Has anyone ever taken out a UK or worldwide patent on a new invention ?
Hi, I recommend that you get in contact with a patent attorney if you have an invention which you are serious about protecting. It is very difficult for a layperson to write a valid and useful patent application – a patent is a legal document just as much as is the deed for your own home! Do not disclose your invention except under conditions of strict confidentiality until you have filed a patent application. If you are in the UK then you can find a patent attorney from the website of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (www.cipa.org.uk). If keeping costs to a minimum is important then you should probably use a sole practitioner rather than a large firm. Just a few basics: You can start off by filing a UK patent application, and then within a year you can start looking towards protection in other countries (e.g. the US) or regions (e.g. Europe). There are a number of mechanisms to do this in an efficient and cost effective (but still very costly) manner. But protection in a nu
