Any sector of the economy within which intellectual activity is carried out needs to protect the rights to its results, and the agricultural sector is no exception. However, the development of technologies in agriculture, their export and import are currently underdeveloped, and there is also no sufficient experience in extracting additional income from intangible assets. Moreover, leading agricultural countries actively use our achievements practically free of charge. Since intellectual property in most cases is beyond the attention of managers of agricultural enterprises, and therefore there is a risk of unfair competition and theft, the issue of protecting rights to the results of intellectual activity in the field of agro-industrial complex arises. Protection of intellectual property rights involves not only their correct registration, but also determination of the value of identified and properly registered assets, placing them on the balance sheet of the enterprise
Any sector of the economy within which intellectual activity is carried out needs to protect the rights to its results, and the agricultural sector is no exception. However, the development of technologies in agriculture, their export and import are currently underdeveloped, and there is also no sufficient experience in extracting additional income from intangible assets. Moreover, leading agricultural countries actively use our achievements practically free of charge. Since intellectual property in most cases is beyond the attention of managers of agricultural enterprises, and therefore there is a risk of unfair competition and theft, the issue of protecting rights to the results of intellectual activity in the field of agro-industrial complex arises. Protection of intellectual property rights involves not only their correct registration, but also determination of the value of identified and properly registered assets, and placing them on the balance sheet of the enterprise.
An important step is the formation of a patent portfolio (eng. networkofpatents), which is a set of intellectual property objects (inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, etc.), with the help of which it is possible to ensure legal protection of innovative products, occupy a dominant position in the market and thereby achieve a sustainable long-term competitive advantage.
Using a “patent portfolio”, you can provide not only protection from unscrupulous competitors by preventing their actions, protecting your rights in administrative or judicial proceedings, but also prevent bankruptcy, since the “patent portfolio” is a valuable asset of an enterprise, with which you can increase the company’s budget, make a profit in court on claims from violators, as well as by selling it or implementing licensing agreements for patents. In addition, with the help of a “patent portfolio” it is possible to attract profitable investors, for whom its presence makes the copyright holder more attractive among other applicants for investment.
In order to correctly form a “patent portfolio”, it is necessary to first conduct a patent research, identifying a key patented object that has priority and information that must be kept secret, as well as identify additional objects related to the key object, which are a tool for increasing the value and sustainability of the “patent portfolio”. After this, national patent applications are filed in Russia and the opportunity to submit applications to the patent offices of other countries opens up.
To more reliably protect the result of intellectual activity, you can register its name or logo as a trademark before entering the market, since its absence contributes to restrictions in the promotion and sale of a new product. It is not uncommon for infringing competitors to track down unregistered trademarks, register them in their name and then offer to buy them back, or sue for illegal use of their trademark, which can lead to increased costs. Registration of a new product in the form of a trademark and its inclusion in TROIS can protect it from the import of counterfeit goods if the product is manufactured abroad and imported into Russia. At the same time, you need to check whether you are violating anyone's intellectual property rights. To do this, the product name and logo are checked. If a company only has an unregistered trademark, then it is important to check whether another company has a similar logo or product name registered as a trademark. If a similar logo or product name already exists as a registered trademark in another company, then there is a risk of violating its rights, which means there will be a need to create another logo, change the name and waste time and money. In addition, the trademark owner has the right to stop using the name and logo of the manufactured product in court and demand compensation of up to 5 million rubles.
It is possible to obtain a patent for an invention or utility model for a product, but first you need to check its patentability. If it meets its criteria, then the product must be patented, but it must be taken into account that one of the important criteria for patenting is novelty, so the patenting procedure must be carried out before releasing the goods to the market. In the case of protection of rights to a utility model, a technical solution related directly to the device is protected, and the criteria for its patentability are novelty and industrial applicability. The validity period of a utility model patent is 10 years from the date of filing the application.
One example of obtaining patents for a utility model in the field of agriculture, in particular agricultural engineering, is patent RU200702 (Registration date: 11/06/2020) “Installation for plasma surfacing of pointed arms of agricultural machines.” The developers have created an installation with a frame on which the carriage is located, with a mechanism for fastening the pointed arm of an agricultural machine installed on it, which can rotate relative to the carriage and the installation frame. The technical result is an increase in the rigidity of the fastening and the ability to adjust the angle of rotation of the restored pointed paw to improve the quality of surfacing and reduce labor intensity.
A patent was also received for a utility model in the field of agriculture “Device for highlighting seedlings” (RU201154 Registration date: 12/01/2020) for growing seedlings for growing vegetables, microgreens, and flowers at home. This is a device for supplementary illumination of seedlings, equipped with machine lamps on an aluminum plateau of an elliptical cross-section, and the lamp is installed to a certain final height depending on the crop being planted, taking into account the achievement of this height at biological maturity.
When protecting an invention, its technical solution relating to a device, substance, cells of animal or plant origin is protected, and the criteria for patentability for an invention are novelty, inventive step, and the possibility of application in practice. The validity period of a patent for an invention is 20 years (with the right of extension for 5 years for inventions related to medicines and chemicals used in the agricultural sector, household chemicals, etc.).
An example of a patent for an invention is the RU patent2735268 (Registration date: 10.29.2020) “A product for pre-sowing treatment of seeds of agricultural plants and a method of its use.” In this case, a product is proposed for pre-sowing treatment of agricultural plant seeds, which is a nanocomposite based on metal powder and polysaccharide. The invention provides a highly effective means for pre-sowing treatment of agricultural crop seeds.
Patent RU 2741341 (Registration date: 01/25/2021) “Hydraulic installation for mixing mineral fertilizers with water” was received, also related to agriculture. A hydraulic installation for mixing mineral fertilizers with water has been developed. The invention makes it possible to intensify the process, namely to simultaneously load a sealed mixing container with mineral fertilizers and water, mix to the required consistency and supply the mixture to the distribution pipeline of the irrigation network.
The inventions also include “Method for optical quality control of spherical-shaped agricultural products when sorting on a conveyor” (RU 2 737 607 Registration date: 12/01/2020) for monitoring the quality of vegetables and fruits when sorting them on a conveyor. The received patent protects the developed method, which provides increased reliability of the results of optical monitoring of spherical agricultural products transported on a conveyor.
Intellectual property also includes the shape of a product or packaging design, which can be patented as an industrial design, which should be done before releasing it to the market.
In conclusion, it must be added that in order to protect an invention in Russia and the countries of the former CIS, it is necessary to submit applications to each of the countries of interest or obtain a Eurasian patent, since there is no single patent that would simultaneously cover all CIS countries. A Eurasian patent provides legal protection for an invention simultaneously in 8 countries of the former USSR (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan) and is issued by the Eurasian Patent Office.
Ishinov Ilya
Source: Agricultural news
