Albright IP Limited

Protecting your innovation

+44 (0)1242 691 801

Speak to a UK and European Patent and Trade Mark Attorney

  • Korean
  • Japanese
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Traditional Chinese
Menu
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Close
    • About Albright IP
    • How We Work
    • Our Values
    • Sectors
    • The Story So Far
    • Attorneys
    • Careers
    • Testimonials
      • Close
      • What They Say
  • Patents
    • Close
    • Overview
    • UK Patents
    • European / Euro-PCT Patents
    • International Patents
    • US Patents
    • Product Development
    • Patent Infringement
    • Patent Opposition
    • Costs
    • FAQs
  • Trade Marks
    • Close
    • Overview
    • UK Trade Marks
    • European Trade Marks
    • International Trade Marks
    • Trade Mark Infringement
    • Trade Mark Opposition
    • Costs
    • FAQs
  • Designs
    • Close
    • Overview
    • UK Designs
    • European Designs
    • International Designs
    • Costs
    • FAQs
  • Infringement
    • Close
    • Patent Infringement
    • Trade Mark Infringement
  • Opposition
    • Close
    • Patent Opposition
    • Trade Mark Opposition
  • IP Strategy
    • Close
    • Obtaining Protection
    • Enforcing Your Rights
    • Defending an Infringement Action
    • Intellectual Property Insurance
    • The Patent Box
    • Your competitors’ IP
    • IP Audits Plus
  • Brexit
    • Close
    • Brexit News
    • Brexit Attorney Update
  • Articles
    • Close
    • Blog
    • Figure 1 Magazine
    • Videos
    • Albright in the News
  • Contact

UK Patents

The qualified British patent attorneys of Albright IP can provide you with expert advice and guidance, and represent you before the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO), also known as the British Patent Office. The video below gives a brief overview about UK patent protection.


UK Patent Application Procedure

The UK is our home territory and we draft, file and prosecute British patent applications at the UK Patent Office (the Intellectual Property Office or UK IPO) in Newport or London.

What steps are involved in the patenting process?

A patent application passes through a number of different stages on the way to grant. Please see the timeline below for an indication of the process involved.

 

Patents Timeline
 

Please note that many different countries are available at the national and PCT stages (3.1, 3.2), and the US, Japan, China and Europe are just examples of common territories selected for patent protection.


What happens when I’m ready to file an application?

Unlike many patent attorney firms Albright IP uses a secure and immediate online filing system for British patent applications. This online filing system also provides discounted official fees, and we are proud to pass on these cost-savings in full to our clients.

The UK Patent Office search is performed quickly, with the results being returned in around 4 months from the date of filing, and is relatively inexpensive. This can be particularly helpful for small businesses and lone inventors.

Please explore the following sections for further details of the UK patent application procedure.

Filing your application

Albright IP will prepare a draft patent specification for your approval based on your disclosure to us. In order to keep costs down, it is therefore important to provide as much information as possible about the invention at the outset.

Once approved, a patent application will be prepared and filed. The application will preferably include a description, claims, drawings and an abstract. This is known as a full application. We use an electronic filing system with the Patent Office, and therefore will receive an immediate acknowledgement and official filing receipt.

Sometimes, in order to reduce up-front costs, applications are filed initially without claims and an abstract. We generally advise against this, unless it is absolutely necessary, because new subject matter cannot be added to a patent application, once filed. In other words, late filed claims are limited to the subject matter included in the specification on filing. It also takes longer to receive the search results, which could be very important for your product development.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

The UK IPO Search Report

The Patent Office Search Report is issued within about 4 months of payment of application and search fees, i.e. the date of filing.

We will forward the Search Report to you and briefly comment on its relevance.

We are happy to discuss the results of the search with you, in order to provide initial guidance and advice. If you should require more detailed analysis or review along with proposing possible claim amendments if necessary, we can provide a competitive cost-estimate.

It is often prudent at this time to also consider the results of the search in light of possible infringement on your part. For example, if you were to put your invention on the market, would it fall within the scope of an earlier patent even though it is an improvement? Albright IP can discuss this with you, provide a quotation, and undertake this analysis.

It is also wise to consider the infringement aspect if you are undergoing prototyping and/or manufacture. It is preferable to make changes earlier on to the design to circumvent a competitor’s patent rather than waiting for launch before discovering issues.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Overseas Patent Protection

Albright IP will remind you of the possibility of filing corresponding foreign patent applications claiming priority from your UK filing.

