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If your UK-based business invents brand new products to market and sell, you may be wondering how you can protect these inventions. Luckily, in the UK, patents can protect inventions from copycats in the marketplace. However, you have probably seen the phrase ‘patent pending’ concerning other people’s products and wondered what this means. This article will give you an introduction to patents and explain what patent pending means.
What is a Patent?
A patent is a form of intellectual property that protects inventions. Patents cannot protect ideas. If an inventor obtains a patent for their creation, they have the exclusive right to make that product for a maximum of 20 years.
Note that patents only give territorial rights. This means that if you receive a patent in the UK, your exclusive rights only extend to the UK. For that reason, some inventors will also file applications in overseas countries through the Patent Cooperation Treaty or the European Patent Office for European countries. Alternatively, inventors can apply in each country that they want protection.
‘Patent Pending’
‘Patent pending’ means someone has applied for a patent on a product, but the UK Intellectual Property Office has not yet granted it. It is the inventor’s way of informing people that they hope to get a patent. Therefore, anyone copying the product will potentially infringe the inventor’s intellectual property rights. Inventors seeking funding for their creation will often use this term.
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How Should I Use the Patent Pending Notice?
If you want to use the term ‘patent pending’ concerning your product, you should include your patent application number and the countries where you have an active patent application. This prevents any marketplace confusion and explains where the patent will apply in the future.
‘Patent pending’ does not have legal meaning and does not grant you any protection. However, it does warn potential infringers that you will pursue legal action over any patent infringement once you receive your patent. If you prefer, you can use the phrase ‘patent applied for’ instead of ‘patent pending’.
How to Apply for a Patent
You can apply for a patent if your invention is something new, innovative, and is something you can make or use. In this context, inventive means that your creation cannot be an obvious modification of something that already exists.
To apply for a patent in the UK, you should apply online through the UK Intellectual Property Office. Your application must include a description of your invention and its technical features. You can also submit technical drawings that help to illustrate your invention and its function.
Once you have filed your patent application, you will receive a filing date from the UK Intellectual Property Office. You can start to use the ‘patent pending’ notice when you get this date. It may take around five years to obtain a patent, but this filing date means you can utilise your invention.
Other Ways of Protecting Products
If you are developing a new product and are hoping for patent protection, you must keep your invention secret until you apply for the patent. If you need to discuss it with anyone else, you should ask them to sign a non-disclosure agreement. This will show that you have taken steps to keep your invention secret.
Other forms of intellectual property protection can help you protect your business’ products. For example, you can use a trade mark to protect a new brand that you have created. You can also use design rights to protect the appearance of a product.
Checking Other Patents
Before applying for patent protection, you should check that no one else has already registered a similar patent. You may also want to do this to get an idea of the types of inventions that qualify for patents. You can search for patents, both granted and in the application process, through the UK Intellectual Property Office.
Key Takeaways
If you are an inventor thinking about applying for a patent, it is helpful to understand how and when to use the term ‘patent pending’. It is an offence to use the term in the UK if you have not applied for a patent. Applying for a patent is a complicated and lengthy process, and the Intellectual Property Office recommends that you seek expert legal advice before applying.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you only need to obtain a patent if you want to stop anyone from copying your invention. Some inventors design products to benefit as many people as possible, so they will not apply for a patent. Others will try to obtain a patent but find that their product does not meet the patent requirements.
Your invention needs to be brand new and involve an inventive step to receive a patent. That means that someone should not be an obvious modification of an existing product. Your invention also needs to be something that you can make or use.
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