Foreign Patent Processes Different Than U.S., Knobbe Martens Attorney Says

LOS ANGELES—Patent applicants should avoid passive “downstream” thinking when it comes to foreign markets, according to Andrew Simpson of Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, Irvine, Calif.

“You need expertise to understand local practices,” Simpson told a May 31 gathering convened by the OCTANe Foundation for Innovation, an Orange County information technology and biomedical industries networking group.

Patents for foreign markets, he said, represent a “fundamental asset” that can make a company more attractive, although applicants must be mindful of the fact that the window for patenting closes at some point and that such protection is limited territorially.

Foreign patents, Simpson ...