Use an IP Lawyer to Ensure Your Patent is Correctly Filed

If you have come up with a new invention, or a technical development that you wish to protect from being copied by others, then a patent may well be the best route to take.

But there are a number of key steps that need to be followed, in order to ensure the patent is correctly filed, and the product or process is correctly described, in order to afford maximum protection in a court of law. Using and retaining an IP lawyer at the outset could prove to pay dividends when the patent is granted and you are protected.

For a start, the invention or development must be correctly described, and it should relate to only a single item, or to a succession of items that together make a single whole. The description used must explain the way in which the process works or the product is used and must be quite detailed. Once your application is made, it will be published in an official journal for the inspection of others; there is an independent process by which people can make an objection and certain grounds by which they can do so.

Once it is applied for, the patent application goes through 3 processes: examination as to form, search, and examination as to substance. Many aspects of the patent run from the filing date, hence the often used phrase "patent applied for" on new products, which give any would-be copiers the clear warning that here is a product likely to have full legal protection before too long; technically, this is called the "right of priority".

The patent office will check that all the information provided on the application form regarding the description and technicality of the product is correct. A search is then carried out to ensure that the patent application does not cross over into other, existing patents or registered products or processes - in other words checking that this is an original idea. The final stage of the application involves checking your description, it may be the case that the office suggest another version which will provide you with a more comprehensive protection, not only this but your invention description may be similar to another patent which is already registered.

If you retain a specialised IP lawyer you should be able to move through all three of these processes without any hold ups and proceed to the important position of the patent being granted - surely a practical decision for anyone who has thought of a brand new idea.