From napkin to new technology: 21st-century challenges for the surgeon-inventor

Abstract

It is useful to enumerate some relevant definitions. Intellectual property Intellectual property is defined as a product of the “mind or intellect.” It can encompass anything from a new heart valve to “Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.” Owners are granted exclusivity over various intangibles such as inventions, discoveries, artistic works, words, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property are patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets. Patents “A patent is a man’s right to the product of his mind” (Ayn Rand). A patent is defined as “a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a pubic disclosure of an invention.” An important exception to the protection afforded by patents is that of a new discovery. Patents are further divided into “utility” and “design” patents. Utility patents An invention must be new, useful, and “nonobvious.” A utility patent protects any new invention or functional improvement on an existing invention. To meet the novelty requirement, the invention must not have been known or used by others in this country before the applicant invented it, and it also must not have been patented or described in a printed publication in the United States or a foreign country. If the inventor’s work is not novel, the inventor is not adding to the public knowledge, so the inventor should not be granted a patent. Meeting the useful requirement is easy for most inventions. An invention is useful if it can be applied to some beneficial use in society. To meet the nonobvious requirement, the invention must be sufficiently different from existing technology and knowledge so that, at the time the invention was made, the invention as a whole would not have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in that field. Design patents To qualify for a design patent, a design must be new, original, and ornamental. Design patents are considered rather narrow intellectual property protection because they are limited to the ornamental appearance of an article. Given the limited protection provided by this category, most infringements of these patents are unenforceable. Technology transfer Technology transfer is a term used to describe the transfer of technology from one environment to another [1]. For all the academic surgeons reading this, a visit to your Office of Technology Transfer is almost a certain step along the path to “patenthood.” The role played by this department cannot be overemphasized and is the key to bringing a good idea from the drawing board to commercialization. My colleagues in private practice will experience a less bureaucratic but also less structured process involving direct interaction with our industry partners.