Later this month Apple and Samsung are due to return to court in the US for the next instalment of their long-running, multi-jurisdictional, multi-million dollar battle over smartphone patents. This is just one of the many such disputes that have been keeping courtrooms across the world busy for the last 10 years, and as these cases show, patents are powerful and potentially very valuable things.
However, they are not the preserve of telecoms giants and can be particularly valuable for SMEs, many of whom are at the forefront of innovation and creating new products. Making effective use of the patent system can make or break an entrepreneurial SME, but obtaining a patent is not straightforward.
With the word “patent” often being bandied around incorrectly in the technology sector, Tom Lingard, an IP Partner at Stevens & Bolton LLP, explains exactly what they are in an article featured by Real Business – the SME website dedicated to high-growth business and entrepreneurs.
To read the article in full, click here.