Patent

A patent is an official document granted by an official administration and confirming the inventor’s rights on his “invention”. In general, a patent protects a new product or a new method, simple or complex, which solves a technical problem.

Since all patent applications are published, they are a source of technical information that stimulates the development of new technologies and informs about the exploitation rights.

An invention can be situated in all technical areas: physics, (bio)chemistry, agriculture, biology, electronics, mechanics, biotechnology, construction… as well as inventions regarding software and data bases.

A patent confers to its owner the right to forbid third parties to manufacture, offer, commercialize, use, import or store the patented product, the patented method or the product developed by the patented method.