New chapter of Control Engineer is out! (1/1 chapter)

Patent Specification

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

A man probably in around 40 years old entered the classroom.

He must be today’s lecturer.

“Hello.” (Leon)

I stood up and bowed.

“Hello, Leon-dono. Do you know of me?” (Aton)

“No.” (Leon)

It was a face I was seeing for the first time.

“I am Aton, a patent attorney belonging to the Samuel Patent Office.” (Aton)

“Ah, I have met Samuel-san at a party before.” (Leon)

“I see. By the way, do you know of the profession called patent attorney?” (Aton)

“You are the person who helps when applying for a patent, right?” (Leon)

This was also in Reo’s knowledge.

Yes. This person had received the order from Kaa-sama to write the patent specifications for the magical lamp. In other words, to file a patent application and came to teach me how to do that.

“Yes. Strictly speaking, not only patent rights, but also design rights, trademark rights, and copyright. These together are called intellectual property, intellectual property rights. Our main duty is, when these are to be obtained or afterward, to carry out the procedures with the Intellectual Property Guild on behalf of the inventor or rights holder. And also, like today, to assist in the preparation of documents.” (Aton)

Yes. The patent attorneys who come and go at our Lioness Company are from the Samuel Patent Office. I heard they have concluded a non-disclosure agreement.

“I see.” (Leon)

I wrote in my notebook “Intellectual Property Rights, Intellectual Property Guild”.

“Well, however…” (Aton)

“Yes?” (Leon)

Aton-san was staring intently at my face.

“I did not expect to be lecturing someone 14 years old, but as expected of a merchant house. The fact that you used the word ‘application’ shows you have some understanding of patents.” (Aton)

Yes. For example, with novels, copyright arises at the moment of writing, but in the case of patents, merely thinking of or making something is not enough. First, it begins by officially submitting it. That is the application. After that, it must undergo examination.

“No. All I know is the concept.” (Leon)

“Hmm. Then, why do you think the patent system is necessary in the world?” (Aton)

I know this one.

“Yes. There are two reasons, right? One is to protect the inventor and rights holder by granting them exclusive rights, thus encouraging motivation for technological development. The other is to make new technology public, thus disseminating information and promoting technological development for society as a whole.” (Leon)

“Largely correct. The first is the motivation for patent application, and the second is the nation’s purpose. However, these two are contradictory.” (Aton)

Yes. If you grant exclusive rights to the inventor, it may hinder technological development for society as a whole.

“For that reason, patents have a rights period. In the Intellectual Property Guild established by the 8 nations, including our Cecilia Kingdom, which are signatories to the Intellectual Property Rights Treaty, the usual patent is the shorter of 15 years from registration or 20 years from application. However, magic art patents are 20 years and 25 years, respectively.” (Aton)

Yes. The surroundings of our country are, at least on the surface, in a peaceful state, and we have concluded various treaties with the 7 nations with whom trade is flourishing and intellectual property is one of them.

By the way, the reason there are two starting points for counting the period is because the time from application to registration, when rights are granted, varies depending on the case. In long cases, it can take more than 5 years. Well, that is fine.

“Um. Compared to others, why is the rights period for magic art patents longer?” (Leon)

“That is because the difficulty of development is high, and secrecy is also high, so practitioners tend to keep them to themselves. Also, it is fine if it becomes something tangible like a magical tool or magical apparatus, but it is difficult to collect compensation from magic users.” (Aton)

“I see.” (Leon)

Yes, that makes sense. You cannot have someone constantly watching to see if magic is being used.

“You can levy usage fees on parchment or publications that have activation symbols recorded on them, but you cannot know how many magic users will learn the magic from them. For that reason, there was originally a discussion of protecting magic like theses, novels, or play scripts under copyright.” (Aton)

Certainly, it is close to a copyrighted work.

“However, if we made it copyright, the rights period would be from the time of creation until 70 years after the author’s death, which is too long, and thus unsuitable…” (Aton)

I see. If you set it at the time of creation, they could just keep it secret, and the effect of promoting technological development would be weakened.

“…So, we incorporated it into patent rights, and instead, extended the period specially by 5 years, this is going to be a compromise.” (Aton)

“I understand. Thank you.” (Leon)

“Yes. Now, let us continue. The 8-nation treaty adopts the first-to-file system…” (Aton)

After this, I received a lecture on the structure of patents, how to apply, and how to write specifications.

