Ideas

Your company probably started with a great idea.

Since you started your company you’ve probably had endless new ideas. Imagine having complete exclusivity to those ideas. Patents can be powerful assets to a company and understanding what patentable ideas you have created may be what makes or breaks your company’s future success.

Here we consider what types of ideas can be patented, how you get a patent for your idea, what you do to protect your idea if it is implemented in software, and how you can take over the world with exclusivity to an idea.

Can I patent my business idea?

It’s firstly important to understand that patents protect technological advancements. As such, if your business idea is not technological in nature it probably can’t be patented. What’s technological? So what do we mean by technological? It’s not just good enough to be using technology to implement the invention, there needs to be an advancement in […]

Can I patent software?

Cast aside what you may have heard from your friends or read on the internet – obtaining a patent for software is possible in Europe. However, this is a specialist area, and obtaining a patent for these topics can be problematic without expert guidance. Below is a rough guide to what may be, and what […]

How do I protect my invention around the world?

You’ve got a great idea that you want to patent, now it’s time to go global! It’s likely that you will want to protect your invention in any territories where you will market your product or want to prevent others from exploiting your idea. Let’s see the best way to go about this. A granted […]

How do I get a patent?

So you’ve identified that you have something patentable and you want to file a patent application. What next? In order to obtain a granted patent, a right that you can use to stop others from working the invention that the patent protects, you need to file a patent application. This patent application is then searched […]

Should I patent my idea or keep it secret?

“Some companies need patents to help raise money. Some companies have a massively disruptive technology that can only be protected through patents. Some companies develop patents as a defensive shield to balance potential assertions from future competitors.” Tim Wilson, Senior IP Counsel, SAS Institute Once you have found out whether or not your concept is […]

Is my idea patentable?

You’ve had a Eureka! moment and decided you want a patent. But is your idea patentable? We explore three hurdles that your idea needs to jump over to become a granted patent. Is it technical? As far back as the 15th Century, patents were regularly granted to new ideas such as glass-making, candle-making, and conveying […]