LET A PATENT ATTORNEY TAKE THE STRAIN

For those brave enough to write and file a patent themselves, it can cost just a few hundred pounds. The filing and examination costs are heavily subsidised by the patent office as they want to encourage innovation.

However this is a skill and unless you’re well versed in the art, few patent amateurs will successfully be able to capture the subtleties around an idea to secure its protection, so using the services of a good patent lawyer will really help.

While this could cost a few thousand pounds, in the long run it will be money well spent as you’re more likely to be able to defend the end result.

Amanda Simons is a Partner in the Oxford office of national patent firm, J A Kemp.

Amanda is a particular expert on the pharmaceutical and medtech sectors, areas which some investment companies veer away from because the return on investment often takes longer.

“Some start-ups in these sectors feel they need to secure intellectual property (IP) before they go for investment, but it’s not always necessary,” said Amanda.

“A savvy investor won’t be scared off by an idea that hasn’t got IP yet, as long as the company or inventor has an awareness of what they need to do to and are working towards securing IP in the longer term.”

In fact, Amanda says that securing IP on a product early isn’t always the right thing to do.

“If you file your application too early, before proof of concept, it’s a risk to getting IP granted at all.

“I’ll often advise a company not to file too early before they have enough data and recommend working with an IP attorney who can undertake an audit to look at what you’ve got and what you should be looking at.”

Amanda adds that there is funding available for IP audits from various organisations such as Innovate Edge.

“From an investment perspective, a company is often more attractive if it’s got an IP strategy, but it doesn’t necessarily need to have its IP filed, let alone granted.”