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Can I patent my idea?

We guarantee you a Patent Pending Number. But thereafter, which options best protect your idea?

Is your idea a new:

App

Are you:

e.g. Creating an e‐commerce site (similar to amazon.com) to sell pet products within London only e.g. Creating an Uber‐type platform for rickshaws / to transport food

Not patentable. Rather:

  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. EBAY) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
  • Consider securing rights over your unique GUI by filing a Design Pending Number
  • To be safe, consider getting a Patent Pending Number. This will give you 12 months to develop the idea and investigate patentability further. And, the Patent Pending Number should give you some "breathing space" from competitors
e.g. Data input, form generation and report output. We like to refer to this as "software merely doing "software stuff""

The idea is unlikely to be patentable. But, during development a "step" that is "new" and "not obvious to an expert" may be created, and this step may be patentable. To do:

  • Develop the idea further. But, ensure you conclude a proper software development agreement that: assigns intellectual property (including inventions, designs and copyright); and delivers source code, to you
  • Get a "Patent Pending Number" to protect your rights during the development phase. The Patent Pending Number should also give you some "breathing space" from competitors
  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. SAP) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
  • Conduct searches (including a patent search) to confirm that your idea is "new" worldwide
  • Consider securing rights over your unique GUI by filing a Design Pending Number
e.g. A new method for compressing data

The idea is likely patentable. To do:

  • Conduct an international online patent search to confirm that your idea is "new" worldwide
  • Draft a provisional patent specification and get a Patent Pending Number
  • Create a BRAND (e.g. IBM) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
e.g. Sending a one‐time password communicated via a cellphone to login in to an online service (in combination with a "static" username and password)

The idea is likely patentable. To do:

  • Conduct an international online patent search to confirm that your idea is "new" worldwide
  • Draft a provisional patent specification and get a Patent Pending Number
  • Create a BRAND (e.g. THAWTE) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement

Note: There must be an unexpected technical benefit associated with your new step. For instance, sending food / parcels via Uber achieves an "expected" technical benefit of transporting food / parcels.

Physical product

Have you:

e.g. Adding a plastic lining to the inside of a tin can to inhibit corrosion by saline contents.

If the "new feature" is not obvious to an expert in the field, it is likely patentable. To do:

  • Conduct an international online patent search to confirm that the "new feature" is in fact "new" worldwide
  • Draft a provisional patent specification and get a Patent Pending Number
  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Create a BRAND (e.g. HEINZ) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
e.g. Removing all the "buggy" electronics from Land Rovers.

Not patentable ‐ for patents, you must add a new feature. Rather:

  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Focus on your BRAND and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
  • To be safe, consider getting a Patent Pending Number. This will give you 12 months to develop the idea and investigate patentability further. And, the Patent Pending Number should give you some "breathing space" from competitors
e.g. Using a crayon as makeup to apply rouge to cheeks / eyeliner.

Not patentable ‐ only "new" and "not obvious" features you are adding to make the product suitable for this new purpose may be patented. To do:

  • Develop the product further to make it particularly suited for its new purpose.
  • Get a "Patent Pending Number" to protect your rights during the development phase. The Patent Pending Number should also give you some "breathing space" from competitors
  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. CROXLEY) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
  • Conduct searches (including a patent search) to confirm that any new features you may develop are in fact "new" worldwide
e.g. Combining photocopier, scanner and facsimile machines into a single 3‐in‐1 office machine.

To be patentable, the combination must yield an unexpected technical benefit. For instance, merely providing a box containing a spanner and a screwdriver is not expected to be patentable. However, if the spanner is configured to connect and provide torque to the screwdriver, the benefit is unexpected and may be patentable. To do:

  • Conduct a patent search to confirm that the combination of features is in fact "new" worldwide
  • Focus on the features / combination of features that yield an unexpected benefit, and get a Patent Pending Number therefor.
  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. BOSCH) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
e.g. Making a bathtub out of aluminum.

If the new material is selected to provide the benefit normally associated with the material (e.g. corrosion resistance and light‐weight for aluminum), even if use of the material may be "new" worldwide, it will likely not be considered "not obvious to an expert". To do:

  • Develop the product further to make it particularly suited for its new material. Hopefully, this development will yield "new" and "not obvious" features that may be patentable.
  • Get a "Patent Pending Number" to protect your rights during the development phase. The Patent Pending Number should also give you some "breathing space" from competitors
  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. GROHE) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
e.g. designing an extra small watering can for potted cacti.

Although making a product smaller may yield significant advantages, since you are not adding a "new" and "not obvious" feature", varying the size of products / making them more compact is typically not patentable. We suggest:

  • Develop the product further, focusing on "new" and "not obvious" features that facilitate miniaturization of the product, which features may be patentable.
  • Get a "Patent Pending Number" to protect your rights during the development phase. The Patent Pending Number should also give you some "breathing space" from competitors
  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. MINI COOPER) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
e.g. a 6‐piece fishing rod.

