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Johannes van Melle is a European patent attorney at V.O. Once again, he coaches students during the TU/e Contest at the University of Technology in Eindhoven this year. With ten business locations, V.O. is one of Europe’s largest patent offices, supporting companies to maximise the value of their Intellectual Property. Johannes started the V.O. business location at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven in 2006 and studied physics and law at Utrecht University.

Why request a patent?
A patent prevents competing companies from exploiting your innovation. It protects your technical invention from being copied by competitors. As a consequence, you keep competitors at a distance by obtaining the exclusive right to your innovation. Moreover, investors will find your company more attractive, since the patent demonstrates you actually created something innovating. Especially for start-ups, as they often depend on investment capital, this is an interesting concomitant. Johannes: “Unfortunately, a patent request is not high on any entrepreneur’s priority list, particularly during the start-up period. Frequently, entrepreneurs want to start-up their company first; the need for a patent occurs at a later stage. Regrettably, it will be too late; you cannot protect your invention retroactively.”

When is an invention eligible for patent protection?
Johannes: “Only technical inventions are eligible for patent protections; you cannot request a patent for a theory or the provision of certain services. The invention must solve a technical problem.” Also, a request for a patent must meet the following conditions.

3 Conditions for a patent request

1. Novelty

Your invention cannot have been made public anywhere in the world before the date of the patent request.

2. Inventiveness

Your invention has to be ingenious and must not be evident to an expert. Johannes: “I often set the invention of the bicycle bell as an example. If the bicycle bell were to be invented in the year 2017, the invention would be new, but not ingenious. As it happens, cars also signal us in the same way, through sound. The bicycle bell is a similar solution. Therefore the invention is too obvious.

3. Industrial applicability

The invention must be implementable. Therefore, you cannot request patents for new theories or ideas. The central government gives a clear example on its website: “You can request a patent for a new type of playing card, which would be easier to hold for example, but not for an idea for a new card game.” This criterion makes sure that every invention has to be written down in detail, enabling the inventor to claim a defined area.

What does a patent office do?
A patent office will do its utmost to protect an invention, so the competitor cannot take over the invention by just making a minor adjustment. The patent attorney ‘digs deep’ into the technology of the invention and participates in the client’s strategy and purpose, in order to accurately describe the invention. This is a very special process; the patent attorney stands at the cradle of many special innovations.

Subsequently, the patent attorney defends the claim at a coordinating patent office, which is always a government institution. The coordinating patent office assesses the invention on three conditions: new, inventive and applicable. The office uses a large database, containing all patent requests ever made, to verify all the data. In some cases, it emerges that (part of) the invention already exists, and the claim has to be reconsidered. The patent attorney now has to reconsider whether the claim is attainable. Sometimes this complex game can take years.

Would you like to become a patent attorney?
The profession of patent attorney could easily suit you, if you have a technical bachelor degree, are interested in new technologies, and have good verbal skills. A patent attorney has to be able to intrinsically comprehend an invention and grasp the idea as a whole until he discovers its surplus value. It is of the utmost importance that you are very technically skilled and ideally 80% of your bachelor subjects are of a technical nature. Also, you need to have excellent verbal skills. During the patent request process, you communicate with various parties, and it is essential that you can explain technical processes to outsiders.

What are the characteristics of a good patent attorney?
It is particularly important for a good patent attorney to be inquisitive and communicative. We like young professionals to have practical experience, e.g. by participating in initiatives such as the TU/e Contest. The profession of a patent attorney is versatile and challenging, and it will take some time to acquire the adequate expertise. Obviously, V.O. trainees are carefully educated, and although the way to success is hard, it will be incredible. Take a look at our trainee programme on Youtube, or check out www.vo.eu/career.