This opportunity typically expires one year (12 months) after the filing of your British patent application. After this deadline, it is no longer possible to back date a foreign patent application to the date of your British application. Therefore, a prior disclosure may act against the foreign patent application.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Inventorship and Formal Drawings

If the inventor of your invention is not the applicant, or is not the sole applicant, then we will remind you that the Patent Office must be notified of this, and Albright IP will put this in hand for you. This is due within 16 months of your earliest filing date.

If rough or ‘informal’ drawings were used when filing the patent application, the UK IPO typically requests ‘formal’ versions which meet their rules for clear reproduction. Albright IP will again remind you of this and will prepare the formalised drawings on your instruction. These are due within 15 months of your earliest filing date.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Publication

The British Patent Office will publish your patent application at around 18 months from filing. Until this point, your invention remains secret or confidential unless you yourself have disclosed it.

Albright IP will record the details and dates of the published application when it is received, and a copy of the publication will be forwarded to you.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Examination

Substantive Examination of your application is requested within 6 months of the publication date (i.e. up to 2 years from filing).

Within around 12 months to 24 months thereafter, the Examiner at the Patent Office will issue an examination report asking us to either address issues concerning uniqueness and/or inventiveness, or allowing the application.

The Examiner typically provides 4 to 6 months to respond. Thereafter, the preceding steps may be repeated until either the application is granted or ultimately refused.

It is rare that a patent application being handled by Albright IP is refused unless the earlier documents found by the Examiner are extremely close to the invention. Our track record in procuring grant of patent rights for a client is extremely good.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Grant and Renewal

The application is finally granted or refused, and we will report this to you after noting the particulars and critical dates on our systems.

Once granted, annual renewal fees are payable to keep the patent in force for a maximum term of 20 years from the filing date. We will endeavour to remind you of the need to pay renewal fees and take your instructions annually. Alternatively, we can renew the patent every year until its expiry with no further instructions.

For more information, please contact us by calling +44 (0) 1242 691 801 to speak with one of our qualified British and European attorneys.

Patent Law - Legal Texts

The UK Patents Act 1977 (as amended)

The UK Patents Rules 2007 (as amended)

 

Through our qualified and experienced chartered British patent attorneys, Albright IP can fully and proactively protect your invention, giving you the patent rights to then secure your market or to obtain lucrative licence and assignment deals.


How do I know whether someone has already made my invention?

Prior to filing a new patent application, Albright IP recommends that you make prior art searches to ascertain as far as you can the state of the art. This will help us to target the novel and inventive features of your invention. The European Patent Office operates a basic free searchable patents database, called Espacenet. If desired, we are also able to obtain or make pre-application searches for you.

If you would like further information, please contact us using the enquiry form to the left for further no-obligation free advice. Alternatively, call us on +44 (0)1242 691 801 to speak to a qualified British and European patent attorney.

  • Patents
    • Overview
    • UK Patents
    • European / Euro-PCT Patents
    • International Patents
    • US Patents
    • Patent Infringement
    • Patent Opposition
    • Product Development
    • Costs
    • FAQs
  • Designs
    • Overview
    • UK Designs
    • European Designs
    • International Designs
    • Costs
    • FAQs
  • Trade Marks
    • Overview
    • UK Trade Marks
    • European Trade Marks
    • International Trade Marks
    • Trade Mark Infringement
    • Trade Mark Opposition
    • Costs
    • FAQs
  • Copyright
  • Brexit
  • Infringement
    • Patent Infringement
    • Trade Mark Infringement
  • Opposition
    • Patent Opposition
    • Trade Mark Opposition
  • IP Strategy
    • Obtaining Protection
    • Enforcing Your Rights
    • Defending an Infringement Action
    • Intellectual Property Insurance
    • The Patent Box
    • Your Competitors’ IP
    • IP Audits Plus

Ask an Expert

reCAPTCHA
Please leave this blank
Sending

What Our Customers Say...

