At Let’s Prototype, we have seen firsthand how most Spanish inventors for whom we develop inventions and manufacture prototypes choose to patent their inventions in the United States.
Clear success stories like those achieved by the company Fractus or the recent victory of Spanish inventor Álvaro López-Medrano demonstrate:
Legal certainty: The cases of Fractus and Álvaro demonstrate that patent enforcement in the United States works, regardless of the size or power of the opposing companies.
Access to funding: We often emphasize that obtaining a patent is not as complex as defending it. A patent dispute in the United States is extremely expensive. This is one of the main barriers preventing inventors from successfully defending their patents. For this reason, within the inventor ecosystem in the United States, there is a growing presence of investment funds specialized in supporting companies that are about to launch patent enforcement proceedings. In Europe, by contrast, such investment funds are almost nonexistent.
Patent timelines: The response speed of the United States Patent and Trademark Office is very efficient. In just 3 months, inventors can have clarity regarding the outcome of the examination of their patents, and within 6 months, they could potentially obtain a granted invention patent with 20 years of exclusive protection.
Patent costs: The patent process in the United States is often seen by many Spanish inventors as something out of reach. However, any Spanish inventor who believes their invention is truly competitive and useful can apply for a patent in the U.S. Contrary to what many Spanish inventors think, the cost of a U.S. patent is very similar to the fees for patents in Europe.
Patent profitability: The goal of inventors who protect their inventions is, without a doubt, to profit from their patents—a completely legitimate and obvious aim. In the U.S., for fees similar to the cost of patents in Europe, inventors gain access to a much larger, more consumption-driven population and a technological business ecosystem that far exceeds the European corporate landscape. Therefore, it is a far more favorable environment for: selling a patent, licensing a patent, or defending an infringed patent, as demonstrated by these examples of American patents held by Spanish inventors.
As you know, Let’s Prototype is not a U.S. patent law firm. We are a product development lab based in the United States and Spain. However, we work daily with U.S. patent firms that provide services to our clients—most of whom are Spanish inventors seeking to protect their inventions in the U.S.