Merely making a product modular is unlikely to be considered patentable. However, if the connector you design to connect the modules is "new" and "not obvious", the connector may be patented. Then, incorporating the patentable connector with the modules will result in your modules "piggy‐backing" into the patent. We suggest:

  • Focus on developing a "new" and "not obvious" connector, which may be patentable.
  • Get a "Patent Pending Number" to protect your rights during the development phase. The Patent Pending Number should also give you some "breathing space" from competitors
  • Conduct a patent search to confirm that the new connector is in fact "new" worldwide
  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. PANDORA) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement

Business method

Do you have a new:

e.g. A new Turkish restaurant outside Piccadilly Station, a bookkeeping firm focusing on small e‐commerce businesses.

Not patentable. Rather:

e.g. A dental insurance policy for cats, a life policy that pays out in Bitcoin

Not patentable. Rather:

e.g. A retailer that tracks customers' spending habits to tailor its marketing.

If the method includes a "new" and "not obvious" step, the method may be patentable. To do:

  • Conduct an international online patent search to confirm that the new step in the method is in fact "new" worldwide
  • Draft a provisional patent specification and get a Patent Pending Number
  • Create a BRAND (e.g. TOP SHOP) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement

Method

Does your method include:

e.g. Sending all couriered parcels to a central hub before transporting them to their destinations.

If the step is "new" and "not obvious", the method may be patentable. To do:

  • Conduct an international online patent search to confirm that the new step in the method is in fact "new" worldwide
  • Draft a provisional patent specification and get a Patent Pending Number
  • Create a BRAND (e.g. FEDEX) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement
e.g. Deep frying chicken at 15 psi and at 250 degrees F to prevent vaporization of water (i.e. the patented KFC cooking process)

Note: The range extremities cannot be arbitrary. A technical effect must occur at both ends of the range.

If the range is "new" and "not obvious" (i.e. yields an unexpected technical effect), the method may be patentable. To do:

  • Conduct an international online patent search to confirm that the range is in fact "new" worldwide
  • Draft a provisional patent specification and get a Patent Pending Number
  • Create a BRAND (e.g. KFC) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement

Chemical composition / formulation

Does your composition include:

e.g. A composition including 10% vitamin E, 10% lavender oil, 15% Argon oil and 65% aqueous cream

A novel combination of known constituents that are selected to provide the benefits ordinarily associated with the constituents, is typically not patentable. Rather:

  • Focus on your BRAND (e.g. CHANEL) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the composition signs a confidentiality agreement
  • Consider securing rights over your unique packaging by filing a Design Pending Number
  • To be safe, consider getting a Patent Pending Number. This will give you 12 months to develop the idea and investigate patentability further. And, the Patent Pending Number should give you some "breathing space" from competitors
e.g. a shampoo including a combination of Penthenol and Panthenyl Ethyl Ether (i.e. Pro‐V)

New actives can be patented. To do:

  • Conduct an international online patent search to confirm that the "new active" is in fact "new" worldwide
  • Draft a provisional patent specification and get a Patent Pending Number
  • Secure rights over the unique shape of your product packaging by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Create a BRAND (e.g. PANTENE PRO‐V) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Ensure each person to whom you disclose the active signs a confidentiality agreement

Game

Do you have:

e.g. Poker, Canasta

Methods of playing a game are typically not patentable. Consider:

  • Focusing on your BRAND (e.g. TEXAS HOLD'EM) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Patenting the method of playing a game in the US (one of the only countries that permit this). Start by filing a Patent Pending Number. The Patent Pending Number should also give you some "breathing space" from competitors
e.g. Monopoly game board with playing pieces

Game boards can be protected in various ways. We suggest:

  • Securing rights over the unique shape of your game board by filing a Design Pending Number
  • Focusing on your BRAND (e.g. MONOPOLY) and protect your brand by filing a Trademark Pending Number
  • Patenting the method of playing a game in the US (one of the only countries that permit this). Start by filing a Patent Pending Number. The Patent Pending Number should also give you some "breathing space" from competitors
  • Prior to launch, ensure each person to whom you disclose the idea signs a confidentiality agreement

Formula

e.g. E=MC^2

Formulae / mathematical calculations are generally not patentable. Rather:

Patents can be enforced to prevent others from copying your product / service. Patent Pending Numbers are also useful to keep competitors at arm’s length and give you room to grow. As for marketing, marking your product / service "Patent Pending" is invaluable ‐ it communicates your technological advantage over competitors.

 Patent Pending Lego Patent Pending Towel
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