Albright IP Limited
Albright IP Limited
4.9
powered by Google
David Chalk
David Chalk
21:43 02 Jun 20
Great service, attention to detail and truly actionable advice. I've no hesitation in recommending Albright IP and Adrian in particular. Many thanks.read more
George Tatham-Losh
George Tatham-Losh
13:29 05 Feb 20
Fantastic service as always, detailed, informative and all the hard work was done with minimal input from myself. I have been working with Katie and her fantastic team for years and would highly recommend.read more
Christopher James
Christopher James
16:59 20 Jan 20
Choosing Albright IP was one of the best decisions I have made. Adrian and Cloe have both helped me tremendously so far, they are very professional, friendly, prompt and always there to help and answer any questions. Katie Oliver has also been wonderful assisting with the trademark. Thank you all and looking forward to continue to work with you.read more
Richard Hearn
Richard Hearn
16:05 22 Nov 19
Excellent professional advise and extremely honest and upfront people. Many thanks Adrian and your team!
Brian Gibbs
Brian Gibbs
07:32 23 Aug 19
I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Albright IP Ltd having received superb service and support throughout. Every query I raised was dealt with professionally and very quickly by Will who provided fully detailed and regular updates as well being approachable and friendly at all times. I have full confidence in Albright IP!read more
Warren Philbey
Warren Philbey
10:54 18 Jul 19
From the first call I had a great feeling, polite, friendly, informative and professional. From then it just got better and after a great deal of help and support in understanding our needs we contracted with Albright and they did a fantastic service, exceeding any expectations and proving themselves to be a truly wonderful company to work with. 10 stars! A big thank you to Adrian and his team.read more
Terence Hodgson
Terence Hodgson
23:06 12 Jun 19
I have not had reason to contact Albright for several years since the granting of my Patent but quite recently I did get in touch. It was as I remembered, friendly, professional, honest and informative. It appears that Adrian and the Albright team are there for me no matter the length of time. T Hodgson. UMU HSA Ltdread more
Paul Sims
Paul Sims
12:40 12 Apr 19
Adrian and The Albright Team are Professional and Helpful. It has is a real gem to found such great people to act as part of my extended legal team regards Patents. I am pleased to recommend and have them represent my Registered Patents. Thank you. www.thebluebearpartnership.comread more
Nick Ball
Nick Ball
19:16 12 Mar 19
High quality service at a reasonable price. With Albright you feel you're in very good hands. Marc was always courteous, responsive, well informed and generous with his time. I would have no hesitation recommending Albright or working with them again.read more
Andrew Stewart
Andrew Stewart
16:27 26 Feb 19
Great depth of expertise, advice and counsel. Not only expert advisors, Albright IP provide valuable, balanced and cogent advice on complex (and simple) matters of patent and trademark law. Delivered with great clarity, always available and keen to provide balanced perspectives in support of good outcomes. Great partners, highly recommend.read more
Simon Bradbeer
Simon Bradbeer
11:37 05 Feb 19
After leaving a well known London based attorney Albright IP were recommended to me by a colleague within the group. Since then Adrian and his team have consistently given me superb advice and support whatever the project. With their help the company has been granted a number of robust patents, registered designs and trademarks.read more
Scott Johnson
Scott Johnson
14:59 11 Jan 19
I have known Adrian Hocking for over 10 years. The service he and his colleagues offer is professional, transparent and friendly. If you have an idea that is either completely new or you think is a step-change from what is currently available, I recommend that you contact Albright IP.read more
Hannah Azar
Hannah Azar
11:10 24 Dec 18
Adrian is an exceptionally talented and experienced patent attorney. I was very impressed by the quality of work produced by the team at Albright. A fast, helpful and friendly service.read more
Oliver Pearce
Oliver Pearce
19:11 01 Dec 18
Fantastic one to one service. Knowledgeable. Friendly. Competent. And very rapid response to queries. Very impressed!read more
Simon Folmann
Simon Folmann
21:32 26 Nov 18
Adrian Hocking and Albright IP have offered us excellent service, and expertise over the last 12 months. They explain in detail the processes, implications, and opportunities with obtaining and securing Intellectual Property and for a Product Development company such as ours, it is crucial that the terminology and quality of work be above industry standard. I can with high confidence say, that the delivered work so far from Albright IP and their team, is unparalleled to prior partners we have had in IP; and I am sure it will continue to do so in our future endeavours together.read more
Martin Boyd
Martin Boyd
15:17 03 Nov 18
Excellent technical and legal knowledge. Amazing friendly customer service catered to individual customer needs. Highly recommended.read more
Mike N
Mike N
16:14 08 Oct 18
