What is a patent?
A patent is a document that gives you a temporary monopoly right to protect your invention. The purpose of patents is to encourage the development and disclosure of inventions by giving the inventor the opportunity to benefit from a return on investment.
A patent is not perpetual! It may last up to 20 years if it is renewed on the 4th anniversary of the filing and every year after that.
Why do you need a patent? Why is it important to patent your invention?
A patent gives a right of ownership on the invention. As an inventor, a patent gives you the exclusive right to control uses of your invention. You can either stop others from making, using or selling your invention without your permission, or you can choose to commercialise your right by letting them use your invention for a fee.
However, if you are granted a patent, it is up to you to take any necessary steps to ensure your invention is not infringed: the patent gives you the right to take legal actions and claim damages in case of infringement but you have to enforce it yourself, the patent office will not do it for you.
What kind of idea can you patent?
To be protected, you should be able to answer “YES” to the following three questions:
- Is your idea new? To be new, it should not have been disclosed or described to the public, anywhere in the world, before the date of your application for a patent.
- Does it involve an inventive step? You can answer “YES” only if your invention, when compared with what is already known, is not obvious to someone skilled in the field of that idea.
- Is it capable of industrial application? This means that your invention must take a practical form and must be capable of being made or used in some kind of industry.
If you answered “NO” to one of these questions, then your idea is not patentable. Also, some ideas cannot be protected by patents, such as immoral inventions or ideas excluded by the law (business methods, rules for games, ways of presenting information…).
What to do before you apply?
The golden rule before applying for a patent is to keep your idea secret! As novelty is a condition for a patent to be granted, you should be very careful not to disclose your idea before you apply for a patent. So don’t talk about it in conferences, don’t write about it in articles and if you need to talk about your idea to someone such as a potential partner or a manufacturer before you apply, you need to make them sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).
Also, you need to figure out how you will make money from your patent. As it is expensive to get and keep a patent, you need to be sure that the potential for making a profit exceeds the costs. Of course, check that your idea is really new: you can look into patent databases if similar patents already exists and a lawyer may help you to conduct an exhaustive research worldwide.
Finally, find a lawyer! Patent applications are highly complex and require a skilled and experienced patent attorney to get it right. Only 1 in 20 applicants get a patent without professional help. A lawyer will ensure that the scope of your application is neither too narrow nor too broad, and check that there are no loopholes allowing a competitor to circumvent your patent and benefit from your invention.
How do you apply for a patent?
In the UK, patents are granted by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), the official government body responsible for intellectual property. A national patent only grants territorial rights, not worldwide rights. In other words, a UK patent will only allow you to stop others using your invention in or importing it into the UK.
Generally, if you want to protect your invention in different countries, you will need to apply for a patent in each country you are interested in. It is possible to apply for a regional patent from a regional patent office such as the European Patent Office or the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization, which will have the same effect as separately applying to each member state of that region. Similarly, an application can be filed internationally under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). If you are a resident of a state party to the PCT, you can file one international patent, which will have the effect of filing it nationally in some or all PCT contracting states.
How much does a patent cost?
Patent applications are expensive. Ask yourself if you have a sufficient budget and if protecting your invention worth this budget: you will need to spend about £3,000 to £5,000 to have a UK patent application prepared and filed. If you apply for an international or a European patent, you will spend much more money as the registration costs easily reach £2,000 or £3,000, on top of which you add the patent attorney fees.
Also, you need to be prepared to spend more money to renew your patent every year and to enforce it. A full patent trial in the UK is likely to cost about £500,000 to £1 million. Of course, in case of infringement, you can claim damages, but it may be long before the case is ruled and your patent may be challenged.
How can you protect your idea without a patent?
There are other ways to protect your idea or your business. You may be granted other intellectual property rights such as trademark, copyright and design and these protections are not exclusive but may be combined to protect various aspects of your product.
To protect a logo, a brand name or any sign that distinguishes your business or your product, you can register a trademark. Also, if the look of your product is new, you can register a design to prevent others from using it.
Finally, an original creation such as a logo, a graphic user interface or software may benefit from the copyright protection. This IP right is automatically granted and you don’t have to apply or to register for it.
Lexoo is able to help you find the right intellectual property lawyer for your business. Find out more here.