What are the options for the commercialization of inventions?
The holder of an invention has several options to commercially exploit his invention. Those options include: • Retaining the invention as a trade secret if this is possible, and exploit it directly or license (or assign) the secret to another person. • Obtaining a patent for the invention in the country or countries in which it is to be exploited, and directly work on commercial production using the invention. This can be done, for example, by starting a new enterprise. • Licensing the rights under the patent for manufacturing and marketing to another party; and • Assigning or transferring the patent. The industrial development and commercialization process of an invention involves risk, particularly financial risk. Therefore, it is highly advisable that an extensive market survey be undertaken about the commercial viability of such exploitation.
