Most people know what patents are, why they are necessary, why you should patent, when to file an application, what can be patented etc., or do they…?
When you ask the general public and even entrepreneurs questions about patents, one quickly learns there are a lot of misconceptions. Below 10 basic things are listed that you need to know about patents :

1. What is a patent?

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government for a limited amount of time (generally 20 years) to the inventor or assignee.
It is a document describing the invention, which is a product or process that provides a new way of doing something, or offers a new technical solution to a problem. The precise scope of the invention is defined it in a set of claims. [ref. 1, 2]

2. What can be patented?

A product or process is generally patentable when it follows three basic guidelines:

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The expression “publish or perish” is well known amongst the scientific community. However, the declining trend in which public funding is able to meet the requirements of the scientific community and the encouragements for public-private partnerships have changed the game a bit…

In many countries, a substantial part of academic scientific research is publicly funded, because the industrial applicability of (fundamental) research can at first be quite obscure. These public funds are generally allocated to research programs, which are selected by a board of scientists. This board evaluates the soundness of the research plan and the track record of the scientist(s), research institute(s) and department(s), applying for these funds. The research plan is evaluated by experts in the respective fields, regarding the value and relevance of the anticipated created knowledge against the current insights, the feasibility of the objectives of the study and the compliance with the dogma of the scientific method. The track record is judged for a large part by assessing the publication record, which can be regarded as the scientific capital. The importance of the publication record for scientists to obtain funding and thereby sustain or further their career has set forth the expression “publish or perish”.

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