Patenting your ideas

Getting a patent can protect your idea as you develop it ready to bring to market. However, your concept or prototype has to meet certain criteria for these legal rights to be granted. Understanding these requirements and steps needed to secure a patent can give you a head start in getting the best protection for your idea. 

Can you patent an idea?

The ability to patent an idea or not depends on two factors: the type of idea and whether it matches patentability criteria. 

Under the criteria set out by the UK Intellectual Property Office, you can’t patent ideas that fall solely under these categories (though other legal protections may be secured): 

• Artistic works, such as a piece of literature or music

• A method for doing business, playing a game or thinking

• Medical treatment or diagnoses methods

• Discovery methods, scientific theories or mathematical equations

• A way of presenting information

• ‘Biological’ processes such as cell division, respiration or fertilisation

• Software with ‘non-technical’ purposes

In the initial stages of the filing process, legal professionals should examine your idea and help you determine if it falls under a patentable category or not. They’ll also be able to advise whether it will meet the patentable criteria of being: 

• New: it’s an idea that isn’t publicly known anywhere in the world

• Inventive: it’s a change that wouldn’t be obvious to a ‘skilled’ person

• Technically applicable: it has to be useful in a practical, tangible way

Again, a patent attorney will be able to advise on whether your idea meets the above tests or not, including running searches. If it doesn’t, then a patent is unlikely to be granted, so it’s not worth spending money or time filing an application. 

What can you patent? 

Commonly, technical inventions can be patented. This could be a mechanism, process, product or apparatus. In many cases, a modification to existing technology may also qualify for a patent. 

Can you patent an app?

Apps are patentable depending on the nature of the technology. If an app or its features resolve a technical problem in an inventive way, then it will be patentable. In contrast, if it provides a business method, such as shopping and purchasing products, then this would not necessarily qualify for a patent. 

Can you patent a recipe?

It’s difficult to patent a recipe. This is because they don’t often qualify as a technical solution to a problem. There may be particular industrial foods or manufacturing processes that can qualify, but it’s worth getting expert advice. Proving that a recipe is new and inventive will also be difficult. For example, the steps to bake a cake are usually obvious to a skilled person, even if the proportion of the ingredients change. 

Can you patent software?

Software programs are patentable if they offer an inventive, technical solution to a technical problem. For example, if a program can be installed into a computer to increase its processing speed, then it’s likely to be patentable. Software that performs mathematical formulas, undertakes business methods or simply automates mental acts won’t be patentable. 

What does a patent protect? 

In a patent application, claims set out the scope of protection. When a patent is granted, the invention defined by the claims is legally protected. This means the patent holder has exclusive rights to own, make and sell the invention. As long as a patent is renewed, these rights are held for up to 20 years from the date the patent application was filed. 

How to patent an idea or product

If you decide to move forward with patenting your idea, then you need to follow this process: 

• Running patentability and freedom-to-operate searches to check that there is no ‘prior art’ that is similar to your invention, meaning it’s genuinely new

• Create a patent draft which describes the invention and sets out the claims that you want legal rights over

• File the patent application with the relevant intellectual property authority in the country you want to secure protections in, including paying the official fees

• Complete the prosecution phase, which can involve amending claims to meet requirements and addressing objections

After this point, a patent will hopefully be granted, meaning your legal rights are secured. 

How to patent a logo or design

You can’t patent a logo or a design, because they aren’t technical solutions. However, you can secure legal rights by getting a trademark or a registered design. 

Can you get a worldwide patent for an idea?

In short, no. Patents are granted on a national or regional basis only. So you need to file patent applications in each country or region where you want protection.

You can also file an international patent application, or PCT application. This is a pending filing for more than 150 countries. This doesn’t grant you legal rights in all these jurisdictions, but means you can select the countries where you’d like to proceed with late in the process. This gives you extra time to decide on your target markets and keeps costs under control. 

What is the difference between a copyright and a patent?

Copyrights and patents are two different types of intellectual property rights. Copyright is automatically applied to any creative work, meaning it doesn’t need to be granted by a third party to be valid. Patents can only be secured through a filing process for technical solutions to practical problems. 

Can you patent an idea for free? 

Unfortunately, patent rights can’t be secured for free. The process of securing a patent incurs different costs, such as drafting, filing and searches. Plus, once granted, a renewal fee needs to be paid annually for the rights to be maintained. A patent attorney should be able to help you understand how much your application will cost. 

Do I need a patent to sell my product?

You don’t technically need a patent to sell your innovative product. But it means the technical elements that set it apart won’t be protected under law. As a result, market competitors could recreate your product without threat of infringement. Having a patent gives you extra protection that you can turn to your commercial advantage. 

How much can you sell a patent for?

A patent can be treated as an asset in its own right. There are several different ways to calculate the value of a patent, depending on the type of innovation and your business’s needs. A patent can then be sold or licensed in its own right, or taken into account as part of a business’s wholesale value during a sale, merger or acquisition. 

How can a patent attorney support you? 

A patent attorney can support you through the whole process, from conducting searches to managing and refining your portfolio. With legal expertise and a technical background, they can help you understand whether your idea is patentable and, if it is, ensure you get the legal rights you need to leverage its full commercial value.