How to Patent an Idea in 10 Easy Steps

As an individual or business owner, obtaining a patent for your inventive ideas is key to retaining their ownership. This doesn’t only help you prevent others from selling or using your ideas, but it could also help ensure that you maintain control and benefit profitably from the idea.

In this guide, Incorpuk discussed 10 easy steps to take to patent your idea. You would also get to understand the cost of getting a patent, its importance, how long it takes to get one and so on.

What is a Patent?

A patent is a form of intellectual property right that gives an inventor the exclusive right to own an idea, design, process etc for a period which is usually 20 years. They are a type of legal document issued to an inventor to prevent others from using, selling, or importing an idea.

Patents usually are granted to the inventors of new, useful ideas that have the practical ability to solve a problem. So as an individual or business, if you obtain a patent for an invention or idea, you have the right to question and sue another business that copies or uses your idea without authorisation from you.

10 Easy Steps to Patent an Idea

Here are the steps to take to patent an idea:

1. Check whether the patent is right for you

The first step to getting a patent is to determine if your idea is worth obtaining a patent for. Getting a patent could be expensive and could involve a thorough process, however, it would prevent others from copying or using your ideas. As such, you would want to weigh the commercial value of the idea against the expenses and time that will be spent. Once you are sure and ready, then you can follow the other steps discussed.

2. Asses if you can patent your idea

Once you are sure about getting the patent, the next step would be to assess if your idea is patentable. For you to determine if your idea can be made patent, then you need to check out the 3 below criteria that will be discussed. These eligibility criteria are there to guide and examine if an invention meets the legal requirement of being patented.

Novelty: An invention is considered novel if all or part of it has not been previously published, made public or used as part of an existing body of knowledge. Not only will the novelty be checked within the UK, but it must be new globally.

Inventiveness: An invention would be regarded as inventive if it doesn’t represent a clear solution to a problem when examined by a professional or expert in the related field. So an idea mustn’t only be new but it must represent an inventive art when compared to other known existing bodies of knowledge or product.

Industrial application: Lastly, the idea must meet up with industrial applications, that is, it must be useful in some industry or it should serve some technical purpose. It could be useful in agriculture, transportation, etc.

So if an idea meets up with only 2 out of the 3 criteria, then it can't be considered as being patent.

3. Utilise patent search tools

Now that you’ve determined the patentability of the idea, you should begin to check if your idea hasn’t already been patented by another individual, body or organisation. With this step, you would be able to assess if the idea is really novel and inventive.

You should maximise the use of the UK Intellectual Property Office database, Google Patents and other available resources to check this. Going through a thorough patent search doesn’t only ensure that your idea is unique and meets up with the eligibility criteria, but it also helps you understand the various existing patents in your industry.

4. Know the type of patent you need

It is also essential that you understand the type of patent that you need. This includes the utility, design and plant patent. The type that will be chosen depends on your industry and the nature of your idea.

5. Prepare your patent application

You should start preparing your patent application and gather all the necessary documents and information to support your application. You would also need to provide the necessary illustrations, drawings, claims and descriptions to support your application.  All of this will be submitted to the UK Intellectual Property Office. To go through a seamless application, you should consider using a patent attorney. With them, you stand a high chance of submitting a strong application that could guarantee success.

6. File the application

Filing your application would be the next step. So you would need to complete your application filing with the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and make the necessary payments. You can begin this process online and have IPO review your application to see if you meet up with the important requirements. Once your application has been received, you will be sent a receipt which will indicate your filing date and your unique patent application number.

7. Collaborate with the Patent examiner

Once you’ve submitted your application, the IPO will start researching to see if your idea is unique and meets up with the eligibility criteria for being patented. As such, they will check out for the novelty, inventiveness and industrial application of your idea which could take up to a few months.

Once that has been done, you will be assigned an examiner who will also go through your application in detail. You would be required to work closely with the examiner here so you can provide other necessary information that might be requested. You might also be required to provide a valid explanation for an objection or make necessary adjustments or improvements as needed.

8. Address any action identified

This stage is a critical one and must be done effectively. Here, you would need to address any objections or concerns that are brought up by the examiner. Providing accurate and detailed explanations and information that meet up with the demands of the examiner could fast-track the approval process and vice versa.

In most cases, the issues that would be raised will be related to the novelty and inventiveness of the idea. As such, you would want to ensure that you satisfy the examiner's requirements.

Moreso, you would need to effectively communicate with the examiner at this stage and so you might need an attorney to successfully guide you through this stage.

9. Finalise the process and obtain the patent

If the above stage is completed successfully, then your application will be approved. With this, you can start using the word patent pending to prevent others from copying your idea. Once you’ve gotten the patent, you have the right to own, use or sell the idea for a period of time.

10. Enforce the patent

Now you have the right to protect your intellectual property and safeguard your idea. By providing evidence of patent infringement, you could prevent many individuals and companies from copying, importing or producing an item using your idea.

Why Should You Patent Your Idea?

Patenting your idea is essential to you as an individual or a business in several ways. Here are the reasons you should patent your invention.

1. Exclusive rights

When you get a patent for your idea, you have the exclusive rights to use the idea for a specific period. During this period, others are not allowed to use or sell this invention and they cannot even produce something similar to your idea. This means you have total control over your idea and you can explore or commercialize the invention within the patent term without the fear of being copied.

2. Right to sell or assign patents to others

Once you have obtained the patent, you have the right to licence or sell the idea to others. This simply means you could make a lot of profit by allowing others to benefit from your invention. Also, you have the chance to sell the patent to other companies or individuals. This could be a very lucrative way to make money if you are creative with new ideas. Moreover, the cost of bringing the invention to life or creating a product can be a reason to sell the idea.

3. Protects your idea

Even if you have a great idea, being unable to patent it puts any invention made at the risk of being copied. As such, you won’t be considered as the original owner of the idea. If you create a product or service from the idea and another business comes up with the same or similar invention in years to come, then they have the right to question your business if they have obtained a patent beforehand.

4. Enhances the chances of getting investors

If you are a business owner, patenting your unique business idea could attract you to investors. With this, they believe that you possess a valuable and distinct idea that could be monetised without much competition. Apart from that, since your idea has been protected,  securing funding to bring the idea to market is easier.

5. Brings about higher product value

With a patent, you have the exclusive right to your invention. This could be used in creating products or services that would remain exclusive to you and your business for some time. With that, you can always decide the selling price of your product without the fear of market price competition. As such, you can always charge a premium while also making good profits.

How Much Does it Cost to Patent an Idea in the UK?

The cost of obtaining a patent on an idea in the UK could vary depending on a lot of factors. These range from the simplicity or complexity of your idea, the number of countries you want the patent to cover, whether or not you would be using an attorney and many more. You could expect to pay around £320 for an application filing with the IPO. For the drafting of the patent application, you could spend around £2500 to £7000. If your application covers several other countries apart from the UK, you should also expect a higher price.

How Long Does it Take to Patent an Idea in the UK?

Obtaining a patent within the UK could take up to 2 to 4 years. In some rare cases, it could take less than a year. This is different for some other countries so applications for European patents could take up to four years or more for it to be granted.

Which Countries are Covered by My Patent?

If you are granted a patent by the UK Intellectual Property Office, then the patent only covers the UK. If on the other hand, you wish to protect the idea within other countries, then you need to make more applications. As you would expect, there is nothing like a world patent. However, you can apply for a patent that covers several countries using the European Patent Convention and Patent Cooperation Treaty. With the European Patent Convention, you can make a patent application that will cover about 39 European countries.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty also allows you to cover several industrialised countries in the world. However, you can’t still use it for every country in the globe.

Conclusion

Getting a patent for your idea could be the strongest form of protection for your intellectual property. While it involves going through a careful, thorough and detailed process, it’s important that you follow the steps explained above and work closely with a patent attorney. Do you have any questions about how to patent an idea? Kindly contact one of our experts here for help today.