Civil engineering and construction patents
Innovations in the field of civil engineering and construction are brought about by the need to meet or exceed existing building standards, shorten lead times, minimise cost and maintain the safety of the generally capital-intensive construction projects. In Australia, civil engineering ranks among the top 5 industries for filing patent applications in 2018.
What’s patentable?
So long as your civil engineering or construction industry technology is new and inventive, it should be patentable in any country around the world. In relation to protection of technologies involved in large projects, it is difficult to maintain confidentiality; thus, an early patent filing date is particularly important.
Benefits and challenges of filing civil engineering and construction patent applications
Civil engineering patent applications are used to protect innovative design features of structures, components and infrastructure. Companies that have patents granted to them benefit from a 20 year monopoly over these design features. Companies that have exclusive use of innovative design features may be able to:
- More successfully respond to tenders
- Complete works more cost efficiently
- Complete works to a higher design standard
Examples of granted civil engineering and construction patent applications
Building construction systems |
Komatsu Ltd. |
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Prefabricated building systems |
Pan, Margarett MRS; Sunrise Smart Built-IT Co. Ltd. |
Methods of construction |
Neil, Peter Mervyn |
Safety apparatus |
DALF Enterprises Pty Ltd |
Heating & cooling systems |
Vertiv Corporation |
Lifting apparatus |
Yuan, Xianyang MR |
Concrete compositions & building materials |
Kuraray Co., Ltd. |
Structural engineering |
Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. |
Underground pipe installation |
Tracto-Technik GmbH & Co. KG |
Building components |
Nowland, Denis Alfred |
Rail infrastructure & rolling stock |
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation |
Power distribution infrastructure |
Redarc Technologies Pty Ltd |
Cleantech |
GTL Renewable Pty Ltd |
Recycled bulk materials |
Clyde Process Limited |
Safety apparatus |
Sayfa R&D Pty Ltd |