Growing a business requires a lot of time and effort, as well as the effective use of the tools that you have at your disposal to fuel your innovations and protect them from exploitation.

This is where patents can be eminently useful, so long as you understand the best way to harness them as well as appreciating the limitations that exist. To that end, here are some pieces of advice for entrepreneurs who want to scale up their operations through the power of patents.

Get to know the law

First of all, it is a good idea to take a closer look at Canadian patent law so that you can appreciate the implications of existing rules and regulations, before going on to benefit from them.

There is definitely a lot of legalese to unpick as you approach this, but the basics are fairly straightforward to grasp, and will let you work out whether you even have an asset that can be patented in the first place.

Narrowing this down is easier if you learn what cannot be patented in Canada, which is a list that includes scientific theories, medical treatments and basically anything which is intangible. Conversely you can patent inventions, products and processes which are new, novel and practically demonstrable.

Apply for a patent

If you think your business has a patent-worthy subject, then applying is the next step to realizing its true potential.

The vast majority of patent applications are completed in conjunction with legal experts, because this is both a complex and costly process, so you want to give your organization the best chance of approval.

You also need to take into account the amount of time it takes for a patent to be approved before you rush ahead and start making plans based on the assumption that everything will work out smoothly. This is typically around 31 months, to factor this into your scheduling.

Also note that patents are applicable for 20 years, after which point it will enter the public domain. This means you should really aim to extract as much value from your patent during this two decade period as possible.

Attract investors

One of the advantages of owning a patent is that you can use this as a means of appealing to prospective investors, since people will be more willing to put money into your business if they can see that it is in possession of such a valuable asset.

Lots of businesses are only able to scale through regular injections of capital from eager investors, and patents can actually make funders seek you out, rather than the other way around.

Of course you will still need to make sure that you work with investors who are right for your organization and the industry you occupy, so it still pays to think carefully before pulling the trigger.

License your patented property

The other primary perk of patents is that they allow the owner to license out whatever it is that they have received official recognition of and protection for to third parties.

This can be a hugely lucrative practice, and with the cash you acquire from licensing you could then reinvest in your own operations to give your business the opportunity to scale under its own steam. This could even mean that you are able to become less reliant on investors as a result, which may or may not be desirable depending on your circumstances.

If it seems like patenting is the right path to take for your organization, then there is no sense in delaying; the sooner you apply, the sooner the benefits will come flooding in.