Patenting an idea

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Does anyone have any experience of this? I have just had a brainwave idea moment and have created an idea for a product that I am confident 80%+ of new parents would be interested in buying. I have children of my own and it would have met our needs and also know from the chats with other NCT mums etc that this is needed.

Can anyone help? I have obviously googled but it seems that registering with a patent attorney is a minimum of £4k! Is this the only way and how do I avoid somewhere dodgy? Do they have a gold standard for patent attorneys?

Ooh I'm not sure.

What's the idea?????

It is something that would help in the very early days of parenting when the parents are panicked around feeding. It would be very helpful for the first 0 days to 6 weeks. I was listening to a parenting podcast and the 3 presenters all commented on it being an issue and I related to that then realised I could solve it!

It seems so obvious to me that it has not already been created and believe me I have spent the last 24 hours googling variations of what I propose but nothing comes close!

www.gov.uk/guidance/before-you-apply-for-a-patent

I don't think you need to use a patent attorney, but you do need to know what you're doing! Look through the link above.

If you've just had an 'idea', it's highly unlikely you've got anything patentable. Start developing your invention, either theoretically or practically (putting appropriate non-disclosure agreements in place if you need to involve any third parties), and go from there. You need to be much further along than a concept before you'll get a patent.

www.gov.uk/patent-your-invention

Thanks all. It is more than an idea. I know the materials used and items needed. I have spoken to a supplier who will be able to mock up a version for me very quickly. I have also contacted the innovation department of a large FMCG organisation to speak with them about the possibility of them buying what I have and know so far. Quite frankly the amount of paperwork involved in patenting anything is prohibitive to the average person taking forward ideas. There must be a better way!

People always think you need a patent when you don't.

Just develop your idea. Market it.

Businesses do well on how they are run not on the original idea.

This in itself - taken from the site posted above:

'Patents are expensive and difficult to get. Before you apply, check if a patent is right for your business.'

@felulageller - I think that is the way I will go. As I say, I can produce this relatively easily and when it does get noticed I can see what happens. I just don't want to spend time pursuing something for it to be stolen from me.

If it really is a good idea, parent it. I randomly met a woman in a pub who developed what is now the Angel Care mattress thing. She developed and sold it to Nicu's. Angel Care did the same thing a year later and she had no comeback.

You have to be sure, patenting is expensive and laborious. If it's that obvious and hasn't been developed yet it could well have been somewhere else. Have you checked the patent register?

Do get NDAs put in place with the companies you are speaking with if you don't yet. At the moment there is absolutely nothing to stop them taking your idea on withiut you, based on what you have told them already.

It’s shit advice to not patent it.

Someone will come along with the resources and contacts to do it cheaper and quicker than you if they spy it doing well.

You can check on the relevant websites for patents already in place, just looking to see if they’re there isn’t good enough. There maybe a parent already in someone’s back pocket.

I have access to them through Uni but you can pay too, that would probably be the first step.

www.epo.org/searching-for-patents/technical/espacenet.html

It will almost certainly have some standards to abide by too: look on BSI

Should you patent it? Depends if you’re looking to make serious money. If you are then you should really bottom out whether or not it’s patentable before you do anything. A patent gives you a monopoly over the invention for the life of the patent - meaning you can keep competitors out for potentially 20 years.

I’d suggest CIPA (the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys - the professional body for UK patent attorneys) as your first port of call. They have a database of patent attorneys on their website. Most will give you an initial free of charge steer as to whether it is in principle likely to be patentable.

£4k is not unrealistic to draft a patent. The costs can be considerably more. Again - you have to think about what you’re seeking to obtain here - the right to keep others out of the market, a right which you may be able sell or license to others for substantial money. If the idea is genuinely good then the drafting costs should be a drop in the ocean compared to what you stand to make.

Good luck! Make sure not to publicly disclose the idea (e.g. discuss with anyone unless you have agreed with them to keep it confidential - ideally with then signing an NDA) until you’ve decided if you’re going to file a patent application.

Also, on the costs, it’s not as simple as writing down what the invention is and you’re sorted - you’ll need to describe exactly what form it takes, how it works, what problem it’s solving. You’ll need to do this sufficiently broadly that a competitor can’t make a minor change and be found to fall outside of your patent, but also not so broadly that your patent is invalid/infringes someone else’s. Hopefully that justifies the attorneys’ fees a bit!

This is the regulatory body for patent attorneys in the UK. There is a register of attorneys and firms who have met minimum standards of training, sign up to a code of conduct and who have to have professional indemnity insurance in place:

www.ipreg.org.uk

Perhaps look at intellectual property and copyright.

You have nothing tangible to patent at the moment, but you do have the idea.

Thank you all. I have approached a couple of companies to quote on pricing up what I want but they want lots of detail about it before they will quote. I get a feeling that they may take the idea and steal it .I do not want to be suspicious but feel that it is a great idea and the more I have thought about it the more uses I can think of it having specifically in a medical setting. I am going to look at a patent attorney. I have looked at what is available on the market globally and cannot find anything that does this. I will let you all know how it goes.

@FTEngineerM - That link to espace is great. Having checked there nothing appears to be similar.

they want lots of detail about it before they will quote

That is understandable for them to assess the amount of work required. It’s of to share the information but it absolutely must be after signing NDA, once the idea is out there it is no longer novel.

Good luck.

Of=ok