The red boxes in Figure 3 show the early stages when a researcher identifies a potential invention and submits a Disclosure to TT&C. If the disclosed invention seems to offer benefits to industry or society, the next step is to assess the “patent strength” of the Disclosure.
In addition to the “basic” considerations of novelty, usefulness, and non-obviousness, the invention must fall in a patentable subject matter category, which typically includes processes, machines, manufactures, compositions of matter, or improvements thereof. If the description meets the criteria required to be considered patentable, marketability is then evaluated.
Figure:
Figure 3 – Patentability and marketability evaluation steps
There are many factors to consider when it comes to taking an invention from lab to market with some chance of commercial success. In this context, Marketability refers to the overall ability to
manufacture the product at a reasonable cost, with
low Quality Assurance (QA) rejection rates during production, and be able to
maintain and support the product throughout its lifecycle.
At this decision point we need to at least affirm the invention can be manufactured with consistent results.
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