After lunch, I returned to my room and sat at my desk to write a draft of the specifications.

As a result of roughly telling Aton-san the application content after the latter half of the lecture, his view was that while it is necessary to investigate prior art, the patent application seems to have value.

The process is first, I write a draft based on an example specification. After that, Aton-san will write the formal application. First, the name of the invention… Magical Lamp and Magic Flux Amount Variable Technique and Magic Stone. This had been decided after consulting with Aton-san. As for the patent claims… I read the example sentences in the leather-bound book.

Wow. Looking at them again, the sentences are really roundabout. But writing the patent content precisely is the top priority, so it cannot be helped. For this case, maybe something like this:

[Patent claims text as in original]

Well, that seems about right. The operation of the invention. By intermittent application of magic flux, it becomes possible to supply multi-stage average magic flux amounts to the light-emitting magic stone.

Yes. A magic user can adjust the magic pressure supplied to magic by feel. However, a mana storage magic stone cannot. It is easy to switch between applying and not applying magic pressure, but it is difficult to apply an intermediate value.

By suppressing applied magic pressure at the time of lighting, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of surge magic flux overshoot, and smoothly increase the magic flux. Also, regardless of the initial temperature of the magic stone, it is possible to suppress surge magic flux, thus reducing the possibility of filament breakage inside the light-emitting magic stone.

By changing the duty ratio of the intermittent application of magic flux, the light emission amount can be changed in multiple stages. If the frequency of applied magic flux at the time of lighting is made to be about 60 times per second or more, it is possible to make the intermittent flicker imperceptible to the average human.

Yes, yes. This feels good.

The effects of the invention.

Operation is where you write the phenomenon. Effect is where you write the benefits.

(1) It can extend the life of the light-emitting magic stone.
(2) It can provide room brightness according to the user’s intention.
(3) In cases where low light emission is sufficient, the capacity of the mana storage magic stone can be reduced.
:
:

“Kaa-sama, excuse me.” (Leon)

In the evening, hearing from the maid that Kaa-sama’s hands were free, I came to her room.

“Leon. Did you receive the lecture from the patent attorney?” (Mother)

“Yes. This morning.” (Leon)

“I see. Did you understand the content?” (Mother)

“Well, somehow.” (Leon)

Kaa-sama smiled and nodded.

“So, what is it?” (Mother)

“I have written a full draft of the magical lamp specifications.” (Leon)

“What did you say?” (Mother)

“Ah, no. I mean I wrote the draft of the specifications, so I thought Mother could look at it.” (Leon)

Her beautiful brows furrowed.

Ah, Kaa-sama’s expression has force. When she does this, the maids seem to tremble.

“Show me.” (Mother)

“Yes.” (Leon)

I handed over a booklet bound with thread.

“Well…” (Mother)

Kaa-sama flipped through the booklet while sighing.

“Haaa…” (Mother)

She sighed again. After flipping through to the end, she returned to the first page.

“From beginning to end, it is full of Leon’s distinctive handwriting. You really wrote it all the way through. Honestly, Leon, when it is something you are interested in, you charge ahead. I wish you would put in a little more effort in other things too.” (Mother)

Ugh. I thought I was being praised, but it turned into a scolding.

After that, Kaa-sama silently read the booklet for about 15 minutes.

“Phew.” (Mother)

Oh, she finished reading.

“How is it?” (Leon)

“Hmm. Since it’s a draft, there is no need to write it to this extent. You will just be making the patent attorney’s job easier.” (Mother)

“Which means?” (Leon)

“There is no problem. Well, there will be some additions needed for the application documents, but as a draft, it is sufficient.” (Mother)

“I’m glad.” (Leon)

“Even so, this really is your first time writing specifications, isn’t it?” (Mother)

“Y-yes.” (Leon)

Kaa-sama looked at me with a somewhat doubtful expression.

It really is my first time. I am not lying. Reo seems to have written some during part-time work at a university venture, though.

“Alright. Tomorrow, go to the patent office together with the butler. By then, I will have Manager Begart prepare the patent rights transfer document, so sign it.” (Mother)

“Understood.” (Leon)

The next day, the transfer document I signed stated that, probably an exceptional deal, 80% of the patent income would be mine.

“And also, after the application is filed, make several prototypes capable of higher light output than yesterday’s.” (Mother)

“Understood.” (Leon)

 

—

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)