Skip to main contentSkip to navigation
Diversity startup business team working together by 3D printer. Looking at 3D printer printing and discussing.
Once your invention is designed, it’s time to submit drawings and a clear description to the patent office. Photograph: vgajic/Getty Images
Once your invention is designed, it’s time to submit drawings and a clear description to the patent office. Photograph: vgajic/Getty Images

The life of a patent: from inception to approval, here’s everything you need to know

Patents can help protect your invention by stopping others from copying your hard work – but how do you go about acquiring one?

Imagine this: you’ve designed a self-buttering toaster, an ingenious invention that can butter 100 slices of bread in 30 seconds flat. Everyone from chefs to sandwich makers and lunchbox-packing parents will love it; the gizmo is set to revolutionise kitchens across the globe. But how do you stop others from cashing in on your idea by building an identical device?

You patent it, of course.

This is easier said than done, though. Applying for a patent isn’t a matter of simply jotting down the words “buttering toast machine” on a form and submitting some sketches to an intellectual property (IP) office. The process can be long – patents often take years to be granted – and you may need to register in multiple jurisdictions, too. So, how is it all done?

Searching for a patent
Obviously, the world needs to know about your trailblazing toaster. But you won’t be happy if, down the line, you discover other entrepreneurs have been marketing a similar or identical product. That’s why it’s often useful to conduct a search to check if a similar patent to your invention already exists.

Hands typing a laptop keyboard
Dennemeyer Octimine software uses AI to search 150m patents in seconds. Photograph: Sam Barnes/Getty Images

“When preparing to file a patent application, people often find it helpful to conduct a comprehensive prior art search for published documents, including granted patents and pending patent applications,” says Anthony Carlick, European and chartered UK patent attorney at IP law firm Dennemeyer & Associates. “This step can help patent applicants understand the state of the art, and if a patent office is likely to consider their idea new and inventive. It is crucial that patent applicants get advice from an experienced patent attorney to maximise their chances of success and avoid potential problems later.”

You can search for published patent applications for free by using regional or international patent databases such as those from the European Patent Office (EPO), the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

It’s also possible to carry out this step using Dennemeyer Octimine, an AI-driven patent search engine that can sift through the text of more than 150m patents to find similar documents within seconds, reducing search time by at least 70% compared with regular approaches. A new version – which is currently under development – for non-patent literature searches, has access to more than 211m scientific articles and papers.

Filing the patent application
Once you’re happy to proceed, it’s time to draft a detailed application for your invention, which will be submitted to one or more IP offices. But you’ll need to prepare some documents, including:

  • A written description.

  • A clear outline of the technical features and operation (known as the “claims”).

  • Explanatory drawings or blueprints.

Having put all the documentation together, submitted the application and paid the office fees (which start at £60 at the UK IPO), the patent examination process can begin. Bear in mind that it can take a long time for a patent office to issue its decision – between one to three years; poorly drafted claims or inaccuracies in submitted documents can slow things significantly. Offices will get in touch if they need additional clarifications, so it’s best to get everything right the first time.

That’s why if you want your patent approved in a timely manner, it makes good sense to hire a patent lawyer such as those at Dennemeyer & Associates, who can help draft and file your application.

Maximising the patent protection
Patentees want to obtain the best – and often the widest – protection possible, and one way they can do this is to repeat the patent application process in every country they want to do business. But this could be very time-consuming and expensive, not to mention exhausting. Thankfully, the global patent system has several options that reduce the duplication of work and considerably speed up turnover.

Many European countries, including the UK, can benefit from a European patent granted by the EPO. This is not a single grant but rather a “bundle” of patents that can be validated in each nation where you seek protection. Similarly, worldwide routes come via the Patent Cooperation Treaty and Patent Prosecution Highway. A granted patent can be used to fast-track another application in a different jurisdiction.

But most innovative of all is the upcoming Unitary Patent and Unified Patent Court, due to launch in the European Union (EU) on 1 June this year. As the name suggests, the unitary patent is a singular, consolidated patent right immediately applicable to most EU countries all at once. Based on a granted European patent, there is no waiting around or additional paperwork. A true “one and done” application.

“Of course, every option has its strengths and weaknesses, so a mix and match approach might be the right way forward,” says Stéphane Speich, patent, trademark and design attorney at Dennemeyer & Associates. “When it comes to enacting a global IP strategy, the advice of an experienced patent attorney is indispensable.”

Man meeting female lawyer for advice in a meeting room
A specialist patent lawyer can help guide you through the application process and international considerations. Photograph: Ippei Naoi/Getty Images

Renewing the patent
Remember the fidget spinner craze? Six years ago, this palm-sized toy was ubiquitous in playgrounds around the world, selling 19m in the first six months of production. Yet, the person who was initially credited with inventing it, Catherine Hettinger, didn’t make any money from the gadget she’d originally created to amuse her daughter in the 1990s. Why? She’d surrendered the patent in 2005 because she didn’t keep up with the renewal fee.

Although most countries grant up to 20 years of exclusive rights for inventions, patents don’t work the way copyrights do and require regular maintenance as opposed to commonly expiring 70 years after the owner’s death. Hettinger’s story highlights the importance of not letting patents lapse due to missed renewal payments.

Patent owners need to renew their rights with all registering offices at specific intervals, generally paying increasing amounts as time goes on. In the UK, for instance, fees for a granted patent start in the fifth year from filing, at £70, rising to £610 in the 20th year. Meanwhile, the United States requires payments after three and a half years, seven and a half years and 11 and a half years. Depending on the size of the business and the age of the patent, fees are between $400 (£321) and $7,700 (£6,187).

Things can quickly become confusing if you’ve registered a patent in multiple jurisdictions, so letting a patent service provider manage due dates and maintenance payments for you can take a load off your mind.

Defending the patent
While your patent is alive, it’s in your best interest to defend it and to take action if somebody uses it without your authorisation (otherwise known as infringement). This, again, is where Dennemeyer’s legal expertise can help.

Patent infringement is a very big kettle of fish, and the appropriate response depends on when the misuse takes place. If someone is trying to patent a technology that is overly similar to your creation, you can oppose its grant in many countries. Otherwise, you can appeal to have a granted patent cancelled or revoked in an invalidity action.

However, if someone is already selling a product that infringes your IP rights, you should first attempt mediation before going to court.

What happens when the patent expires?
When a patent eventually expires, it relinquishes all of its IP rights. This means anybody can recreate it and sell it. “In the tech-driven era we currently live in, many products are the sum of multiple patentable inventions,” says Speich. “In early 2021, Apple received a batch of 77 patent grants from the US Patent and Trademark Office. While older patents for some elements will expire, they will be replaced by new, freshly protected parts that will likely appear in future iPhones.”

Ready to take your business to the next level? Contact the patent experts at Dennemeyer today