I’ve had a fantastic idea for an invention. I need some advice about patents……?
By Yahoo User • Category: Do I Need It To Patent?If I patent a product in England, would that mean it’s patented for all other countries as well? I know somebody who was once ripped off big style by a company that stole his idea. I don’t want that. I have had many very good ideas and I’m certain at least one could make my retirement easier. So, would an English patent have global influence? Most grateful to all respondants.
Hire a patent lawyer.
Your idea can be patented worldwide, however it is quite expensive. You have to apply and pay country by country. Also, just one little twist or change and you can get ripped off, especially from the Chinese. They will modify and market it heavily in their own country and export it to countries you are not in. How will you protect yourself? Not very easily. If you can get a huge company with deep pockets behind you to underwrite your idea and develop it and pay you royalties, that is your best bet of getting something out of your idea. If you are convinced that it is the best thing ever, write out your details, have a patent attorney work up all the technical drawings, have it patented in the strongest countries like UK, USA, etc, then approach a company that is similar and present your case to them, with your attorney.Hope this helps!
you can find a online company, search inventions, and you will be able to submit your idea and they will patent it for you. hope you have more luck then i did. lol
Consult patent specialists.
When you apply for a patent you are allowed a year of ‘grace’ before you have to commit to taking it any further. By the end of the year you must either: let it die (but its still secret so you could apply again later) or you can proceed with it. If you choose to proceed you can either do so in the UK only or elsewhere as well. Most countries recognise the date you made the first application. That is, even though it was a year earlier there is a convention (known as the ‘PCT’) by which all (most) countries acknowledge applications made elsewhere. Sorry if that’s confusing! It is very expensive to do internationally and I don’t think anyone should unless they have a very good commercial deal on the cards.With a new idea there are 3 questions to answer:1. IS IT NEW?…….search for patents and products. If its not new you can’t get a patent for it.2. DOES IT WORK? build and test it (or get someone to do it for you). When you go from a 2D idea ‘on paper’ to a 3D prototype, all sorts of technical issues are problems occur and these have to be solved. 3 IS IT YOURS?…that is, you have to protect it. Normally that means applying for a patent. If you have done a reasonable bit of development then you can include design solutions in the patent. That will save money in the long run (rather than having to apply for a second patent later on).You can get forms from the IP office (used to be patent office) and submit a patent application at no cost. But I think that’s a false economy - a patent is a legal document and it needs to be drafted by a professional so that it will ‘hold water’ if challenged later. You should talk with a chartered patent agent/attorney. These charge up to £3000 to submit a patent application on your behalf. My patent agent (has an OBE awarded for services to private inventors over 30 years!) charges a flat rate of £500, which is pretty economical. (Email me for more info).To be honest the R&D and the intellectual property (IP) side is the easy bit. The hard bit is selling it. Its very hard to arrange royalty agreements with manufacturers, at least in the UK, contrary to popular belief. Some companies actually employ people to deal with the hundreds of inventions they get sent each year! That is to write ‘no thanks ‘ letters. In my opinion the only realistic way to make money from an invention is to build a small business around it. There are several ways this can be done depending on the kind of product that it is.
First, hire a patent attorney, especially those with international patent experience.Patent are protected by application, and such application is granted by respective patent office in each country.The global influence of a UK patent is, no one in the world can manufacture and export the products into UK with the technology described in the UK patent. Outside UK, that patent became public knowledge. You are the only one who can manufacture and trade the product in UK legally.So you may decide which countries are the markets for your invention. You may also consider the patent the invention in the manufacturing countries.Let say, on average, to get a patent granted, it cost about GBP2000-6000 per country,
I totaly agree with Ev-ian.