The Current State Of The VR/AR Patent Landscape

Virtual and artificial reality technologies are changing the world. In the very near future, virtual reality headsets are expected to significantly shift the way consumers work, experience entertainment, make purchases, and participate in social activities.The rise of patent applications for VR/AR technologies signals the number of emerging opportunities for developers, coders, investors, and stakeholders in the 3D and 4D technology markets. A patent is a federal grant of an exclusive right given to the inventor of an issued patent claim for a time period of up to twenty years. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) only grants patents after a rigorous, time-intensive, and thorough application review process.The right conferred by a patent grant is “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or importing the invention into the US. A valid patent bars protection for any subsequent independent invention by another even “more deserving” inventor, deeming the later inventor the infringer.