Patents: an engineer's guide to protecting intellectual property

The role of an engineer encompasses more than just designing, building and testing new products. In today's competitive marketplace, modern companies place a high value on engineers who can innovate. For companies to stay ahead, it is not enough for their engineers to solve problems by relying on a toolbox of well-known and widely used methods. The truly valuable engineers are those that can solve problems by developing innovative solutions. Ideally, these solutions will be better than existing methods for solving a particular problem. The generation of such ideas and solutions can be a lucrative part of the business for today's hi-tech companies. The term intellectual property is used to refer to the ownership of these ideas. This abstract form of property can be one of the most valuable assets a company has. Obviously, if intellectual property is such a lucrative asset, companies will want to protect their investment and prevent others from using their ideas. One of the basic kinds of intellectual property protection is the patent. A patent is a powerful legal device that allows a company to protect the intellectual property generated by its employees. This paper describes the patent and its main components. The application process for gaining a patent is outlined. Patent licensing and ownership is also discussed.