines, colors and lines and colors destined to give a special appearance to any industrial object.
What are the patentability requisites?
Novelty:
An invention is new when it is not understood in the state of the art. The state of the art is understood as everything that is accessible to the public, as a written or oral description, utilization, commercialization or any other mean before the date of presentation of the Patent request or the date of the recognized priority.
Inventive Level:
An invention possesses inventive level, if for another person of the trade that is normally versed in the corresponding technical area, that invention does not result as obvious or evidently derivative of the state of the art.
Industrial application:
An invention is susceptible to industrial application when its object can be produced and/or utilized in any type of industry.
Descriptive Memory
STEP 2
TITLE:
It is a precise indication of the field object of the invention that is desired to be protected, either of the product or the procedure. This must employ a technical language that is clear and concise.
Example:
“ARCICOMP Particle”, this title does not technically define the invention; a correct title would be: “Compact Clay Particle”
SUMMARY:
The summary is a brief and clear description of the invention with the least possible quantity of words, preferably not more than 150. It must be oriented to the field object of protection (Claimed Subject) and its field of application, emphasizing the important aspects and indicating the technical problem that it solves.
TECHNICAL ANTECEDENTS:
This section defines the state of the art closest to the invention, and refers to the previous developments and investigations in the field of invention. It includes a brief overview of the technical problem that will be solved by the invention, and the obtained advantages of its application, contrasting it with the disadvantages of utilizing previous solutions. The state of the art constitutes any previous divulgation to the recognized date of the request presentation; and it can include published documents, even if they are not patent documents, such as scientific or technical magazines articles.
To know more of the antecedents, a technical search in the patent databases is suggested: SAPI; USPTO; ESPACENET; PATENTSCOPE; GOOGLE PATENTS; SPANISH PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (SPTO); etc.
FIGURE DESCRIPTION (In case of presenting figures)
It consists of a list of the consecutively numbered figures, and a brief description of them. Each identified element, part or component in the figures must be thereafter defined and detailed in the invention´s description.
Example:
The 1st figure is a view in perspective of the wind generator, object of the invention.
The 2nd figure is a transversal cut of the wind generator that shows a rotor.
INVENTION DESCRIPTION:
The description shall be redacted in a clear and complete manner, in such a way that a middle expert in the pertaining technical field can comprehend and reproduce the invention. In it, the technical elements that conform the invention, what it does and how it works shall be indicated, making the necessary references to the figures. The described technical elements that are shown in the figures must be identified in the description and the figures with the same reference numbers in parenthesis. Realization examples, experimental data, runs, tables, formulas, etc. are also part of the description.
CLAIMS:
The claims establish the reach and limits of the exclusive rights of the patent holder. They must be redacted in a clear and concise manner in function of the essential technical characteristics that define the invention, not of its attributes or utility. Its content must be completely sustained in the description, possibly referencing the identified components in the figures, but not the figures as a whole, neither part of the description.
Claims are divided in independent and dependent. The independent contain all essential technical characteristics of the invention; meanwhile the dependent specify the invention or particular configuration details. The dependent claims unlike the independent make reference to other claims.
Example:
- Machine for the generation of electric energy that comprehends A, B and C.
- The machine for the generation of electric energy of the claim 1 where A is of steel and additionally comprises D.
FIGURES:
They will be presented if necessary to facilitate the understanding of the invention. The figures must be enumerated in sequence and must not contain legends, only the components that have been described and that are shown on the figures will be identified by a unique reference number that shall match the one indicated in the invention´s description.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT DESCRIPTIVE MEMORY:
1.- Descriptive memory must be presented in the Spanish language.
2.- Descriptive memory can refer to more than one invention; nonetheless, only one can be the object of protection, thereby only one independent claim must be redacted, either if it’s a product or a procedure, and as many dependent claims as considered necessary.
3.- Once presented the patent request, no modifications can be made to the descriptive memory that imply an expansion of the initially realized disclosure.
From design to industrial model
Structure of a Descriptive Memory Patent of a DESIGN OR INDUSTRIAL MODEL:
TITLE
It shall define with greater clarity the design or industrial model to patent. It must not make reference to technical or functional advantages.
Example: “Electric and adjustable toothbrush”, this title makes reference to functional advantages of the model object of protection; a correct title would be “Toothbrush”.
SUMMARY
It pertains a brief description of the external aspect or configuration of the solicited industrial design or model.
DESCRIPTION
It consists of a list of the consecutively numbered figures, and a brief description of the views included on the patent request. It must not include technical or functional advantages associated with the industrial model or design in the description.
Example:
Figure 1, is a view in the left lateral perspective of the toothbrush.
Figure 2, is a view in the right lateral perspective of the toothbrush.
CLAIM
In the Design Patent or Industrial Model requests the claim can only be about the external aspect of it, without making reference to technical or functional references.
Example: Industrial design / Industrial Model for (Design title/industrial model) how it is shown in the annexed figures.
FIGURES
The figures must be sharp in a way that the external aspect of the industrial design or model can be clearly appreciated. It must not include legends or trademarks (denominative, figurative or mixed). In the case of industrial models, it is recommended that various sequentially numbered views are presented in the same visual format, frontal, posterior, lateral, superior, inferior perspective or isometric between them.
DOWNLOAD ILUSTRATED GUIDES AND FREQUENT QUESTIONS
1.What kind of inventions can be patented?
Product inventions and procedures.
2.Do you know what can be patented?
- New or original products or procedures that possess a high inventive sense and have an industrial applicability.
- Parts or elements of machines, mechanisms, apparatus and accessories, to achieve a greater economy in order to improve products and their results.
- New procedures for the preparation of materials or objects for industrial or commercial purposes.
- New procedures for the preparation of chemical products
- New methods of elaboration, extraction and separation of natural substances.
- Reforms, upgrades or modifications introduced in things that are already known.
- Any new model or design for industrial purpose
- The invention, improvement, model or industrial drawing that, having been patented abroad, has not been disclosed, patented or applied in Venezuela.
3.What are the Patentability requirements?
- – Novelty
- – Inventive Level
- – Industrial Application
4.What are the characteristics of a patentable innovation?
- Radical innovation: It implies a significant change in the market.
- Incremental innovation: It consists of creating something new from an existing product or service by adding improvements to it.
5.When is an invention considered to be new?
An invention is new when it is not included in the prior state of the art. The state of the art is understood as everything that has been accessible to the public, by written or oral description, use, commercialization or any other means before the filing date of the patent application or the date of recognized priority.
6.When is it considered that an invention has inventive capacity or inventive activity?
An invention has an inventive level if it is not obvious, or evidently derived from the state of the art according to a professional skilled in the relevant technical field.
7.When is an invention considered to be susceptible of industrial application?
An invention has industrial application when its object can be produced and/or used in any type of industry.
8.Is novelty something national?
No, novelty is international