• Intellectual Property Attorney
• Patent Protection
• Patent Application
• Trade Mark Application Procedure

Patent Protection

Patent protection is available for inventions which are novel, inventive and capable of industrial application. However, inventions which are not patentable include discoveries, scientific theories or mathematical methods; aesthetic creations including literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works; schemes, rules or methods for performing a mental act, playing a game, or doing business, or computer programmes; or the mere presentation of information. Other exceptions include certain aspects of biotechnology, methods of treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy and methods of diagnosis when carried out on the human or animal body.

Patent protection is not an essential pre-requisite for placing a new product on the market or using a new process, but it does provide the right to prevent others from making unauthorised use of the invention protected by the patent. Innovators should at least seek intellectual property advice, since without patent protection, the inventor has no effective means of preventing others from making, importing, or using the invention, or offering it for sale without permission. Conversely, patent protection provides a means of redress in a court of law to restrain such infringing activities. Of course, in most cases, either the existence of patent protection provides a deterrent to infringing activity or, if infringement activity is detected, the resulting dispute between the parties is usually settled before the courts become involved.

It is highly recommended that potential owners of patentable inventions contact an intellectual property attorney from Withers & Rogers at an early stage in the conception or development of the invention.  This will allow consideration of the availability of patent protection and its potential scope against the background of the existing state of the art. It is particularly important that, if appropriate, a patent application is filed before any public disclosure of the invention takes place. Our expert patent attorneys in London, Bristol, Leamington Spa and Sheffield will provide you with the best possible intellectual property advice on patent protection and, if required, commercial exploitation.

As patents are granted on a territorial basis, a UK patent sought on behalf of a client by our patent attorneys in London, for example, grants the holder rights only within the United Kingdom. To extend a UK patent to cover other territories, the corresponding patents must be applied for separately. We are, of course, able to handle such foreign filling programmes in acordance with a client's needs.