How Do Companies Acquire Patents?

A patent attorney with over 25 years of experience, William Bryan Farney attended the University of Texas Law School where he earned a juris doctor. William Bryan Farney has also counseled numerous investors and companies on monetization strategies and patent licensing.

A right that is granted by the federal government to an inventor, a patent enables inventors to legally exclude others from selling, making, or using the patented invention for a specified period of time. For an invention to be considered valid for patenting, it must satisfy all fundamental patenting requirements, which are utility (the invention must be useful), eligibility (must be a machine, artificial process, or manufactured material), novelty (must be innovative), and nonobvious (must not be so simple that almost anyone would have thought of it).

According to the patent statute, a patent for a particular innovation may only be obtained by its inventor. A non-inventor of the technology cannot obtain a patent on it. The inventor of the technology is the one who conceived idea. However, the right to own technology as an inventor can be sold. This is one way companies get patents — by purchasing rights from an individual or another company that owns the patent. Often, companies also acquire a patent by supporting an inventor/employee through the process of obtaining a patent while the employee, the company, or the two together retain the rights.