Filing a Patent

Filing a Patent Application at the UK IPO

Everything you need to know about filing your patent application

How to File a UK Patent Application /span>

Once your patent application has been drafted it is time to file it with the UK IPO. The Patent Office (UK IPO) are very helpful to individual inventors. Any questions that this article does not answer they will be happy to help with. They can be contacted by calling this number: 0300 300 2000

Patent Filing Basics:

• Online or Post - Patent Filing can be completed online at this address: UK IPO Patent Filing ONLINE. Alternatively filing can be done by post. You need to complete Form 1. Guidelines are available here: Filling in Form 1
• Minimum requirements - All you need to do to file your application is to send in Form 1 and include a full description of your idea, include full drawings. All other details can follow within 12 months of the original filing date. No fees have to be paid up until 12 months from the date of filing.
• Filing Receipt - this will be sent within 5 - 10 days by the UK IPO.
• Complete your Application - you now have 12 months to complete your application by sending in the application fee (£30 if sending by post, £20 if filing online) and search fee (£150) and a completed copy of Form 9A. Claims and abstract must be now filed.
• Re-Filing - Within 12 months you can re-file as many times as you like and claim your original priority date of your first application. However your re filed application must include all of the original description that you first filed. You use Form 1 again to do this and file in the "claim priority" section with the application number of your original patent application. (This is found on your patent filing receipt.)
• Request for search - Your request for search form 9A must be filed within 12 months of your original application date or the patent application will lapse. Claims must be provided before the search can be completed..
• International Filing - You need to decide if you wish to file internationally within 12 months of your filing date. It can be beneficial to complete the search prior to international filing as it can save a lot of money in the long run. The search takes 4 months so it is wise when considering international filing to file Form 9A within 6 months of your filing date.

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Patent Search Why you should conduct a global patent search Conducting a global patent search prior to filing your patent application can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. In this section we explain why also how to commission a search.

Patent Application How to apply for a patent This section tells you everything you need to know about completing a Patent Application includes info on: writing a description, claims and abstract and completing patent drawings.

The Patent Process The process involved in getting your patent granted The patent process can be complicated and quite involved. This section provides an overview of the steps involved in patenting your idea. We go through the steps involved from patent application to patent granted.

Patent Pending All about Patent Pending This section covers what patent pending means, what rights it gives you, when you can legally use it and why you would want to use it. Patent Pending can deter people stealing your idea and we explain how it works.