The Underscore Archives

HI Sam

> Has anyone ever patented a product before and willing to share experiences?
> Thanks in advance for any help - on or offlist, I don't mind.

I tried once. Spent a 5 figure sum on an IP lawyer to draw up the
relevant (extremely complicated & technical) documentation ready for
submission only for the patent office to come back with some (wrong)
examples of prior art so refused to issue it. At this point we had to
make a decision whether to go back to the lawyers with another
wheelbarrow of cash to get them to add clarifications & resubmit or
not bother and walk away As the market had moved on quite a bit during
the application process we decided to cut our losses and walk way.
Ours cost so much 'cos the lawyer was very specialist in that
technical area so charged an arm and a leg per hour; we know we could
have done it quite a bit cheaper.

I don't want to be accused of spreading FUD but that was my experience
trying to patent a very subtle technical process, hence the need for
detailed documentation to prove the uniqueness. My understanding is
that one can simply provide a written description of <thing> in your
own words and supply back of fag packet drawings and this will suffice
though the more detailed your submission is the better chance you've
got of enforcing it later.

Only other nugget of information I can recall is that when one puts in
a UK patent application (so you now have Pat Pending) you
automatically have Pat Pending for a year, globally too, so you're
covered if someone else brings out something similar in another
country as you got in with the application first. You'd still need to
apply for the other country's patent too, it's just that you've just a
got a year to do it in.

Good luck

-- 
Darren Beale
07711 716 197

http://bealers.com