LFP - Large-Format-Printing
HOW TO ENSURE YOUR PRODUCTS BEST SERVE YOUR CUSTOMERS
Wednesday 27. May 2009 - By Roland Hill, Chairman and MD of Contra Vision Ltd
You may know that some areas of graphics are subject to patent protection as well as copyright on graphic images, trade marks and logos. A good example is the field of see-through graphics, in which Contra Vision Ltd alone has 25 inventions which have been patented or are patent-pending in over 20 countries including the US, Europe and China. These cover the well-known perforated materials seen on bus wraps, building wraps and many other applications, to lesser known but increasingly understood and appreciated non-perforated technologies.
Patents are granted by individual countries which require that inventions are published for the long term benefit of society, in return for which the patent owner can stop others practising the invention for 20 years, or can license others to make, use or sell the products of the invention.
An invention has to be novel and not be obvious according to established patent law, being examined by a Patent Office before the claims of the patent are granted. Infringement of patent claims is subject to litigation, which can lead to stringent damages being awarded by a court, or potentially worse consequences of the product being seized or required to be removed from display.
Anybody who makes, uses or sells a patented invention without a licence is potentially liable, for example the maker of an infringing, unlicensed perforated material, their distributors(s), the printers who image the material, those who apply the material to a vehicle or building window, space advertising contractors or advertising agencies and the advertising customers, such as food or drinks manufacturers. One thing a printer must avoid is embarrassing their customers by causing them to inadvertently infringe a patent and so become liable for litigation or even the disruption of an advertising campaign. Similarly, a distributor who causes their printer clientele to lose their customers is likely to suffer as a reaction.
Inventions may be licensed in different ways, for example manufacturers or distributors of perforated materials are licensed to enable their printer customers to image and apply the finished graphic to a window following purchase. For technologies that do not require a special substrate, printing companies are licensed to print generic substrates, such as transparent self-adhesive film, for example to produce Contra Vision BACKLITE ORS (Overlap Registration System) see-through graphics seen on BT payphone kiosks. Contra Vision has four principal technologies for making see-through graphics, including perforated materials and the Overlap Registration System referred to above, the latter being licensed online (www.contravision.com “Online Licensing”) to any printer who wishes to make and sell these products. A list of Contra Vision’s perforated material licensees is also listed on the website, including several Chinese manufacturers. However, there are many infringing products on the market – buyer beware! Needless to say, they are typically inferior products.
If a printer is in doubt whether a product or process infringes a patent, or if they doubt the validity of a patent they know they are infringing, they are advised to consult a patent attorney, as ignorance is no defence. You can take the risk, or you can take the risk away!