To patent or not to patent?

HappyUser

Hello!



Is it advisable to patent an idea?
Or it will be made known and competitors will find ways to overcome the patent?
Also, if you patent it in the UK, will competitors in the USA copy it?


Thanks!

Les79

It depends on what it is...

I see from previous posts that you are UK-based, so your go-to place is:

https://www.gov.uk/patent-your-invention

That covers what you can and cannot patent.

It also states:

GOV_site wrote:

The application process is:

complicated - only 1 in 20 applicants get a patent without professional help [I would assume that a good proportion of the 1/20 people were themselves PROFESSIONAL people to some extent, but didn't seek third party help]
expensive - with professional help, applications typically cost £4,000
long - it usually takes 5 years

Though the "Before you apply" offers alternatives which may be better suited to your idea:

https://www.gov.uk/patent-your-invention/before-you-apply

But hell, you can read through all of that at your own leisure!

As for international patents, I would ASSUME that you would need a patent in different countries (because UK doesn't have much jurisdiction in US, for example. Just as you could probably get away with wiping your bum with a US subpoena if one was mailed to you; unless you're an Ecuadorian Citizen living in an embassy...) but then again most companies are single-market entities and focus exclusively on one country. You could probably use a UK patent to block a US company from selling in the UK, but possibly not the US company selling in the US. Though I'm speculating, and you'd need to call the government or get professional advice for the *correct* answer.

You could also potentially take it to the courts if someone openly steals your idea (intellectual property) but unless it was a fairly obvious case (like you having a discussion with a mate on a messenger service or sending emails to a retailer and them stealing the idea) you'd struggle a bit. And even then I'm again speculating, as you'd need to seek professional help there.

z1a

Can you patent an idea?

HappyUser

z1a wrote: »

Can you patent an idea?

No, you can only patent tangible things, mostly solids.

[Deleted User]

The point with patents is that you need the money to defend them. Polaroid won their billion dollar claim against Kodak eventually, but it took 14 years, and hundreds of millions in legal fees.

[Deleted User]

HappyUser wrote: »

No, you can only patent tangible things, mostly solids.

It's the intellectual property that's patented, not necessarily a product.

eddddy

FWIW, it's usually relatively easy to register a patent - nobody takes much interest.


The problems arise when you think somebody is infringing your patent (maybe somebody like Apple, Boeing, General Motors, AstraZeneca), and you have to find the cash to fight them in court.


Similarly, the granting of a patent isn't a guarantee that your idea doesn't infringe another patent. You might still get sued for infringing somebody else's patent.

forgotmyname

You can patent the wheel it seems, a while back there was a link floating around where someone had applied for a patent for a round object used to help move large or heavy loads various distances.

So its a wheel, and to think someone paid to patent that??