Protect Yourself

Patenting anything novel and creative is just insurance. It stops the bad guys from taking over what you're doing.

(Here's one of our ideas - to do with pointing devices - let us know what you think.)

And even in software - you don't have to use a patent as a bad guy, but it stops the bad guys from doing bad to you. (You can always license your patent for free, just to the good guys.)

And it's easy to do (and we'll happily guide you through this):

1. you work out what's the central, core piece of originality in your work
2. you search hard for any previous mention of this idea, eg on the web and in the WIPO and US patent databases, modifying your central claim if anything might overlap at all (and by the way, there are easier-to-use versions of the US patent database at FreePatentsOnline and SumoBrain)
3. feeling reasonably confident of your originality, and having seen the language they use on patent applications, you write a little patent, which just lists
   (1) "Claims" - your core idea, and the various aspects and variants that spring from it - and
   (2) a "Description", that describes in plain English
   - the area your invention is in,
   - the other relevant stuff that's out there (but why it's not the same),
   - and then the invention itself (just recycle your 'Claims' text for this, to ensure all your Claims are indeed covered in your Description)
4. at any time you run it past one of the small band of independent patent lawyers who are happy to work this way, the good guys like Richard Doble or Lucy Wojcik, instead of the large firms that charge large clients incredibly large amounts to do it all themselves. Richard or Lucy will sort out the legal language and advise on any changes
5. then you file it online (it's simple) at the UK patent office

We've helped several small firms do this. If you've done something seriously novel, you can buy years of insurance and ownership via a patent, for typically £500-£3000.