filing a patent application for your idea

Once you have some confidence that your idea is new, and if you believe that there is a market opportunity for your idea, the second step is to protect it by filing a patent application.

YOU MUST NOT DIVULGE YOUR IDEA TO ANYONE BEFORE YOU FILE A PATENT APPLICATION, EXCEPT IN CONFIDENCE. Preferably, you should have a signed confidentiality agreement in place with any party to whom you wish to disclose your idea.

Unfortunately, most inventors are unaware, that even speaking to a friend in the pub about the idea or releasing the design non-confidentially to a sub-contract machine shop, could mean that your patent application is invalid.

Without patent protection, your chances of personally, or jointly (with a reputable partner), making the idea successful will be slim, because pirates and copyists can always undercut you on price in the market place.

You have three options;
1. You can draft and file the patent application yourself.
2. You can engage the services of patent agency, who charge by the hour; typically at a rate of £150 to £350 per hour.
3. You can engage the services of an experienced and reputable business which may elect to invest in your invention in return for a stake in its success.

Unless you are experienced at patent writing, the chance of you creating an application which you can depend on to protect you, in the eventually of someone else copying your idea, is slim. You may think that you are saving money in doing this. The reality is often you are jeopardising every single £/$/Euro that you will spend on the project here-on-in.

Patent attorneys offer a professional service, but unfortunately charge a "professional" rate for the service. Most individuals and small businesses cannot afford this service and certainly can not afford the costs if the application needs development, or changes following search and examination results.

ideas2develop offer a patent application draft and file service, where you have two options;

- we can charge a competitive rate for this service, which you should find less costly than a high-street patent attorney company.

- we can agree with you terms, where we would cover all the professional fees associated with drafting and filing the application, in return for a majority stake in the Intellectual Property of the invention.

The latter may be a daunting prospect for you, given the affection you feel for your idea is probably similar to that of bringing a child into the world. Some inventors believe and want to go it alone, gambling their homes, livelihoods and life savings on their idea. Unfortunately, the many pitfalls available to the uninitiated or even partly initiated mean that a high proportion of the inventors fail and have a seriously stressful time doing so.

ideas2develop can offer you the ideal “inventor-balance”. You watch your idea develop and flourish under expert advice and assistance AND have a stake in its success.