Commercial agreements
Protect your product with a utility patent? Lawyers guide for founders
A guide to the legal protection of your innovation - utility patent explained
A utility patent is, at its core, a business tool. It is a legal right that allows you to stop others from using your technical solution, not a general certificate of innovation. In the United States, a granted utility patent gives its owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing the claimed invention for roughly 20 years from the earliest non-provisional filing date, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. It is important to emphasize that this is a right to exclude, not a guarantee that you are free to operate; your product could infringe someone else’s patent even if you hold a patent of your own.
what is protected then?
What a utility patent actually protects is defined by its claims. These are the numbered sentences at the end of the patent that describe, in legal language, the boundaries of the invention. The rest of the patent—the description, examples, and drawings—provides context and support, but in an infringement dispute the claims are the main focus. If a competitor’s product falls within the wording of at least one valid claim, it may infringe. If it does not, even if it is similar in spirit to your idea, it may be outside the scope of protection. Utility patents therefore protect concrete technical solutions: methods, systems, devices, compositions, and their functional features, rather than broad concepts such as “an app that connects users” or “a more efficient business model.”
Obtaining a utility patent is a staged process.
It begins with capturing the invention in sufficient technical detail: how it works, how it is implemented, and which variations are possible. Many applicants sensibly commission a prior art search at this stage to understand what is already known.
The next step is filing. In modern “first-inventor-to-file” systems, delay is dangerous; it is generally advisable to file at least a provisional application before any public disclosure or sale.
When you are ready to pursue full protection, you file a non-provisional utility application containing a written description, claims, drawings where needed, and the required formal documents and fees.
After filing, the application is examined by a patent office examiner, who searches prior art and typically issues one or more office actions rejecting or objecting to the claims.
Through written arguments and amendments, you and your attorney negotiate the scope of protection.
If the examiner is ultimately satisfied, the patent is granted and, for as long as required maintenance fees are paid, remains enforceable.
Avoid these common mistakes
There are several recurring mistakes I see as a lawyer.
One common and costly error is waiting too long to file. Entrepreneurs often present their invention at trade shows, pitch it to customers, or launch products before filing any patent application. While U.S. law provides a limited grace period in some circumstances, many other jurisdictions do not; rights abroad can be irrevocably lost by premature disclosure.
Another frequent problem is treating the patent as a mere badge for investors rather than a strategic asset. A poorly drafted patent with narrow or easily circumvented claims may look impressive in a pitch deck but offer very little real protection. Claim drafting is highly technical—attempting to do it entirely alone without understanding patent claim practice often results in rights that are either ungrantable (too broad) or commercially weak (too narrow).
Applicants also sometimes undermine themselves by disclosing too little. A utility patent requires that the invention be described in enough detail that a person skilled in the field can reproduce it without undue experimentation. If you hold back key information in an attempt to “keep a secret,” you risk ending up with a patent that is vulnerable to validity attacks while simultaneously losing trade secret protection because the core concept has been made public.
Finally, there is frequent confusion between inventorship and ownership. Inventors are the individuals who actually contributed to the inventive concept in the claims, while the owner is often a company to which those rights are assigned. Omitting a true inventor, naming someone who did not contribute, or failing to properly assign the invention to the business can create avoidable legal problems later.
Summary
The overarching message is that utility patents can be powerful tools when integrated into a broader business strategy and handled correctly from the outset. They are not mandatory for every innovation, but where they are appropriate, filing early, describing thoroughly, and investing in sound claim drafting and prosecution will generally yield far more value than treating the patent process as a formality to tick off a checklist. London, 2025-11-25 Email: Kat@stgcommerciallaw.com
A utility patent is, at its core, a business tool. It is a legal right that allows you to stop others from using your technical solution, not a general certificate of innovation. In the United States, a granted utility patent gives its owner the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing the claimed invention for roughly 20 years from the earliest non-provisional filing date, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. It is important to emphasize that this is a right to exclude, not a guarantee that you are free to operate; your product could infringe someone else’s patent even if you hold a patent of your own.
what is protected then?
What a utility patent actually protects is defined by its claims. These are the numbered sentences at the end of the patent that describe, in legal language, the boundaries of the invention. The rest of the patent—the description, examples, and drawings—provides context and support, but in an infringement dispute the claims are the main focus. If a competitor’s product falls within the wording of at least one valid claim, it may infringe. If it does not, even if it is similar in spirit to your idea, it may be outside the scope of protection. Utility patents therefore protect concrete technical solutions: methods, systems, devices, compositions, and their functional features, rather than broad concepts such as “an app that connects users” or “a more efficient business model.”
Obtaining a utility patent is a staged process.
It begins with capturing the invention in sufficient technical detail: how it works, how it is implemented, and which variations are possible. Many applicants sensibly commission a prior art search at this stage to understand what is already known.
The next step is filing. In modern “first-inventor-to-file” systems, delay is dangerous; it is generally advisable to file at least a provisional application before any public disclosure or sale.
When you are ready to pursue full protection, you file a non-provisional utility application containing a written description, claims, drawings where needed, and the required formal documents and fees.
After filing, the application is examined by a patent office examiner, who searches prior art and typically issues one or more office actions rejecting or objecting to the claims.
Through written arguments and amendments, you and your attorney negotiate the scope of protection.
If the examiner is ultimately satisfied, the patent is granted and, for as long as required maintenance fees are paid, remains enforceable.
Avoid these common mistakes
There are several recurring mistakes I see as a lawyer.
One common and costly error is waiting too long to file. Entrepreneurs often present their invention at trade shows, pitch it to customers, or launch products before filing any patent application. While U.S. law provides a limited grace period in some circumstances, many other jurisdictions do not; rights abroad can be irrevocably lost by premature disclosure.
Another frequent problem is treating the patent as a mere badge for investors rather than a strategic asset. A poorly drafted patent with narrow or easily circumvented claims may look impressive in a pitch deck but offer very little real protection. Claim drafting is highly technical—attempting to do it entirely alone without understanding patent claim practice often results in rights that are either ungrantable (too broad) or commercially weak (too narrow).
Applicants also sometimes undermine themselves by disclosing too little. A utility patent requires that the invention be described in enough detail that a person skilled in the field can reproduce it without undue experimentation. If you hold back key information in an attempt to “keep a secret,” you risk ending up with a patent that is vulnerable to validity attacks while simultaneously losing trade secret protection because the core concept has been made public.
Finally, there is frequent confusion between inventorship and ownership. Inventors are the individuals who actually contributed to the inventive concept in the claims, while the owner is often a company to which those rights are assigned. Omitting a true inventor, naming someone who did not contribute, or failing to properly assign the invention to the business can create avoidable legal problems later.
Summary
The overarching message is that utility patents can be powerful tools when integrated into a broader business strategy and handled correctly from the outset. They are not mandatory for every innovation, but where they are appropriate, filing early, describing thoroughly, and investing in sound claim drafting and prosecution will generally yield far more value than treating the patent process as a formality to tick off a checklist. London, 2025-11-25 Email: Kat@stgcommerciallaw.com