Friday, August 24, 2007 Unlimited information on patent databases By Clint Fabiosa & Andrew Ong I Protect
PATENT information facilitates technology transfer and investment.
The golden rule in the issuance of a patent is full disclosure of the invention.
For this reason, patent databases, which are public and searchable on the Internet, are rich sources of technical information that will be used by the public, provided that the patent is not infringed.
Patent databases can also be used to find potential licensors and business partners. It has been reported that 67 percent of US companies own technology assets that they fail to exploit.
About $100 billion is tied up in such idle innovation within the IF portfolios of big companies. Rather than let the invention accumulate the expense of its maintenance, the company may put it up for sale or license.
