Patent documents: a valuable source of technical Information

摘要

Regardless of the outcome of the examination procedure, patent applications are an important source of technical information published 18 months after the first filing. Granted patents are also published at the end of a positive examination procedure and usually upon payment of a corresponding fee. The availability of the patent documents content is an essential element of the patent system and it constitutes a fair balance to The exciusive rights grantea to a patent holder over an invention. The Obligation to publicly disclose complete information about newly developed inventions, for which protection is sought, Warrants continuous development of science and technology (1).