Good management of research results is crucial to ensure successful transfer of the results to society.

The drafting and publication of papers, the management and protection of know-how and the drafting of new patents must be carried out taking into account the overall strategy, under the supervision of someone who is knowledgeable in industrial property matters and who in turn knows the business plan from the inside.

Prior to applying for a patent to protect our invention, it is advisable to make sure that our invention meets the patentability requirements, which are as follows:

• International Novelty: Our invention must be new with respect to everything published prior to the date of our application.
• Inventive step: Our invention must not be obvious having regard to the existing general knowledge prior to filing our application.
• Industrial application: Our invention must be capable of materializing in a useful product for some kind of industry.

To determine whether our invention meets these requirements, we must carefully study the state of the art or prior art, which is all the material published prior to the date of application related to the subject matter of our invention.

However, the fulfillment of the patentability requirements, with the consequent grant of our application, is not a guarantee that we can put our product on the market.

The commercialization of our product, despite being protected by our patent, may be infringing other patents previously applied for, so we could be incurring in an crime of infringement.

In addition to patents, we must take into account other industrial and intellectual property rights, such as data protection rights, which may sometimes involve market exclusivity rights for drugs or plant protection products.

During the development of our product it is important to take this fact into account, and carry out a infringement or freedom-to-operate study, to make sure that in the future we will be able to launch our product on the market without legal problems.

The sooner we know if our product may be infringing, the more leeway we have for the negotiation of licenses or the search for alternatives to that technology in the development of the final product.

If you want us to help you establish the best strategy to protect your invention or you want to know whether or not you have freedom to operate before putting your product on the market, contact us and we will make you a personalized proposal without any obligation.