(Why, When, Who, Where, What, How) Read a Patent!

Patents are a crucial source of information not only for protecting inventions but also for incentivizing technological progress. Reading and understanding patents is not just an activity for specialized lawyers; it can greatly benefit engineers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and professionals in technological fields. In this article, we explore why it’s important to read patents, when to do so, and how to make the most of the information they contain.

Why Read a Patent?

A patent is a unique source of technical and legal information. Studies have shown that up to 80% of the technical information found in patents is not available elsewhere. This makes patent literature an essential element for advancing research and development (R&D) and avoiding duplication of efforts.

In more detail, what are the implications of ignoring the corresponding source of information?

A first potential problem you may encounter is that the design or the research you are doing could lead to a patent infringement. That means that, the new invention you believe are making, has been already patented and, if the maintenance fees have been paid, the use, sale or production of your invention will violate the existing patent, even though you can prove your good faith. Apart from that, an existing patent anticipating your invention will also prevent you to get a patent.

Leaving aside legal troubles, a huge amount of intellectual activity is wasted if you are not aware of what is published in patent literature. You may research or design something already published in the patent literature. This is re-inventing what is already existing, or worse, coming up with an obsolete invention. All this is a waste of effort and resources you could have directed to other endeavour.

Another important fact is that patent literature can be seen as a technology indicator which measures the degree of development or even no-development, the “white spaces” in a certain technical area. Inventions are becoming more and more application of technologies coming from different areas: patents may help you to discover new technical areas to apply your solution. Moreover, Reading patents offers new opportunities and activities to find partners, “buyers” as well as to discover and monitor your competitors.

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