Protecting Your IP - Medical Device Design: Innovation from Concept to Market - page 302

Figure 13.2
The final outcome - a granted patent.
Once granted, the patent is published and is placed in the public domain. Figure 13.3
illustrates the information available. The “description” gives an outline to the project; the
“claims” lists the claims made; and the “mosaics” are IP-speak for drawings (images). Even
the status of the patent is available - it may have lapsed and hence is free to use! The “cited
documents” link is interesting as it is this link (and the citing documents link) that help you to
develop your prior art (discussed earlier).
13.2.1.3 Other Countries
Once filed, and some time later, your patent attorney will ask you about other countries. You
may be happy with having a patent in only one country (say, the USA). It is more common
for medical devices to be filed in many countries. Only you will know which countries these
need to be, but you should cover the countries in which you intend to sell and manufacture.
Filing in other countries is an expensive business so do not file everywhere as a blanket -
unless you happen to be multimillionaire.