A seminar focused on "What is a patent and what are the benefits of it?" that was organized with the cooperation between BUSIAD and Uludag University was held at the Department of Industrial Engineering in Uludag University. Students of the Textile and Mechanical Engineering Departments attended the program of which the speakers were the Patent Expert of Destek Patent, mechanical engineer Alper Firat Alpsoy.
Making a presentation called "The Idea of Insurance Systems in an Information Society and the Intellectual Property Rights", the Patent Expert from Destek Patent, Alper Firat Alpsoy, gave information about patents and utility models, highlighting the common and different points that both concepts have. Stating that Intellectual Property Rights are composed of works of art, works, and computer programs, Alpsoy noted that the Intellectual property rights consist of patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical signs and topographies of the integrated circuits.
Stating that %80 of the technical information in the world is in patents, "1.5 million patent applications are made each year. Only a certain part of them turns into patents within the framework of the relevant patent criteria. Across the globe, there are 100 million patent documents and over 10 million valid patents. The most critical criteria of an application to become a patent is that it should be new, exceeding the state of the art and industrial applicability" said Alpsoy.
"The awarded countries have the chance to strengthen their economies"
Pointing out that a patent offers 20 years of protection and a utility model offers 10 years, Alpsoy said that the protection that a patent offers is valid on a national scale and the patents brings protection only in the country in which they were registered. Mentioning the patent numbers of other countries, Alpsoy stated that while China's annual number of patents was tens of thousands in 1995, it received around 520.000 applications in 2011, surpassing the United States. Expressing that the countries that registered their patents can have the chance to strengthen their economies, Alpsoy said that Turkey gained momentum last year in the patent figures, and the annual patent applications (both on a national and international scale) were increased to a total of 13.958.
About the advantages of patents and utility models, Alpsoy spoke as follows: "In a utility model, after the application, the license can be transformed into a patent application before the decision receives. In case of an imitation, the right holder is allowed to initiate legal enforcement, and all of the severe sanctions brought with the applicable legislation can be enforced against the imitator. Only the inventions fulfilling the criteria of novelty and industrial applicability can be licensed as a utility model. However, a patent protects your business by preventing any imitation and increasing turnover. It brings an advantage against the competitors and blocks them. It brings revenue thanks to the license and handover activities. It boosts prestige thanks to an innovative firm image. It develops new business cooperations thanks to new partnerships. Besides, it ensures mutual sharing thanks to cross-licensing."
