Freedom to operate assessment

A patent for an invention is granted by government to the rightful owner, normally an inventor or their employer. A patent gives the Patentee the right, for a limited period, to stop others from making, using or selling the invention without the permission of the Patentee.

Patents are generally intended to cover products or processes that possess or contain new functional or technical aspects; patents are therefore concerned with, for example, how things work, what they do, how they do it, what they are made of or how they are made.

The vast majority of patents are for incremental improvements in known technology.

Provide Dolleymores with details of the invention that you propose to protect along with any drawings that illustrate the invention. Any dealings with us are in the strictest confidence.

We will assess your invention and prepare a specification containing a detailed description of your invention, any drawings referred to, an abstract and a series of claims. We will then provide you with a draft specification for your comments and approval. Once you are happy with the specification we will file an application at the IPO along with a request for search.

We will act on your behalf and liaise with you during the entire application process from filing to grant with a view to obtaining the very best protection for your invention.

A British patent gives you the right, in the UK, to stop others from using your invention.

Alternatively, you can choose to let others use it under agreed terms. A patent also brings the right to take legal action against others who might be infringing your invention and to claim damages. The mere existence of a patent can sometimes be enough to deter a potential infringer.

A patent gives you the power to take legal action against others to prevent the unlicensed manufacture, use, importation or sale of your patented invention. This right can be used to give you time to develop a business based on the invention, or you may allow another person or company to exploit the invention and pay royalties to you under a licensing agreement. 

There are also tax incentives, through the Patent Box, to obtaining patent protection.

The application process can take up to four and a half years, and sometimes longer. This is dependent on the length of the examination stage. However, some protection rights are conferred to you after approximately 18 months after the initial filing.

Once a patent application has been filed you may discuss your invention (to the extent disclosed in the patent specification). Every patent application is published approximately 18 months after the filing date. Publication of the application does confer some rights to you, for example, if someone infringes the claims both as published and as subsequently granted, then at the time of grant you may take legal action against the infringer and potentially claim damages for any infringing act carried out in the period between publication and grant.

Any further developments or modifications made to your invention after filing your application that you think may be novel or inventive should be discussed with us first to decide whether a further patent application should be lodged before you disclose them.

Once granted, a patent lasts for 20 years from the date the application is filed, provided annual renewal fees are paid (see 'How do I keep my patent in force?').

Annual renewal fees must be paid to keep your patent in force. These are payable in the three-month period up to the anniversary of the date of filing the patent application. The first renewal fee is payable in respect of the fifth year following the filing of the application.

Every patent application is given a unique application number by the IPO, it is advisable as soon as this number is known to label any material relating to your invention with this number. Once a patent is granted, the IPO will allocate a unique patent number which can then replace the application number on any material to which the patent relates.

Provided you have filed a British patent application, you may then in the following 12 months file one or more corresponding patent applications in other countries or regions, for example Europe, and these will be considered to have the same filing date as your initial British application.

Dolleymores offer advice in respect of protection of your invention using a variety of filing programmes. Please contact a member of our patents team who can provide tailored advice and help you devise the most appropriate and cost-effective filing programme for your specific requirements.