In order to promote business and the safety of its development on marketplaces, including protecting your products from copying and attempts to produce counterfeit products that can mislead consumers, it is important to protect your developments in a timely manner. It is equally important to know how not to violate other people's intellectual rights. Despite the fact that patenting is a rather expensive way to protect intellectual property, it is reliable and has many advantages. The article discusses those features of working on marketplaces that are associated with the protection of intellectual property (obtaining patents for new developments or their design, for manufacturing methods, compositions and devices).
When a seller receives a patent, he can be sure that his invention, utility model or industrial design, which he sells on the marketplace, has no analogues in the world. And if a situation of unfair competition arises, he can apply to the Federal Antimonopoly Service or the Intellectual Rights Court to protect his intellectual property.
However, it is important to remember that protecting intellectual property is not the responsibility of marketplace owners, but rather the responsibility of its copyright holder. It is he who must control the observance of his rights on online platforms and monitor them for violations and defend his rights.
Thus, the latest development posted on the marketplace can be protected by a patent. Otherwise, unscrupulous competitors may take advantage of this.
It should be remembered that the device can be protected by a utility model patent, which is issued for a period of 10 years.
The design and appearance of the product, as well as the design of the label, the shape of the packaging or the print of the fabric are protected by an industrial design patent, valid for 5 years from the date of filing the application.
A product (a mechanism, a chemical substance), a method (for example, a technological process or processing method), a substance (a new chemical composition or material) or new genetic materials are protected by a patent for an invention, the validity of which is 20 years.
A patent for intellectual property is issued in several stages.
First, a patent search or patent research is carried out, the purpose of which is to check the development for the possibility of registration. The criterion for checking a utility model is novelty and industrial applicability, for an industrial design - novelty and originality, and for an invention - novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability.
If the developments meet all standards, then at the second stage a package of documents is sent to Rospatent, which includes an application and a document confirming payment of the fee. Correct execution of a package of documents requires an experienced specialist, so it is important to involve lawyers and patent attorneys.
Rospatent conducts an examination of received documents: formal examination (checks the availability of the necessary documents and the correctness of their execution) and substantive examination (checks the patentability of an intellectual property object). If the examination was successful, then Rospatent makes a positive decision, after which, after paying the state fee, the applicant receives a patent.
When using marketplaces to develop a business, you need to know and remember the risks. So, when identifying patent violations on online platforms, there may be:
- the seller’s card is blocked if he did not promptly respond to the copyright holder’s request for goods located in the marketplace warehouse;
- fines were imposed due to violation of the terms of placement of goods, and the goods themselves were sent back through the delivery points at the expense of the seller;
- product advertising has also been canceled - the seller will be forced to order and pay for product promotion again;
- the account has been suspended and access to your personal account is limited. In this case, the marketplace has the right to block the ability to edit a product, participate in promotions, or upload new items until the dispute is resolved, during which, as a rule, all operations, including payments and shipments, are frozen.
It is important to know that there are also civil, administrative and criminal penalties for patent infringement.
To avoid the above risks, it is recommended to patent intellectual property objects, which allows their copyright holder to prohibit competitors from using patented technologies, compositions and devices, even in a slightly modified form or in a new object. That is, a patent certifies priority, authorship and exclusive right to an object.
In conclusion, I would like to add that registration of a patent for intellectual property and their further placement on the marketplace requires certain knowledge. To avoid risks that can lead to large financial and reputational losses, and in some cases to loss of business, it is more profitable and correct to seek help from specialized specialists.
