A lot of time and energy (and, often, money) goes into carefully crafting your patent specification and claims. Then you file your UK patent application. And you can get on with commercialising your innovation. But what happens next? Read on to find out what to expect after filing your UK patent application…
It normally takes about 3 years to get a UK patent application from the filing stage through to grant, and it goes through a few distinct stages:
Search Report
3-6 months after filing, we receive a search report. This reports the results of the UKIPO’s patentability search, and lists any documents the Examiner thinks might be relevant to your invention. We don’t have to do anything at this stage, except assess the relevance of the listed documents. Ideally, you need to decide what features of your own invention distinguish it over what is described in those documents. This is a great opportunity to really think about the main USP(s) of your invention, because we can use that later on.
Publication
About 18 months after filing, the application is published. And within 6 months of the date of publication, we have to file a request for examination and pay an examination fee (if we have not already done so).
Examination
During the next year or so, we would receive an examination report, setting out any objections the Examiner has (usually primarily based on the documents listed in the search report). And we are given a deadline to file a response. In general, that response would normally consist of amendments to the claims (perhaps to distinguish them more clearly over the earlier documents) and accompanying arguments. We can amend the claims using anything that was in the patent specification at the time of filing, but we can’t add anything: that’s why it’s so important to make sure that we include all relevant technical details and features of your invention in the specification at the time of filing the application.
It is not unheard of to have a couple of rounds of examination reports/responses before the application is approved for grant.
Grant
Once the patent has been granted, you can keep it alive for up to 20 years (from the filing date) by paying an annual renewal fee.
Can we help?
If you have any questions about patents, or any other IP matter, please do book a free initial consultation by clicking the link below:
https://calendly.com/strachan-ip-a-fresh-view-of-intellectual-property/30min
Or, if you prefer, please email vicki.strachan@strachanip.co.uk or visit our website at https://strachanip.co.uk/contact/
