Why is it important to file a patent? What are the (dis)advantages?
Dear Rosa,
Researchers apply for a patent to protect the intellectual property of their invention and obtain market exclusivity for their product. For medicinal products there are also others ways to obtain market exclusivity.
There are several reasons to get a patent. One is to raise money from investors. They will not invest in your product if you do not have a patent (or preferably a group of patents) to protect the IP of your product. After all, the investors want to have a return on investment at the end. Another reason is to block competitors from developing the very same product.
The disadvantage is that it costs quite some money to obtain and maintain a patent (or group of patents), although it depends in which countries and regions for which you want to obtain a patent and the route you take. This is briefly explained in the animation Patent routes https://www.pauljanssenfuturelab.eu/toolbox/patent-routes/