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How to apply for an UK patent?

It is not difficult to obtain a valid UK Patent. You can get an UK patent wiithout a patent agent. Under the current UK Patent Laws, inventors of a green technology are eligible for requesting an accelerated prosecution for his/her patent application. If you have an invention related to a green technology, you may be able to get an UK patent within one and half years. If you have a invention related to a green technology, but your patent agent cannot take advantage of the latest patent laws, then you should fire your patent agent. The official website of the UK patent office is here.

The basic procedure for getting a patent in the UK is as follows:

1) In order to establish the first priority claim, the applicant should first file an application containing at least a specification and a dully signed Form I/77.

In the first filing, the specification should contain at least a full description of the invention. However, the specification does not necessarily contain an abstract or a set of claims. The claims and the abstract can be added later.

2) In the next step, the applicant can use Form I/77 to refile the patent application with a more detailed description, an abstract and/or a set of claims defining the scope of protection. In the second or later filing, the application will claim priority from the previous application. It should be noted that no new information can be added during this step in order for the previously filed priority to be validly claimed.

3) Within one year after the first priority date, Step 2 can be repeatedly undertaken until the applicant feels ready for prosecution of the patent application. The specification for the patent application to be prosecuted MUST contain an abstract, a full description of the invention and a full set of claims.

4) Having filed the final specification as referred in Step 3, the applicant can proceed with patent prosecution either through the standard prosecution route or the accelerated prosecution route.

a) Standard Prosecution Route

To prosecute the patent application through the standard prosecution route, the applicant should file a Form 9A/77 to request for a Patent Search from the Patent Office.

The Patent Search enables the Patent Office to determine if any previously disclosed documents would affect the novelty or inventive step of the invention as claimed.

After the Patent Search, the Patent Office will issue a Search Report detailing all the previous disclosures relevant to the invention. In the Search Report, the Patent Office will also identify if any claim in the patent application may be relevant to patent infringement.

About 18 months after the first priority application is filed, the Patent Office will publish the application together with the Search Report. This step enables external parties to raise objections against the potential award of the patent if they find any evidence of patent infringement.

If the applicant feels confident about the patent application, he or she should request for Substantiative Examination by filing Form 10/77.

During the Substantiative Examination, the Patent Office carries out a detailed examination of the claims and the application as a whole, raising objections if appropriate and giving the applicant an opportunity to amend the application to overcome the objections, if this can be done.

The patent will be granted if all objections have been overcome.

b) Accelerated Prosecution Route

The standard prosecution route normally takes up to four and a half years, but you can accelerate the prosecution process by asking for a "Combined Search and Examination" that might get you a patent in as little as a year. It doesn’t cost any extra and can help a lot if there is serious commercial interest in your idea. BUT: it may miss rival applications in the system at the same time. This can cause serious problems if you get to an advanced stage of development and a strong competing application suddenly leaps out at you.

To be eligible for this request, the applicant has to file Form 9A/77 and Form 10/77 together with a letter explaining why he/she needs accelerated prosecution.

During the Combined Search and Examination, the examinator will first carry out a Patent Search. Following the Patent Search, the examinator will then switch to a Substantiative Examination of the claims and the application as a whole, raising objections if appropriate and giving the applicant an opportunity to amend the application to overcome the objections, if this can be done.

After the Combined Search and Examination, the Patent Office will issue an Examination Report together with a Search Report. The Search report will detail a list of Examinar's comments and identifiy if any claim may be relevant to patent infringement. The Examination Report will detail the Examinar's comments and a list of suggested amendments to be made by the applicant.

The patent will be provisionally granted if all objections by the patent examinar have been overcome.

After the Combined Search and Examination, the Patent Office will publish the patent application together with the search report. This step enables the external parties to raise objection if they find any evidence of patent infringement.

The patent will be formally granted if all objections by the external parties have been overcome.

Note that this is just an overview of a typical procedure. There will be formal requirements to be met at different stages of the procedure as well, such as filing powers of attorney, making sure that the drawings meet specific requirements, and so on. The time taken to complete the procedure typically takes at least 18 months.