Knowledge Hub

What is Intellectual Property?

An introduction to patents, designs, trade marks, utility models, copyright and trade secrets.

Can I get an International Patent?

There is no international patent to provide global protection for an invention. Instead, a patent must be obtained in each country or region where protection is required as a patent holder is only able prevent another person from using the invention or importing a product that implements the invention in a country or region where a patent is held.

Trade Secrets

Any commercially valuable information may be protected as a trade secret. Trade secrets are a little different from other types of intellectual property rights because there is no registration process and, by definition, no requirement to disclose the information to the public in exchange for protection.

Supplementary Protection Certificates

Supplementary Protection Certificates (or SPCs) are a complementary intellectual property right to patents that provide additional years of protection for products that are subject to regulatory approval.

European Patent Prosecution

The path to obtaining a European patent can be viewed as a multi-stage process. Firstly, at the filing stage, the applicant must provide the European Patent Office (EPO) with sufficient information to be awarded a filing date for the application.

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is an international agreement under the Paris Convention to promote international cooperation in the field of patents.

PCT Prosecution: Delaying National/Regional Phase Entry

The deadline for UK or European entry of an international (PCT) application can sometimes be delayed beyond the normal 31 month time limit via the EPO or UKIPO.

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) System

By agreement between the offices and on request of a patent applicant, the work product of one patent office that has already allowed the application or given a positive International Preliminary Report on Patentability (IPRP) (the Office of Earlier Examination “OEE”) is used in the examination of the patent application of the same family in another patent office (the Office of Later Examination “OLE”), provided that the applicant presents only the allowable claims in the OLE application.

Euro-PCT Patent Application Route

A European patent application can be obtained by entering the European regional phase from an International PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) application, commonly referred to as the “Euro-PCT route”.

Grant of European Patents: I’ve received an R71(3) – now what?

After substantive examination, if an Examiner considers that a European patent application meets the requirements of the EPC, the Examiner will issue a communication indicating their intention to grant the application (a communication under Rule 71(3) EPC), but then what happens?

The UKIPO Green Channel

The UK Intellectual Property Office offers accelerated processing for patent applications if the invention has an environmental benefit, via the Green Channel scheme. Applicants can request to accelerate any of the following: search, examination, search and examination, and/or publication. There is no official fee for applying to use this service.

Accelerated Prosecution at the EPO

Inventive Step at the EPO

When assessing an invention for inventive step, an Examiner at the European Patent Office considers whether it would be obvious to a skilled person in view of what was in the public domain before the patent application was filed. 

What Is Priority and Why Is It Useful?

An invention must at least be new and inventive to be patentable so filing a patent application before publicly disclosing an invention is essential, as a public disclosure can mean the invention is not considered new by the patent office however you may not know prior to filing if the patent is beneficial.

What is Sufficiency?

In most countries, patent applications are required to “disclose the invention in a manner sufficiently clear and complete for the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art” but what does this requirement mean?

Inventorship and Ownership in the UK

In the world of patents, inventorship and ownership are two distinct legal principles which go hand-in-hand. Let’s find out why this is the case.

Freedom to Operate

In some cases, it may be that a patent or a group of patents owned by someone else covers some aspects of your own products or processes. This can prevent you from being “free” to operate (i.e. market) these products or processes, even if they are covered by your own patents.

Marking Products Protected by Patents and Registered Designs

In the context of patents and registered design rights, “marking” is the process of visually labelling a product with a related patent number (or application number) and/or a registered design number (or application number).

Actionable Threats

If, as an IP right holder, you become aware that someone is infringing your IP, litigation is unlikely to be your first port of call. Suing another party is expensive and time consuming, and is usually seen as a last resort. It may be tempting, therefore, to contact the potential infringer, seeking to stop the infringement. However, UK law prohibits certain types of communications, known as Actionable Threats, and great care must be taken when communicating with another party about a potential infringement.

Medical Inventions in Europe

Methods of treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and diagnostic methods practiced on the human or body are excluded from patentability in Europe.

Design Rights in the UK and EU

Designs are perhaps one of the more complex areas of IP due to the different design IP rights that can protect a product or article. In this information sheet we highlight the legal principles of design IP in the UK and the EU.

Design Protection for SMEs

Designs are perhaps not the most well-known form of intellectual property (IP) protection. However, for many IP-savvy businesses, registered designs can form a crucial part of an IP portfolio. But what exactly is a registered design?

Marking Products Protected by Patents and Registered Designs

In the context of patents and registered design rights, “marking” is the process of visually labelling a product with a related patent number (or application number) and/or a registered design number (or application number).

Patent Box

The UK Patent Box is a generous scheme that can yield significant savings for UK companies. By electing for Patent Box tax treatment, UK companies can benefit from a reduced rate of Corporation Tax of 10% on a proportion of profits derived from qualifying intellectual property (IP) rights.

Funding for SMEs

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) is currently offering qualifying small and medium-sized businesses grants towards the cost of various IP services.

R&D Tax Relief and Overlap With Patents

In order to encourage and reward greater innovation in the UK, the Government offer research and development (R&D) incentives for both large companies and small and medium size enterprises.