Patents - What are they and how do I get one?

What is a patent?
A patent is a monopoly right to the exclusive use of an invention. In the UK and most other countries, it lasts for a maximum of 20 years; in the US it's 17, unless the invention is of a pharmaceutical nature. A patent gives you the legal right to stop other people exploiting the invention without your permission or without paying you a licence fee. You generally need a separate patent for each country in which you want to exercise your patent rights, however this has been modified recently with the European Union rules.

Patents have real market value; they can be bought, sold, hired out, or used as security for loans. They can be owned by any legal entity -  individuals, partnerships, organisations or businesses. A small firm with a successful patent can attract serious investors, and, due to the market control a good patent can give, can also provide an headstart on the competition.
To be eligible for a patent, an invention must be new and non-obvious, not have been made public in any way anywhere in the world before you apply, and capable of being physically made. This rules out patents on Perpetual Motion, and there are some other rules regarding radioactivity and ending the world! A patent is only one form of intellectual property protection, designed for new processes and physical things. There are separate schemes for protecting creative ideas through copyright, for registering product designs, and for trademarks, where a patent would be of no use.

If you have an invention that will make you a million, first apply for a patent... but don't think that will be the last call on your chequebook.
A successful patent application can put you on the road to a business jackpot. But the basic cost of getting to a viable patent can be up to £2,000 or more. It may be a small gamble to make but that expense tests an inventor's confidence and probably explains why most never get past the fantasy stage. The UK Patent Office grants around 10,000 patents every year. A lot of them never become commercial propositions, but that's often because their owners decide there's no market. Many patents do go into production, and a few make their owners very rich indeed - James Dyson's classy vacuum cleaner for example. He had to spend years experimenting and prototyping before he found and patented a way of making his bag-less design work.
A London patent attorney, Richard Gallafent warns that getting a patent is only the first step. 'Small businesses with inventions often have great difficulty in getting them manufactured. Only teaming up the invention with money, manufacturing, marketing and management will make a success of it he says.
There are a number of organisations that will help inventors. Among them, the Chartered Institute of Patent Agents offers free advice clinics up and down the country. If you're a member of one of the professional engineering institutes, it's worth asking if they have a scheme for supporting inventors. I offer cautions against the many inventors' schemes advertised on the web, in magazines and on local radio. 'They often don't know or care whether your idea is any good; they just want to charge for 'advice'. The worst scams are based offshore to avoid UK law, and many use an address in Southern Ireland,: close enough to seem nice, but still outside our laws. 

A Good primer on UK procedure and useful hints and tips, with lots of case studies, comes in the form of Bob Symes' and Colin Bootle's book "Eureka!".

David Knight, of Lochners Technology Solicitors, thinks rapport between inventors and financiers is essential: 'When you're putting your invention into production it's not a good idea to try to go it entirely alone. A committed investor could be the best friend you ever had. It's best to look for finance that comes with added value - maybe marketing, management or manufacturing expertise:
Patents won't deal with rip-off villains for you, but they give you hefty legal clout to do it for yourself. You still need to be prepared to fork out for expensive legal assistance, but sometimes it can be worthwhile. In a record settlement in 1993 the giant Honeywell company paid another US company, Litton Industries Inc., damages of almost $1.2bn for infringing its airline navigation patents, and James Dyson has just beaten Hoover for infringement of his patent on bagless vacuum technology. Hoover may appeal to the Courts, and damages have yet to be set, but may be up to £150 million.

How do I get one?
You're going to need a clear idea how the invention works and how it can be made. You don't necessarily need a working model or prototype - although it can help. It would also be wise to have an inkling how you would market the invention if you ever made it. You can get an information pack from the UK Patent Office but, unless you're an expert, it's best to hire a registered patent agent to make the application. They are all bound by a code of conduct that includes complete confidentiality. Most will give an initial consultation for nothing.
Either way - DIY or with an agent - you have to draw up a proper specification to form the basis of your application. It has to be written in suitable legalese and clear enough for a skilled person to build the invention and get it working without needing further instructions from you.
You or your agent fills in a form and sends it with the specification to the UK patent office. That's all it takes - and it's a big moment when the application is received and date-stamped. This is your 'priority date'. It gets you immediate temporary protection because it proves to any patent office in the world when you laid claim to the invention, and there is no charge at this stage.
Only now can you boast about your idea. No-one else could say they thought of the invention first -but you might want to stay quiet while you develop your market and decide if it's worth going on.
The clock runs from your priority date. If you miss any of the key dates, your application will be binned. You can go as fast as you like but, in the UK and most other countries, you're allowed a maximum of 12 months before you have to pay the patent office £130 for a worldwide search for all the relevant documents needed to decide whether the idea is new.
You don't get a decision but you do get copies of the paperwork. They might help you modify some of the details of your invention, if necessary, to avoid clashing with someone else's.
After 18 months, your application gets published in a patent office report, on the web and in patent libraries all over the world. This gives other inventors a chance to object if they think your patent clashes with something of theirs. If it does, there's still just a chance you can agree modifications to avoid conflict. If all has gone well you will have a UK patent after a maximum of two years from applying - though you can speed it up if you wish. Expert examiners study the documents in your file. If they believe the invention satisfies patent legislation you'll be granted one, and you pay £70 for the decision. This doesn't mean they think the invention will make any money - that's up to you.
The immediate benefit is a monopoly right that lasts for four years free of all further fees. You'll pay to renew it beyond that time, ranging from £50 for year 5 to £400 for the 20th year.

Cost warning
Don't be fooled into thinking that your outlay will be limited to the few hundred pounds in total that you need to spend on obtaining a patent. Be prepared to spend thousands of pounds on legal fees to protect your patent effectively. Legal battles - which you may or may not win - can be costly, and if another inventor or corporation chooses to challenge your patent, then you are going to need (expensive) specialist legal assistance in order to fight your corner effectively. Of course, if you win your case, all that expense will be worthwhile, but you will have to prepare yourself for the worst.

Do I need foreign patents?
They can be important, without them there's nothing to stop someone pinching your idea and marketing it overseas. Fortunately, most of the world's patent offices collaborate under the International Patent Treaty (IPT). They all respect each other's priority dates. You've proved you had the idea first so no-one else can slip in an application. The PT also gives you up to 12 months to make a decision about the territories in which you want patents.
Foreign patenting means multiple applications and charges and, often, the need for translation services. They can be a drag for you and a big fee earner for your agent but they are a way of exploiting wider markets, perhaps by licensing the invention to a foreign business. There's currently no world patent, though one application to the European patent office can cover many countries.
Just owning a patent doesn't protect you from having your idea ripped off. From here on you - or sometimes your agent - will have to police the use of the invention. If you find someone infringing your rights, the patent gives you the legal basis for an action against them, or often an out-of-court settlement.

A lawyer's warning
David Knight, of Lochners Technology Solicitors, warns: 'The most common mistake [made by inventors] is an excess of trust. A successful invention can make a lot of money. Even close friends may turn nasty when greed sets in. It's best to depend on formal contracts~ With his help, we compiled a caution list for intending inventors: