tom hutchinson "practical intellectual property"

Practical ˆIntellectual Property

Tom Hutchinsonwww.hutchinsonip.com

Manchester Fab Lab12 October 2011

Scope

• What is IP• Why is it important• Types of IP• Patents• Patent attorneys• Top tips

Intellectual property is about gaining, and protecting a competitive edge

all

ˆ

Improvements to products or processes

Inventions

ConceptsApplications

for new discoveries

Product appearance

Graphics

Packaging

Patents

Copyright

DesignsTrade marks

Trade name

s

Get-up

Slogans

Goodwill

Other

Trade secrets Reputation

Know-how

Inside knowledge

Dance & mime

LiteratureMusic

Films

Photographs

One-off product

s

Types of IP

Why use IP?

To prevent others from copying your ideasTo have something tangible to sell/licenseTo reassure investorsTo block competitorsTo “muddy the waters”

When to use IP?

If the IP is valuable and if its value outweighs the cost of obtaining and enforcing it

IP costs

ObtainingPatents - £3k - £10k, per countryDesigns - £600, per countryTrade marks - £900, per country

MaintainingPatents - £100 - £1000, per yearDesigns - £50 - £200, per yearTrade marks - £50 - £500, per year

EnforcingA quick “spat” - £1,000, per sideAt the IPO - £10,000, per sideIn court - £50,000 - £500,000, per side

When not to use IP

Just because you canIf the value of the market or the profitability of the product is too smallIf you do not have the means to enforce it

Patents

• A patent is a fixed-term monopoly given by the government to inventors on new, non-obvious and useful technologies in exchange for a complete public disclosure of how the invention works

Patentability

A patent may be granted only for an invention in respect of which the following conditions are satisfied, that is to say-(a) the invention is new(b) it involves an inventive step(c) it is capable of industrial application(d)the grant of a patent is not excluded…

Novelty

Inventive step

Application procedure

Filing

Search

Publication

Examination

Amendment

Grant

Maintenance

Filing

Search

Publication

Examination

Amendment

GrantValidation

Filing

Search

Publication

Examination

Amendment

What is a patent attorney?

Someone with a technical background and training and qualifications in substantive IP lawExperience in acting before the IPOs and the Courts and with other legal/technical/business advisors

My background

Claims

Patent searching

Up to 40% of UK research is wastedNearly all patents that have been granted in the last

100 years are available to the publicMostly free of chargeMostly on-linePatents are classified to make them easier to searchHave you referenced any patent specifications in your

most recent literature review?Are you currently re-inventing the wheel?

Tip 1 – dates are important

Tip 2 – keep quiet

Tip 3 – never threaten

Tip 4 – do your research

Tip 5 – seek professional advice