TEST ONE
It must be new
It must not have been made public anywhere in the world before you apply, including by you.
Why secrecy matters- Is it new?
- Is it inventive?
- Can it be made?
- Keep it quiet until you file
00FROM SKETCHBOOK TO PATENT
From doodle
to invention.
Every invention starts as a rough sketch. Not every sketch can become a patent.
A UK patent can protect an invention for up to 20 years, but only if the idea is new, inventive and something that can actually be made or used. Here is what that means, what is ruled out, and why the order you do things in matters.
Plain English, with the sources linked.
Check your idea01Principles
02THE THREE TESTS
New, inventive, real.
GOV.UK sets out three things
an invention must be to get a UK patent.
TEST TWO
It must be inventive
It cannot be an obvious change to something that already exists. A new colour for an old tool will not do.
See the numbers
TEST THREE
It must be made or used
It has to be a thing that can be made and used, a technical process, or a method of doing something.
From sketch to model03A QUICK IDEA CHECK
Is your doodle
the right kind of idea?
Pick what your sketch describes. The answer comes from the GOV.UK lists of what a patent can and cannot cover.
Being the right type is only the first step. The idea still has to be new and inventive, and this check is not legal advice.
04TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
A crowded field,
a limited reward.
Plenty of people are filing,
and protection does not last for ever.
3.55 million
Patent applications filed
WIPO counted 3.55 million patent applications filed around the world in 2023, 2.7% more than in 2022. That is a lot of earlier ideas for a new one to be measured against.
WORLDWIDE · 2023
20 years
Longest a patent can last
A UK patent lasts up to 20 years, and it has to be renewed every year to stay in force. Applying costs at least £405 if you complete the process, before any attorney's fees.
UNITED KINGDOM
A patent is a time-limited right, not a reward for having the idea first in your head. What counts is what was public, and when.
05FIRST STEPS
Four habits
for a new idea.
Keep a dated sketchbook
Draw the idea, note the date and add each change as it comes. Edison's notebooks show how much of invention is iteration.
Check what already exists
The idea has to be new anywhere in the world and not an obvious tweak, so look for similar products and published patents early.
Keep it to yourself for now
The IPO's ideal order is to file before you share. If you must discuss it, it points to non-disclosure agreements.
Build a rough model
Card, wire and tape are enough to find out whether the sketch can actually be made and used, which is one of the three tests.
06INVENTOR FACTS
Five things worth
sketching out.
Notebooks by the thousand
Thomas Edison's laboratory kept more than 3,000 standard experimental notebooks of about 280 pages each, part of an archive of roughly 5 million pages.
Nature drew it first
George de Mestral noticed that burrs clinging to his clothes carried tiny hooks. He patented his hook-and-loop fastener in 1955, as US Patent 2,717,437.
New means new everywhere
The novelty test is worldwide: an invention must not have been made publicly available anywhere in the world before you apply.
Friends and family can count
The UK Intellectual Property Office warns that telling people about an invention may count as public disclosure, and that a well-drafted non-disclosure agreement can matter as much as the application.
Five offices take most of it
China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the European Patent Office received 85% of the world's patent applications in 2023.
07QUICK QUESTIONS
Inventing, answered.
Short answers to the questions new inventors ask most.
What does an invention need to be patentable in the UK?
According to GOV.UK it must be new (not made publicly available anywhere in the world), inventive (not an obvious change to something that already exists), and something that can be made and used, a technical process or a method of doing something.
How long does a UK patent last?
Up to 20 years. GOV.UK says you must renew it every year to keep it in force.
How much does it cost to apply for a UK patent?
GOV.UK says applying costs at least £405 if you complete the process, covering an application fee and a processing fee. It also notes that a patent attorney, who can cost several thousand pounds, is usually needed to improve your chances.
Does telling friends about my invention matter?
It can. The UK Intellectual Property Office explains that showing or describing an invention in public may count as public disclosure and may prevent a valid patent, and that talking to friends and family can count too. Its ideal order is to file before sharing.
What cannot be patented?
GOV.UK lists artistic and other creative works; ways of doing business, playing a game or thinking; methods of medical treatment or diagnosis; discoveries, scientific theories and mathematical methods; the way information is presented; and software with a non-technical purpose, among others.
08Sources
Where the facts come from
- Patenting your invention: what you can and cannot patent, costs and durationGOV.UK
- My invention is going to be worth millions: disclosure and NDAsUK Intellectual Property Office blog
- World Intellectual Property Indicators 2024: patent highlightsWIPO
- Thomas Edison and his papers: the notebooksThomas A. Edison Papers, Rutgers
- George de Mestral: the hook-and-loop fastenerLemelson-MIT
- George de Mestral: US Patent 2,717,437 (1955)National Inventors Hall of Fame