I’m Andy Berks, patent attorney and scientist. I’m going to talk today briefly on the value of patents. Many people have a vague idea that patents are valuable and protect the intellectual property of inventors. This is true, and I’m going to explain exactly why in this video.
Patents are a kind of social contract in which inventors disclose the invention – which lets others advance the technology – and in exchange the inventor gets a limited period of exclusivity – now 20 years – in which theoretically infringers can be sued for patent infringement.
This period of exclusivity creates an asset. As a form of intellectual property this patent asset can be bought, sold and licensed.
So on one level, the value of a patent is that a patent owner can rely on the exclusivity and practice the invention and the patent protects products and markets.
On another level, patents are an asset that can be bought sold and licensed. Many inventors do not have the resources to practice a patent, so their business objective is to license their patents. Universities for example do not practice patents at all and always seek to license their patents.
Please contact me with any questions or comments about this. Thanks for watching, stay healthy, and have a great day.