What is a patent?

What is a patent application?

What is a prior art?

What role do patent play in everyday life?

What kind of protection does a patent offer?

Who enforces patent right of the owner?

Who administers patent protection?

How is a patent application processed?

Is there an international filing system?

The Innovative Patent Cycle

Showing the process of evolving technology around the world

PATENTS

The concept of patents is still very foreign or unheard of in Papua New Guinea . However, our local universities and research institutes have already been involved in or exposed to works that may or could have been patented.

Collaborated efforts have also been made between overseas and our universities/research institutes in recent times but no applications or enquiries have been made to date.

Patents are very important in our everyday lives since they are almost in everything we use and enjoy today. For instance patents have made heating, cooking, drinking, washing, traveling and entertainment possible. Patent information is captured to make available knowledge and information to enhance human innovation and creativity.

Besides the protection of new ideas and innovations, traditional knowledge and local expertise may also play a critical role in the development of developing countries like Papua New Guinea . Through research and development these ideas may be further developed and protected under our patent law then licensed or assigned to large corporations/ institutes.

Prior art or existing patent information may be made available by the IPOPNG or found in search engines on the internet.

Given that patents plays an important role in the development of any country, stakeholder organizations and relevant government agencies/departments in Papua New Guinea are now working together through the NIPRC to put in place systems and procedures that may set the country in the right path. Studies have shown that intellectual property rights have been able to generate millions of kinas for the right owners around the world.

SUGGESTED ONLINE SEARCH ENGINES

Patentscope: http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/search/en/search.jsf

Patentscope is maintained and governed by WIPO and presents data from all around the world.

Esp@cenet: http://worldwide.espacenet.com/

Esp@cenet is maintained and governed by the European Patent Office in Munich , Germany. The data disclosed is mainly from countries within Europe and some from Asia .

IP Australia Database: http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/patents/search_index.shtml

This database is maintained and governed by the Australian IP Office and thus, all data disclosed is limited to within Australia alone

Surf IP: http://www.surfip.com

Surf IP is an aggregated search engine that allows access to several patent databases of countries within the Asian Region and it is maintained and governed by the Singapore Patent Office.

PatFT & AppFT: http://patft.uspto.gov/

PatFT & AppFT is maintained and governed by the US Patent & Trademark Office and it discloses data from within US alone.

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