 |
The United States is a significant market for most inventors
so it is important to be familiar with some of the distinctions
between Canadian and U.S. patent laws. For Canada and the
rest of the world beyond the U.S., the first person to file
a patent application is considered to be the one entitled
to title in the technology if and when the patent issues;
whereas in the U.S., the first person to invent or conceive
the technology, and who can prove it, is the one who will
get title to the invention. This is a critical distinction
which can have important effects on ownership rights in patented
technologies. Given this, it is essential for inventors/researchers
to keep accurate and detailed lab notebooks right from the
inception of the idea. Please note that you do not have to
be a scientist to keep a notebook; all inventors should keep
records detailing the evolution of their technology.
Before you may need us to assist you with
your intellectual property needs, you may wish to review your
lab practices, please feel free to look at our suggestions
below.
Laboratory Notebook
A lab notebook is also a legal document
used as a permanent, contemporaneous record of technical data,
ideas, hypotheses and analyses associated with the development
of a patentable invention. Proper lab notebook procedures
relating to set-up and use can provide the legal evidence
necessary to prove the date that an invention was first “reduced
to practice”, thereby establishing a date of invention.
This is critically important for establishing U.S. patent
rights, as such rights are awarded to the first to invent.
Under the NAFTA and the GATT, work done within Canada now
qualifies for U.S. patent protection purposes.
Notebook Set-Up
A central storage location should be established
to keep track of notebooks, from which all notebooks will
be issued and to which they will be returned. Certain information
must be part of the record system: employee name & number,
department, supervisor, issue date, return date, and employee
signature. Each notebook should be numbered sequentially and
should be bound so that no pages can be added or removed.
Each page should be numbered and include space for the date
and signatures of the inventor(s) and witnesses. For added
security, copies of the notebook should be stored electronically
or by alternate means, at another site.
Additional material such as photographs
and other data including final results may be stapled or taped
permanently to the appropriate pages, and labelled with the
notebook number and page. Any data which is too large for
the notebooks (eg. printouts) should be kept in an auxiliary
file; the existence and location of the auxiliary file should
be recorded in the notebook; additions to the file should
be witnessed. The central storage location should be responsible
for ensuring that proper notebook procedures are followed.
The notebook remains the property of the university or company
and all notebooks should be recovered whenever a researcher
leaves.
Proper Notebook Use
A number of pages should be reserved at
the beginning of the notebook for a table of contents. Pages
should not be skipped; if one is inadvertently missed, a diagonal
line should be drawn through it. Entries into the notebook
should be written in permanent ink. Each entry should be signed
and dated before the entry. Material should not be erased,
but should be crossed out so that it is still visible. Modified
entries should be signed and dated. Decisions that are made,
the reasons for them, and even abandoned approaches or unsuccessful
attempts should be recorded in detail. Notebooks should be
witnessed often, and also reviewed at least once a year by
a knowledgeable person who is not an inventor. All procedures,
reagents, apparatus, sketches, lot numbers, conditions, references,
etc. should be entered as the work is done. The purpose and
significance of the experiment, as well as all observations,
results and conclusions should also be made clear.
|
