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Background; The Patent Specification; Filing a Patent Application; Ownership of Patents; Foreign Applications; European Patents; Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT); The Paris Convention; First Publication; The Granted Patent; Product Marking; Summary of Stages of Progress of typical British Patent Application.
In order to obtain a patent, it is necessary to file at the Patent Office a full description of the invention. When you meet with us to talk over a new invention, we are essentially seeking to obtain from you sufficient details of the invention to enable us to prepare this specification. The specification is in largely standardised format and contains a number of components, the most important of which are:
- A description of at least one preferred embodiment of the invention. The law requires that a particular example, or "embodiment", of the invention be described in detail. If, as is probable, the invention is for a device or an apparatus, then this description will have to be accompanied by drawings. Note that this detailed description of the invention does not limit the scope of protection which the patent gives. The scope of the patent is defined by the claims (see below) and not by the description of the embodiment.
- Claims. From the legal point of view, these are the most important part of the specification. They consist of a series of numbered paragraphs defining in words the invention in broad terms. Usually, claim 1, the first numbered paragraph, has the broadest scope and this claim defines, in essence, the scope of the protection conferred by the patent. It is to this claim that you look when you want to decide whether a particular product infringes the patent or, conversely, whether the patent is valid or not on the basis of a particular item of prior art. The subsequent claims are usually appendent to claim 1 and describe the invention in greater detail.
During its progress through the Patent Office (see later), the Patent Office Examiner carries out a search to ascertain whether the invention is new. The rule is that the invention must be novel and inventive over all matter published before the filing date of the patent application. This "matter" is known as "prior art" and includes prior publications of similar inventions in patent specifications, magazine articles and similar, or existing known products.
For patents in chemistry, metallurgy, biochemistry and biotechnology, contact Stephen Wilkinson in our Bristol office.
For patents in physics, electrical engineering, general engineering and computing, contact Chris Boydell or Sarah Perkins in our London office or David Marles in our Bristol office.