Patents

The programme we run

We open a matter for each invention, capture the priority date, and docket every subsequent deadline: UK filing, PCT twelve-month and thirty-month dates, European regional entry, and UK validation of a granted European patent.

UK patents are granted by the UKIPO. European patents designating the UK are granted by the EPO and must then be validated here. We track both routes so a grant in Munich is not left unvalidated in Newport.

Renewals are paid each year from the end of the fourth year. Missing an annuity extinguishes the patent after a short grace period. We calendar the official due date, the grace window, and the instruction cut-off we need from you.

Freedom to operate

Owning a patent does not give you the right to sell the product. Someone else's earlier claim may still sit across your launch. Before a British launch we assemble the search record, the attorney opinion, and the design-around notes in one file.

The file is written so a later buyer, investor or insurer can read it. We keep versions. We do not leave freedom-to-operate advice in an unmarked email thread.

What we do not do

Claim drafting, response to examination reports on inventive step, and representation before the UKIPO or EPO are reserved to registered patent attorneys. Where that work is needed we instruct a firm you choose, or one we have used on similar subject-matter, and we remain the docket holder.

Questions we are asked

Should I file in the UK or at the EPO first?

A UK first filing is often the cheapest way to lock a priority date if the invention will be sold here and the budget is tight. A European first filing can be cleaner if the main market is already the continent. We map the commercial plan against the official fees before you instruct an attorney to draft.

What happens if a renewal is late?

The UKIPO allows a six-month grace period with an additional official fee. After that the patent lapses. Restoration is possible only in narrow circumstances and is never something to plan for. We treat the original due date as the date that matters.