international, patent, licensingMy company exists in the USA, and I have a patent for a product. If I license my product to a company that exists in a different country, do I need to apply for additional patents in the manufacturer’s country as well? Will my U.S patent provide me protections in cases of international patent infringement?
A patent only provides protection for activity in the country in which it was granted.
For example, a U.S. patent allows you to prevent people from using your invention in the U.S., but anyone is free to use your invention in other countries (though they couldn’t import it into the U.S.).
For many companies, a U.S. patent is sufficient because that is big chunk of the market. If you can prevent a competitor from selling in the U.S., you have a huge advantage.
If you license your U.S. patent to a Japanese company, then you are giving them the right to use your invention in the U.S. (here use includes importing it into the U.S. or making it in the U.S.). Without this license, the Japaneses company can’t sell in the U.S., but can sell in all other countries of the world.
Note that you need to start your international patent applications within in one year of filing your U.S. application. If you miss that deadline, you’ve forever lost the right to file international patent applications.
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