3 Things Engineers Need to Know about Patents

Engineers need to have a basic understanding of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. This article is designed to serve as an introduction to patents as well as a guide for the technical professional who may or may not have the assistance of corporate legal counsel. Practical approaches to the three common issues that engineers are likely to get involved in: patent searching a product; avoiding patent infringement and protecting a new product idea are covered. Many facts about patents and intellectual property are introduced and a few myths are exposed.