title: Patents: a tool to bring innovation from the lab bench to the marketplace.
abstract: Intellectual property (IP) is creations of the mind. Protecting IP through patents is an important venue for a researcher to reap rewards from his scientific endeavors. It is part of a competitive strategy for bringing one's invention to the marketplace. Using the US and European patent systems as examples, we provide here an overview of how patents protect innovation, with a focus on biotechnology. We explain what a patent is, what a patent owner can do with a patent, and how patents are granted. The article ends with some recent examples of noteworthy patents in the field of yeast research.
authors.affiliation: Ropes & Gray LLP, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY, 10036-8704, USA, ying.li@ropesgray.com.
authors.forename: Z Ying
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Wolfram
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D030881:Disclosure; D062069:Inventions / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D007753:Laboratories; D010330:Patents as Topic; D015003:Yeasts