Patents: A Managerial Perspective
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/10610429410073138 |
| Pages | 44-54 |
| Date | 01 December 1994 |
| Published date | 01 December 1994 |
| Author | Tim Hufker,Frank Alpert |
| Subject Matter | Marketing |
JOURNAL OF
PRODUCT & BRAND
MANAGEMENT
44
Developing a novel product that is desirable
in the marketplace is only half the battle of
innovation. In order to make a new product
worth the expense and risk of product
development and marketing, an innovator
must be able to recover the high costs plus a
suitable profit reward. Patents are the classic
means that governments use to allow
innovators to maximize returns on their
innovations. If the patent protects a product
which is desired by the market, this is truly a
manager’s dream. But to exploit maximally
the benefits that patents can provide,
managers must know how to use patents
effectively.
Regrettably, the topic of patent law is
rarely written about in the business literature,
even though major articles have been written
on other legal topics (such as trademarks
(Cohen, 1986, 1991), the legal dimensions of
salespersons’ statements (Boedecker et al.,
1991), gray markets (Duhan and Sheffet,
1988), and the legal foundations of relational
marketing exchanges (Gundlach and Murphy,
1993)). The one major exception is an
empirical investigation of patent infringement
by foreigners (Thomas, 1989). Patent issues
seem to have been ceded to economists,
engineers, and, especially, attorneys. Perhaps
a perception that patents is very complex law
and very technical (in an engineering sense)
scares business people away from this topic.
When it does come time to learn about
patents, managers are generally left to look to
legal encyclopedias, how-to-obtain-a-patent
books, or to consult with attorneys. Often
these avenues lack a business strategy
perspective.
This article discusses the planning,
implementation and control of patents from a
managerial perspective. Entrepreneurs and
managers in small companies, in particular,
may find this information useful. Product
managers/new products managers in larger
companies which have patents legal staff or
patents-wise engineers available may also
benefit from the business analysis
perspective. We begin with a discussion of
the basic elements of patent theory and the
process of patent planning through the
obtaining of a patent. Then patent
management issues are examined with
implications for the marketing mix. Finally,
the topic of patent control will be addressed.
US Patent System
Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the
United States adopted in 1789 gives the
Congress the power “to promote the Progress
of Science and the useful Arts, by securing
for Limited Times to Authors and Inventors,
the exclusive Rights to their respective
Writings and Discoveries”. As the framers of
the Constitution intended, a patent may be
thought of as a contract between an inventor
Patents:
A Managerial Perspective
Tim Hufker and Frank Alpert
Journal of Product & Brand Management, Vol. 3 No. 4, 1994, pp. 44-54
© MCB University Press, 1061-0421
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