Patents

Here are some frequently asked questions about patents.
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 What can be patent protected? 

Almost any useful device or process can be an invention. Certain inventions, such as a method of doing business or a method of medical treatment, are excluded from patentability in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

In order to obtain patent protection, it is necessary for the invention to be both new and not obvious. The Patent Office will therefore Search, Publish and Examine a patent application to help ensure that a patent is not granted which covers a previously known invention or an invention which is merely trivially different to something which is known.

This means that it is essential that an inventor keeps his or her invention confidential until an application is on file at the Patent Office, because any public disclosure, by any means anywhere in the world, before a patent application is filed may render a granted patent invalid. An exception to this is the USA, where a patent may still be obtained as long as an application is filed within one year of first public disclosure.

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Why should I patent?

A patent is a commercial tool which enables you to keep others from exploiting your investment in your invention. However, a patent is also property which can be licensed, sold or mortgaged to others. Some patents can be extremely valuable if the invention is properly exploited.

A decision not to apply for a patent means that the invention is put into the public domain and can be used by anybody when the first product is sold or the invention is shown in public.

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How do I get a patent?

With few exceptions, patent protection must be obtained on a country by country basis. There is no such thing as a world patent, but there are international treaties, notably the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the European Patent Convention (EPC), which ease the task.

The first step for UK inventors is normally to file a UK patent application at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO). It can take four years to get a patent through to grant, but the UK operates a "first to file" or "priority date" system. This means that anybody else making a later application for the same invention will not succeed, provided that the first application proceeds to publication. The UK Intellectual Property Office do have an optional "fast track" procedure whereby patents may be granted in less than a year.

Within one year of the date of the first application (the "priority date") it is possible to file further UK or foreign applications relating to the same invention, and these later applications can all be back-dated to the priority date. In this way, it is possible to update an application within the first twelve months if the invention is improved, and also to apply for patents throughout the world.

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How long does a patent last?

A patent may last for up to 20 years from the date the application was filed. Most countries’ patent offices charge an annual renewal fee once the patent is granted. In some countries annual fees are also due while the application is pending.  If an annual fee is not paid in any particular year, the patent will lapse at the end of that year and the invention will pass into the public domain.

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What else can patents do for me?

It is estimated that over 90% of the world’s technical disclosures appears in patent documents and nowhere else. Patents are well classified by technology area, and can readily be searched. Many inventions are needlessly and expensively re-invented when a Patent Search would have revealed an existing solution to a problem.

An idea which appears in a patent specification may still be free to be used. For example:

  • A patent application might not have been granted
  • The patent protection might not extend to the UK, or the country of interest
  • The patent might have expired

A Patent Search should also be seriously considered early on in a new product or process development in order to help avoid inadvertently infringing someone else’s patent.

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