Patent your invention

Without a written agreement, ownership of jointly created results can become unclear and hard to exploit, because co-owners often cannot license or sell without each other's consent. Settle it before work starts: separate the background IP each party brings from the foreground IP created in the project, and record who owns it, who may use it and for what. Pitch drafts and negotiates these collaboration and technology transfer terms.

• AcademyTechnology Transfer Agreements →
• SolutionsCommercial Contracts & Transactions →

Owning a patent of your own does not mean you are free to use your technology, since third-party patents can still block it. A freedom-to-operate analysis checks the patents in force, and pending applications, in the countries where you will sell, against the features of your product. The result is a risk assessment, not a guarantee, and it is best done before major investment. Pitch carries out these analyses.

• AcademyFreedom-to-Operate Analysis →
• SolutionsPatent Research →
• TechnologyPatent Analysis and Research →

Three risks matter. Training data may carry copyright, database rights or contractual restrictions. Confidential information or code entered into an external tool may leave your control or lose its secret status. And output created without meaningful human creative input may be hard to protect. Check the tool’s terms, keep records of data sources and set an internal policy. Pitch advises on these points and on EU AI Act duties.

• AcademyAI and Intellectual Property: Training Data, Copyright and Disclosure →
• SolutionsAI Act Compliance →

It is strongly advisable. Prior art is anything made public anywhere before your filing date, and it decides whether an invention is new and inventive. A search before development can show you where the room is, and a search before filing avoids paying for an application that is unlikely to be granted. It also reveals who is active in your field. Pitch performs patent searches and explains the results in plain language.

• AcademyPrior Art and How to Search for It →
• SolutionsPatent Research →
• TechnologyPatent Analysis and Research →

As a rule, no. The European Patent Convention and most national patent laws require that an invention is new at the filing date, and your own publication, conference talk, website, demo or investor deck can destroy that novelty. There are only narrow exceptions, and they differ per country and do not exist in many of them. File first, then disclose. If you must share earlier, do so under a written confidentiality agreement. Pitch can help you plan the filing around your calendar.

• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →
• AcademyPrior Art and How to Search for It →

The rules on employee inventions differ per country: some have detailed statutes, others (such as Belgium) have no complete regime. The position therefore depends on the applicable national law, the facts and, above all, the contract. For freelancers and consultants the default is usually that the creator keeps the rights unless they are assigned in writing. Put clear assignment and confidentiality clauses in every employment and service agreement, and check them for existing staff. Pitch reviews and drafts these clauses.

• AcademyTechnology Transfer Agreements →
• AcademyFinding the IP You Already Have →

Support comes from several levels: EU programmes such as Horizon Europe, national and regional grants and loans, and national tax incentives such as R&D tax credits, IP box regimes or relief on payroll taxes for research staff. What exists differs per country. In Belgium, for example, companies can combine regional grants and loans with federal measures such as the partial exemption from professional withholding tax for research staff and the innovation income deduction on profits from qualifying IP. Conditions, budgets and calls change, and each scheme has formal requirements, so check eligibility before you start spending. Pitch helps with the applications and the IP side of these schemes.

• SolutionsR&D Grants and Subsidies →
• SolutionsBelgian Withholding Tax Exemption for R&D Staff →
• AcademyGrants and Tax Incentives for IP in Belgium →

Most companies own more IP than they list: software code, designs, databases, know-how, brand names, domain names and inventions that were never filed. An IP audit goes through products, projects, contracts and people to identify what exists, who owns it and what is at risk, for example missing assignments or open source obligations. It gives a base for protection decisions and for due diligence later.

• AcademyFinding the IP You Already Have →
• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →

A one-off search ages quickly, because new applications are published about 18 months after filing and granted patents can change status. A patent watch monitors defined technologies, competitors or inventors and alerts you to new publications, so you can adapt your design, plan oppositions or spot licensing chances early. Define the scope carefully, otherwise you receive noise. Pitch sets up and reviews such watches.

• TechnologyPatent Watch →
• TechnologyPatent Analysis and Research →
• SolutionsPatent Research →

Yes, but only under a signed non-disclosure agreement that defines the confidential information, limits its use to the evaluation, sets a duration and covers return or deletion. Share in stages and only what is needed. Know-how is only protected as a trade secret if you take reasonable steps to keep it secret, and disclosure of an unfiled invention can harm patentability. Pitch drafts and reviews NDAs and collaboration terms.

• AcademyTechnology Transfer Agreements →
• AcademyDatabase Rights and Trade Secrets →
• SolutionsCommercial Contracts & Transactions →

An invention must be new, inventive and industrially applicable, and software or business methods as such are excluded. Whether a patent is worth it depends on the commercial value of exclusivity, how easily a competitor could copy you, the cost of filing and maintaining in several countries, and the alternative of keeping it secret. A prior art search and a strategy discussion give a realistic answer before you commit.

• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →
• SolutionsPatent Research →
• AcademyPrior Art and How to Search for It →

A patent gives you a monopoly of up to 20 years, but the application is published after 18 months. A trade secret lasts as long as it stays secret and costs nothing to file, but it does not stop someone who finds the same solution independently or reverse-engineers your product. Patent what competitors can see or copy from the product, and keep secret what stays inside your own processes. Many companies combine both.

• AcademyDatabase Rights and Trade Secrets →
• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →

A national filing is often the cheapest first step and secures your priority date. Within 12 months you then extend: a European patent application covers the 39 member states of the European Patent Organisation in one procedure, and an international PCT application keeps more than 150 countries open for up to 30 or 31 months before you choose. The right route depends on your markets, your budget and how fast you need a granted patent.

• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →
• TechnologyIP Cost Estimator →

Under the Paris Convention, a first patent filing gives you a priority period of 12 months to file the same invention in other countries, or through the European Patent Office, and benefit from the first filing date. These deadlines cannot be extended, so budget and decide on countries early. Pitch tracks the dates and prepares the follow-up filings.

• AcademyManaging Your IP Deadlines →
• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →
• TechnologyIP Portfolio, Renewals and Deadlines →

After a European patent is granted, you can request unitary effect for the participating EU states instead of validating country by country. It means one renewal fee and one registration, and the Unified Patent Court has jurisdiction. That court brings opportunity and risk, since a single central attack can affect all states. Which route fits depends on the countries that matter to you and how you plan to enforce.

• AcademyThe Unitary Patent →
• AcademyThe Unified Patent Court →
• TechnologyIP Cost Estimator →

Software code is protected by copyright automatically, but ideas and functionality are not. Databases can carry a separate database right, and secret know-how can be protected as a trade secret if it has commercial value and you take reasonable steps to keep it secret. In practice this means contracts, access controls, documented ownership and clear licence terms. Pitch advises on structuring that protection.

• AcademyCan I Protect My Software? →
• AcademyDatabase Rights and Trade Secrets →
• SolutionsData and Database Rights Protection →

Costs depend on the right, the number of countries, the classes or claims, and the procedure, and they recur through renewals and maintenance. Rather than filing everywhere, rank markets by commercial importance and spread filings over time using priority periods. Plan for oppositions and objections as well. Pitch gives a cost estimate per scenario before you commit, so you can compare options.

• AcademyIP Cost Planning for Multi-Jurisdiction Filings →
• TechnologyIP Cost Estimator →
• AcademyIP Lifecycle Management →

Check four things. First, you are free to use the name and the technology: a clearance search and, for technical products, a freedom-to-operate analysis. Second, you own what you sell, including code written by staff and freelancers. Third, your own rights are filed. Fourth, sector rules apply, such as product safety, data protection or the AI Act. Pitch can run these checks together before launch.

• AcademyFreedom-to-Operate Analysis →
• SolutionsTrademark Clearance →
• AcademyConformity Assessments for High-Risk AI →

Control comes from the contract. Define the licensed rights, field of use, territory and duration, whether the licence is exclusive, and what happens to improvements. Add audit and reporting rights, limits on sublicensing, and clear termination and exit terms. EU competition rules limit some restrictions in technology licences. Pitch drafts and negotiates licences for patents, know-how and software.

• AcademyLicensing Agreements →
• SolutionsPatent and Technology Licensing →
• SolutionsTrademark Licensing →

There is no single number. Valuation usually uses an income approach (the future earnings the IP supports), a market approach (comparable deals) or a cost approach (what it would take to recreate). The result depends on legal strength, remaining life, territories, ownership and the assumptions used, so it should be presented as a reasoned range. Pitch prepares valuations for sales, licensing, financing and tax purposes.

• AcademyHow to Value an IP Portfolio →
• SolutionsValuation →

There is no standard rate: it depends on the sector, the strength of the rights, exclusivity, the licensee’s margin and the alternatives available to it. Common structures are an upfront fee, a running royalty on net sales, minimum guarantees and milestone payments. Define the royalty base precisely, add reporting and audit rights, and address currency and taxes. Pitch negotiates these terms and can support them with a valuation.

• SolutionsPatent and Technology Licensing →
• AcademyLicensing Agreements →
• SolutionsValuation →

An assignment of a European patent application must be in writing and signed; put transfers of granted patents and know-how in writing too. Then record the new owner in the relevant registers, because an unrecorded transfer may not be enforceable against third parties. Check chain of title, existing licences and liens first, and agree on warranties and who takes over pending deadlines. Pitch drafts the deal and handles the recordals.

• AcademyTransferring and Licensing a Trademark →
• AcademyTechnology Transfer Agreements →
• SolutionsPatent and Technology Licensing →

Often yes, but first establish what you may share: personal data brings GDPR duties, third-party data may carry contractual limits, and databases may be covered by a database right. Then define purpose, permitted use, security, onward sharing, ownership of derived data and liability. The EU Data Act adds rules on access to data from connected products and on switching providers. Pitch drafts data licensing and sharing agreements.

• SolutionsData Licensing and Data Sharing →
• AcademyThe EU Data Act →
• AcademyDatabase Rights and Trade Secrets →

It depends on the country. Several European countries, such as France, the Netherlands and Ireland, offer a reduced tax rate or deduction on qualifying income from patents and certain other IP, in some cases including protected software. These IP box regimes generally follow an internationally agreed approach: eligibility depends on how the IP was developed, on tracking the related R&D expenditure and on correct documentation. Some countries also have separate regimes for copyright income of natural persons. Set up the records early and have the structure reviewed.

• SolutionsBelgian Innovation Income Deduction →
• AcademyThe Belgian Tax Regime for Copyrights →
• SolutionsBelgian Copyright Tax Regime →

Only if it is a high-risk AI system under the EU AI Act, for example in areas such as employment, education or essential services. Providers of such systems must complete a conformity assessment, keep technical documentation and register the system before placing it on the market. Many products are not high-risk but still carry transparency duties. Classify the system first and confirm whether you are provider or deployer.

• AcademyConformity Assessments for High-Risk AI →
• AcademyAI Act Risk Classification →
• SolutionsAI Act Compliance →

Cover territory and exclusivity, minimum purchases or targets, pricing and payment, use of your trademarks and materials, stock and warranty handling, data protection and termination, including what happens to stock and customers afterwards. EU competition law restricts some terms, such as fixing resale prices or banning passive sales within the EU, so standard terms need checking. Some national laws also give distributors termination protection or compensation, so check the law that governs the agreement. Pitch drafts and reviews these agreements.

• AcademyDistribution and Reseller Agreements →
• SolutionsCommercial Contracts & Transactions →
• TechnologyDocument Studio →

The Unified Patent Court hears infringement and revocation cases for unitary patents and, unless opted out, for European patents in the participating states, with one decision covering them all. National courts remain available. The choice affects cost, speed, reach and the risk that your patent is revoked everywhere in one action. Decide with a litigation strategy before you start.

• AcademyThe Unified Patent Court →
• AcademyThe Unitary Patent →
• TechnologyOnline Patent Monitoring and Enforcement →

First secure the evidence: buy samples, document the sales and, where needed, ask a court for an order to seize evidence. Then choose between a warning letter, negotiating a licence and court action for an injunction, damages and a recall. In urgent cases, provisional measures can stop sales within weeks. Check the strength of your own patent first, because the other side will almost always attack its validity.

• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →
• AcademyThe Unified Patent Court →

Do not ignore it, and do not admit anything. Check whether the patent is in force where you are active, whether your product really falls under the claims, and whether the patent is valid. A European patent can be opposed at the European Patent Office within nine months of grant, and patents can be revoked in court or at the Unified Patent Court. Then decide whether to respond, negotiate a licence, design around the patent or prepare your defence.

• AcademyFreedom-to-Operate Analysis →
• SolutionsPatent Research →
• AcademyThe Unified Patent Court →

During the transitional period, which runs until at least 1 June 2030, you can opt a classic European patent out of the UPC, so that only national courts hear cases about it. Opting out avoids a single central revocation action, but you also give up enforcement in all UPC countries in one case. You can withdraw the opt-out later, unless an action has started before a national court. Unitary patents cannot be opted out.

• AcademyThe Unified Patent Court →
• AcademyThe Unitary Patent →

Online marketplaces have procedures for patent complaints, but they expect clear evidence: the patent number, proof that it is in force in that market, and a claim chart that compares your claims with the product listed. Our patent enforcement tooling spots the listings and prepares the complaints, and an attorney checks each case before it is filed, because an unfounded complaint can backfire.

• TechnologyOnline Patent Monitoring and Enforcement →
• TechnologyPatent Watch →

Yes, also for patents. With an application for action under the EU customs rules, customs detain suspected infringing goods and notify you. Customs cannot easily judge a patent infringement themselves, so give them a clear description of the protected technology and how to recognise it. You then have a short period, as a rule 10 working days, to start proceedings or agree to the goods being destroyed.

• Solutions360° Patent Strategy →