Atty. Gregorio B. Austral, CPA
Innovative ideas: disclose at your own risk
There are things which are best kept in secrecy rather shared to the public. But there are things also that need to be shared to the public since the state has a compelling interest for its disclosure. The first may refer to purely private information which the law protects against unintended or coerced disclosure while the second may refer to an invention made by a person.
An invention is a technical solution to a problem in any field of human activity which is new, involves an inventive step, and is industrially applicable. This is the definition of the law for patentable inventions. Since an invention is a technical solution to a problem, its disclosure and availability to the public is encouraged. To encourage disclosure and sharing of the invention, the law allows a temporary period of monopoly to the inventor to enjoy the benefits of his ingenuity. This is done through patent rights whereby the inventor is granted the exclusive right over his invention.
The rule adopted in the Philippines and in most other countries, however, discourages the inventor to share his invention to the public prematurely without first securing the protection under the law. This is because patent rights are granted only on the date of filing the application for patent and not at the moment of creation or invention. This is called the “First-to-File” rule which gives preference to the person who filed his application for patent first but who may not be the person who actually made the invention.
The risk that an inventor faces when his invention is disclosed to the public without patent protection is that he is giving the public a chance to copy his invention with impunity since, once disclosed to the public without a patent, the invention will now become part of public domain.
It is therefore prudent for inventors never to disclose his invention unless he has filed an application for patent. The eagerness to flaunt once inventiveness to the public is an invitation to a scheming or enterprising person to own the right over a thing which he has never invented in the first place.