Carlos Herbozo Vidal

Former child. Coffee enthusiast

Week 19: Invention, Intellectual Property and Income


This week was all about licensing our work and thinking about its disemination. As part of the assignment, we had to review two types of licenses adn choose which one's right for us. As I've stated before, I'm a self-proclaimed "Coffee Enthusiast", and together with my best friend Alejandro, we were thinking about going into the coffe business. That's why we thought that if my project worked, it might be a valuable asset for us. This however does not mean I want to keep the information secret, because I do like the idea of collaboration within the rest of the network. So, these are the licenses I've been thinking of:


Utility Patent


The most obvious choice is a utility patent, because it allows me to profit from my invention while preventing others from exploiting it. Another benefit is that it allows for the information to be shared with the rest of the world. One of the requirements for filing a patent is that all the relevant information must be disclosed and published in the document. But does my project fit the requirements to be a patent?


  1. Novel:Is it novel? Eventhough there are Yama towers and Peristaltic pumps and Solenoid valves and Plexiglass tanks, I've never actually seen all of these elements combined in a single product. Thus my invention would be considered novel.
  2. Non-Obvious:Is the addition of these elements and the electronics obvious? Maybe to an expert in digital fabrication or automation. When filing a patent however is not the experts who evaluate the non-obvious requirement. Also, this invention might fall into the coffe categroy, and not the digital fabrication category, which means that, for a coffee expert or a connaîsseur, this project might not be obvious at all.
  3. Useful: Is it useful? Ummm.....yeah.

There are still however a few problems with this type of licensing. First, will presenting my invention as a final project, affect its novelty? Second, will my patent protect the invention everywhere?. Here's the answer to the questions:


First: Normally, yes. The invention should not be disclosed until the patent is filed. HOWEVER, here in Peru, the INDECOPI (National Institute in Defense of the Competition, Customer and Intelectual Property) disregards any disemination done by the inventor IF it was done within a year before the patent was filed. This means that, since my final presentation is due June 18 2018, I can file a patent until June 18 2019.


Second: Technically, no. If I file my patent here in Peru, the invention wil be protected only in Peru. Sad ain't it? Luckily, there are two options for me:


  1. First: File my patent in Peru, and then travel around the globe filing patents within the same year, claiming my priority right, and filing as many patents as possible, This option is highly ineffective and extremely expensive.
  2. Second: FIle my patent as a PCT patent. This will mean that during the applicaiton process, my invention will be protected in all 152 countries which are members of the treaty. During this time, I'll be able to select the countries where I effectivly want to file my patent. Once this patent's been accepted, I have 30 months to travel around the world and patent the invention in the countries I selected. This is the best option.

The problem with the utility patent is that it won't protect my code, my designs or any circuits, which are a main part of the invention. This led me to option number two.


Copyrights: Creative Commons


This option will alow me to be recognised for the desing of the tower, the circuits I made and the code I created in order for my tower to work properly. However, within creative commons there's a wide range of possibilities, so I'll try to select the best one for me depending on whether or not I want other people to be able to modify my work, and whether or not they can use it for comercial purposes.


  1. I do want other people to be able to modify my work, BUT I want them to share in the same way I have, so as to promote an open and collaborative culture.
  2. I do not think the commecialisation of my work would be benefitial to myself if I wanted to invest in the coffee business, so I've decided against allowing commercialisation. Sorry.

This means the license I've chosen is the "Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License".


Dissemination


Finally, as for the dissemination, this will come from the business I'm planning on implementing. If the tower works properly, I want to improve it and include it in the business. Once the business grows, I'll use the towers as part of the coffee-making process of the business and promote the proliferation of self-made machines for food and beverage industries. Hopefully.