We have moved away from billable hours as a pricing method, so that our fees can be set transparently and in advance.  We often work with clients to bundle together a range of different services that might take place over an extended period of time, say six or twelve months, and can discuss flexible payment schedules as well.  However, as a guideline, drafting and filing an initial patent application may cost service fees of between £8,000 to £12,000. A new UK trade mark application filing would incur a £450 service fee for one class, and a further service fee of £125 for each additional class. There are a wide range of other services and options that we would be happy to discuss.

Patents are awarded for inventions which are “non-obvious”. This is a fundamentally subjective criterion and it can take a little bit of judgement to determine whether a specific innovation would have enough merit to be protected. We usually advocate a commercially guided approach, if an innovation solves a problem, is related to enhancing your unique selling point, or could generate revenue, that is a signal that patent protection should be investigated. As your business grows, we can help you develop scoring tools and standard operating procedures for capturing and assessing new inventions as they are developed.

The golden rule is to file a patent before any public disclosure is made of the invention in order to comply with novelty laws or to give you the best possible protection. Outside of that, it’s generally best to file a patent as soon as possible but there are a number of factors that may mean you decide to file later, for example, if the technology needs some further development or if you wish to delay the timing of the expenditure for cash flow purposes. Ultimately, this is a nuanced decision that we would discuss with you when discussing your wider IP strategy.

We enjoy working with clients who are engaged with the IP process. However, for a patent application to be successful and to provide robust commercial protection there are many complex factors that must be taken into account. This means that we cannot offer a discount when starting from a “self-filed” application. If you are looking for a cut-price job based on a self-filed application then you may be better off looking for a different firm to work with.

To secure effective and robust legal protection we recommend adopting a brand that has a strong distinctive character, avoiding commonly used words or words which are overly descriptive. This means it is a lot harder for anybody to argue they have a right to use your brand, as there would be no other “innocent” reason to use your brand. You also need to make sure a brand is free to use before you start to use it, in case you infringe anybody else’s rights, and we can help conduct the necessary clearance searches to validate your freedom to operate.

Legally speaking different countries have different requirements about whether a trade mark has to be in use before it can be registered but as a general rule we recommend that trade mark failings are made in step with your existing or your intended commercial activities. There can be circumstances where an early filing can be advisable – ahead of a product launch for example – but on the flipside a lot of money can be wasted filing too early in too many countries. Ultimately, this is a nuanced decision that we would discuss with you when discussing your wider IP strategy.

Registered designs (or design patents as they are known in the USA) have a novelty requirement and therefore care needs to be taken when considering public disclosures of your design. That aside, it is generally advisable to file for design protection once the final form of the design has been settled and ahead of any product launch. There are some important differences in procedures from country to country so your international strategy needs to be factored in at an early stage. Ultimately, this is a nuanced decision that we would discuss with you when discussing your wider IP strategy.

Litigation can be prohibitively expensive, and while there are various insurance products designed to address that, we find that in practice the vast majority of IP disputes are resolved well before any litigation comes onto the horizon. IP can be used cost effectively as a negotiation tool for real commercial advantage without ever needing to go near a court. You may also find that a patent with infringer becomes more valuable to a third party, so infringement is not always bad news.  IP is a strategic asset that can come into play in many different scenarios, and we enjoy helping our clients understand the many ways in which IP can be used to generate value.

Problems with IP ownership are one of the most common stumbling blocks in the spinout or startup process. Typically, if a company is spinning out from a University then university would own the initial IP and the spinout would have a license to that with an option at some point to purchase the IP back. We always recommend that ownership is properly documented and agreement is made about future assignment of the IP rights. Addressing any future issues at an early stage and being clear about the different objectives of any relevant parties involved helps clear the air and set a solid foundation for success. We can help advise if the situation is messy or there is a dispute about who would own the relevant rights.

To get going all you need to do is contact us to book an initial free of charge first consultation where we will consider your needs and make a proposal.