What Is A Patent?

A patent legally protects and gives you the right to use anything your company has invented for up to 20 years. Patents can then be bought, hired or licensed.

Patents are granted by the UK Intellectual Property Office. They can be enforced in a court of law to stop others exploiting it without your permission. The application process for patenting your invention means you can describe to the public via writing as to what it is and how it works.

Not everything can be patented, so it’s crucial to keep information of your invention to yourself until you have one. To qualify for a patent, your invention must be new, involve an inventive step, be useful in industrial application and not fall into an extended category (including literacy pieces, scientific theories etc).

Do You Need One?

Experts say that though patenting may be a long process, the idea you are patenting could give your business the edge over your competitors, or it could be a waste of time.

The Director of marketing and information services at the Intellectual Property Office and spokesman for the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (CIPA) says: “The system is a minefield and that is why you need to get professional advice. But when it works well, the system is fantastic. Look at Ron Hickman, who invented the Black & Decker Workmate, and is now living extremely comfortably in the Channel Islands.

“Hickman did everything right. He had a good patent agent, got a patent, and went on to fight infringement actions around the world. Some people argue that the patent system is a waste of time because it’s so easy to design around it, but that’s what happens when people draw up their applications and claim. If you get it right, the patent system is wonderful. That is of course providing your invention is something for which there is a demand.”

A patent can give inventors time to develop their invention commercially and make profit, encouraging other British businesses to do the same. Without the patent system major companies wouldn’t be able to pour research into developing new drugs, as they wouldn’t be assured of a profit at the end of it.

The specifications of a patent give the full details of how the invention works and can also be used to provide useful commercial information giving an insight into the new markets your competitors are developing and which countries they are using as their main markets.

What Do You Think?

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