A patent guarantees the protection of a new invention, product or method.

Consequently, by obtaining a patent you have the possibility of prohibiting others from counterfeiting your patent's object.

An invention can be protected by patent on the following conditions:

• the invention has to be new ;
• it has to show an inventive step, i.e. it must have a new effect ;
• it has to be susceptible to industrial exploitation.

Patents can be applied for in three ways, namely :

• By filing a national patent application, for example a Belgian patent application
• by filing a regional patent application, for example a European patent application;
• by filing an international patent application.

In order to draw up such a patent application, with full knowledge of facts, to ensure the necessary administrative formalities on the right moment, so as to obtain a full protection, preferably, we advise you to contact a patent attorney.

The patent attorney has had the advantage of a technical university education and is the official link between the inventor and the official patent administrations, either national, regional (e.g. European) or international.

Furthermore, deadlines will be monitored in order not to endanger lapse of your patent application.

Apart from drawing up and filing patent applications, the patent attorney will be able to conduct searches among the patent literature and to give advice during the granting procedure, in case of counterfeiting and court actions, when drawing up licences, and the like.