In the Netherlands, you can apply for a patent yourself. You don’t have to use a patent attorney firm. You can even get a patent if your application isn’t drafted as well as it could be, but it may well be a waste of money. That will also change when the new Dutch Patent Act introduces full examination, expected in 2028. As the British say: penny wise, pound foolish. Hiring a patent attorney usually works out cheaper.
The road to a patent has many pitfalls
Drafting your own application is full of pitfalls. A common mistake is putting too many features in the claim. The claim defines your protection, so include as few elements as possible. Include too many, and a competitor can leave one out and get around your patent. Suppose you want a patent on an electric bike with an improved motor, and your claim says the bike also has a luggage carrier. Anyone who makes a bike with your motor but no luggage carrier then gets away with it. The claim only needs to show what makes your invention different from, and better than, what already exists.
The procedure is unrelenting
The opposite mistake is leaving out the invention’s essential features. A claim for an energy-efficient invention must include the features that make it energy-efficient. Without them, it’s unclear what you’re protecting. If an essential element is missing, your patent may be revoked, or never granted. Competitors can then copy your invention freely. And you can’t add the missing element later. If it isn’t there from the start, your application is worthless. The procedure is unforgiving: there’s no way back.
Exception to the rule does not work either
So your application has to be right first time. There is one way around this: file a first version yourself, then have a patent attorney file an improved version within 12 months, claiming priority from the first. But priority only covers what was in your first application. Anything you add later gets the later date. If you launch your product in the meantime, your own launch can then count against those additions. So this is rarely a good strategy.
The person skilled in the art must be able to follow it
Another pitfall is sufficiency of disclosure. Your application must describe the invention clearly enough for a person skilled in the art to reproduce it. If it doesn’t, you’re not entitled to a patent. And again, you can’t fix it later.
A unique position comes at a price
A patent gives you a monopoly position in a market in which you would normally have to compete with others. So it is definitely worth considering having a patent attorney draft an application that is right first time round. And yes, that costs money. The upside of that is the knowledge that nobody will be allowed to copy your invention for twenty years in an open and free market. Such a special position is also worth something.
If you want to find out more about applying for a patent, please do not hesitate to contact us.
