Posts by Vicki Strachan

An innovative new podcast series In recent months, we have sponsored some episodes of an amazing new podcast series: “It’s only a Prototype”, hosted by the brilliant @phil Staunton of @D2M Innovation.  The series is a behind-the scenes guide to what it really takes to bring a physical product to life…and make it work.  Insights…

In the competitive world of startups, intellectual property (IP) is often touted as a key differentiator—something that can elevate a fledgling company above its rivals. From patented biotechnology innovations to proprietary algorithms powering software platforms, IP-focused startups often appear to have a head start. But does focusing on intellectual property actually make a startup more…

A cautionary tale I have, this week (and by no means for the first time), had to explain to a client why their granted UK patent cannot be used against a competitor that has launched a very similar product to theirs, and put a nasty dent in their sales.  Why?  Because the patent claims are…

The world has moved on quite a bit since the Coca Cola and KFC coating recipes took the food and drink markets by storm. And, although it was, in theory, possible (at least in some countries) to patent a novel recipe (under certain conditions), both companies decided at that time to keep their recipes as…

It is very easy to make assumptions about who owns intellectual property you, your employees and others create, but it is not always as straightforward as you might think. So, in our latest blog, we look at who owns IP? First owner of IP In the UK, the first owner of most types of IP…

This is yet another frequently asked question.  Intellectual Property (e.g. patents, designs, trade marks, etc) is an asset, i.e. property, just like physical property, such as a house or car.  So, it follows that IP can be sold or ‘rented’ (i.e. licensed) in a broadly similar way. Assignment If you are buying or selling IP…

I recently wrote about the new patent search tool launched by the UKIPO (see our blog for more information), which obviously recognises the importance to innovators and R&D teams (amongst others) of effective patent searching. On the back of that, I thought it would be useful to briefly summarise the types of patent searching (and…

The patent process in the UK (and most other countries) is relatively long (usually around 3 years), and there are various deadline-driven stages and procedures that need to be followed. To the uninitiated, this process can seem complex and laborious, so in this blog , we will look at what is involved in the patent…

I am often asked ‘are patents expensive?’  or ‘why do patents cost so much…?’. We tend to think of things as ‘expensive’ if we deem the cost to be more than the perceived value we receive in return. So, patents are really only ‘expensive’ if the true value of it is unknown and often hard…

This is another question I get asked a lot: are patents global? Is there a worldwide patent? Are patents worldwide? etc. The simple answer to these questions is ‘no’. The longer answer is that each country (or territory consisting of a number of countries) has its own patent system and, if you want protection in…