Lawyers advised students to think carefully before inventing or investing in the next singing toilet paper at a panel discussion yesterday.
Last night over free dinner at the Weiss Tech House, lawyers from Lowenstein Sandler spoke to a small group of Engineering and Wharton students about inventions, patents and the businesses that can result from them.
Patents are governmental protections of an invention or an idea, and anyone with an invention that is new, useful and not obvious can apply for one. The job of a patent lawyer is then to prove to the government that the invention actually fits those qualifications.
"A patent is basically a quid pro quo. You disclose everything, and in return the government grants you a 20-year monopoly to prevent others from making, using or selling your invention," lawyer Beverly Lubit said.
The U.S. Patent Office offers two kinds of patents: provisional and regular. Unlike the regular patent, which lasts for 20 years, the provisional patent protects property for one year and is a more informal version of the proposed invention.
In theory, a Penn student could apply for a patent to protect his or her invention, but Lubit advised against it.
"Even though anyone can apply for a patent," Lubit said, "anyone seeking a patent should first speak to a lawyer or someone with some experience with patents."
According to Lubit, patents have become very complicated.
To protect an invention and start a business based on that invention, the inventor must take precautions to have a clearly written patent that prevents misinterpretation of the invention.
Lawyer Raymond Thek said that inventors need to think of the use of their product during the invention process.
Thek advised students that "if you're in the business of inventing, you have to invent something people need or else they won't pay for it."
Thek commented on the fact that "business sells adequacy," and most engineers are so focused on perfecting an invention that they do not realize that an adequate version of their invention would sell on the market.
R.J. Lehmen, a 2004 Engineering graduate, said that it was "interesting to see how the game is played."
The event was one of many held at the Weiss Tech House to bring attention to engineering and technology issues that could soon face students.
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