Apply for a Patent

Utrecht Holdings helps to determine whether your invention is patentable. We also file the patent, together with the inventors.

What is a Patent?

A patent is a strong, clear form of ownership for new work. It lets you stop others from copying your invention without permission.

Utrecht Holdings hires patent attorneys to write, file, and maintain the patent case. Because the costs are high, we first determine the potential impact of your invention (See Plan for Impact).

Patentability

During the patent proceedings the national Patent Offices will individually determine the scope of the claims to be granted for that specific country. This is called examination and focuses on the three criteria for patentability:

  1. Novelty
    The work in the patent must not have been made known in any way before the day of filing. Any publication or Phd thesis that discloses your invention is considered Prior Art and makes it impossible to obtain a patent.

    Note: It is important you reach out to us before publishing your invention.

  2. Inventive Step
    The claimed invention should contain an inventive step, meaning the invention should not be obvious to researchers working in the same field.

  3. Industrial Applicability
    The invention should be makeable as a product in the way it was claimed. We need to provide data and examples to show how the invention would look and work.

If all three aspects are a go, it is possible to obtain a patent.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who legally owns the patent?

 

Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht own the patent rights to research work performed by employed staff members.

Note that students are not employed and own the rights to the results of their graduation projects, unless agreed upon otherwise with the institution.

Who pays for the patent costs?

 

Utrecht Holdings and the research department where the invention originated each pay half of the patent costs.

What are the costs of a patent?

 

Within the first 2 years the total costs may be up to €10.000. After 2 years a patent become expensive, and may cost as much as €100.000 over its lifetime. 

How is income from a patent distributed?

Income generated by a patent is distributed as follows:

  • The first 50% is transferred to the research department that created the patent.
  • Another 25% is paid to the inventors listed on the patent.
  • The final 25% is used to fund Utrecht Holdings operational costs.
Who is considered an inventor?

 

Only people who played a key part in the Inventive Step are listed as inventors. Note that this may be different from who is considered an author on a related scientific publication.