Albright-IP - We can highly recommend Albright-IP, after contacting several patent companies prior to application - we were after a patent company to offer realistic and practical advice, be able to process our claim from start to finish, After speaking with Mr Doherty on the telephone we decided Albright -IP would be able to offer the skills and knowledge required for our application and asked them to represent us. Albright-IP were on hand to explain the complexities of the process and how our claim may or may not be defended in the real world, Mr Will Doherty is our patent attorney, he was professional and attentive, his knowledge and customer service is very good. We are confident our patent application is in good hands and we are pleased to have Alrbight IP there to assist us with our application, without their input we may well have been wasting our time due to our lack of knowledge in this complex matter.read more
Jeffrey Chua
Jeffrey Chua
08:47 14 Sep 18
We worked with Albright IP Limited on patent applications in EU and UK, specifically through Cloe Loo. Cloe and her team have done a fantastic job. We were glad to have assistance from Albright on our patent application journey. I am impressed by the team's professionalism and we will be engaging Albright to be our long-term legal adviser in patent applications.read more
Graham Kelly
Graham Kelly
17:49 07 Sep 18
I have a granted patent! thanks to Will and the team at Albright. ? Friendly and helpful service, it's great how they can very quickly grasp the required understanding of your idea and put pen to paper and draft a patent. Will was great at pointing out what are valid aspects of my idea and taking me through the process of what that means in patent language! A few more steps to go to hopefully gain the overseas coverage. ?read more
Geraint Morgan
Geraint Morgan
09:44 21 Aug 18
Albright IP provided an excellent, efficient, affordable high quality service that made the whole patent filing experience an enjoyable one - contrary to previous experiences. We are certainly more likely to consider patenting our innovations in the future based on our recent experience and would highly recommend Albright IP to others.......read more
Don Spence
Don Spence
12:07 09 Aug 18
Filing patents can be a steep learning curve but Adrian does an excellent job explaining the process. Adrian and his associates are easy to contact and they will always answer your questions. Money and cost are important and the Albright team do their best to make sure your $$ is spent in a wise fashion. After working with Albright for 6 years, I am happy with their work and I have no reason to change companies. My many thanks for professional service.read more
Graeme Allison
Graeme Allison
22:54 31 Jul 18
Adrian and his team provided and excellent service, their technical understanding is fantastic and patent advice has been impeccable, I’d highly recommend Albright IP should you be looking for patent expertise.read more
Mark Hendriksen
Mark Hendriksen
16:12 17 Jul 18
Exceptional. Guided me through the process in clear understandable steps. Hoping we have a long and successful future ahead with the patents they've so expertly managed for me so far.read more
jing cheng
jing cheng
13:12 19 Jun 18
I contacted Adrain for advise in a short time frame. He is very professional and clear about price policy. He has very good understanding of online business and IP law. He is very quick responding and speakes the language I understand. Highly recommended.read more
Lorenzo Rimoldi
Lorenzo Rimoldi
12:44 07 Jun 18
Adrian was very helpful, upfront and clear on processes, costs and timeline. He's very professional and proactive in his involvement and support. I would definitely recommend Albright IP.read more
Mohammed Deria
Mohammed Deria
04:06 01 Jun 18
Adrian is a true professional at the top of his field! Due to his background in engineering, Adrian effortlessly understand the needs of his client even when it is highly technical in nature. An attentive ear and huge generosity with his time, Adrian's support to us as a client has been extremely valuable. I would highly recommend Adrian and the team at Albright IP for protecting your IP.read more
Guy Procter
Guy Procter
17:36 21 May 18
What can I say, excellent help so far! Very clear and helpful service, explained in terms you can understand covered everything I thought I needed and then some more to give me all the options available. More than willing to recommend Albright IP.read more
Kirishan Siva
Kirishan Siva
09:14 17 Dec 17
The Albright team were extremely helpful and knowledgeable in the whole patent process for our product and went through each process in registering patent to help us understand this fully. Highly recommend Adrian and team for their knowledge, efficiency and professional service!read more
Jade Baron
Jade Baron
16:05 25 Nov 17
Adrian Hocking at Albright handled my recent patent application. I've been very happy with his service. He was very responsive to my questions and explained everything thoroughly. He was very supportive of my idea and consistently positive, which was also helpful. Albright has relationships with various other businesses that help inventors, so it's kind of a like a one-stop-shop. Highly recommend.read more
Meopham Fencing
Meopham Fencing
15:27 08 Nov 17
Great advice and customer service at a reasonable price. They have enabled us to finalise our case satisfactorily. Would happily recommend them and use them again.read more
James Garritt
James Garritt
09:17 17 Oct 17
Adrian and his team have been fantastic in all works asked to do. They have ensured my idea has been protected in every way. They have helped with the design process also and I could not wish for a better team. You may be paying a little more than you feel is expected....but you get what you pay for and you probably save money in the long run. Highly recommended.... use without worry.read more
Tony Laycock
Tony Laycock
16:06 02 Oct 17
I have found that the company has given me excellent service in getting my patent through the process. Every time I have had a phone conversation I have felt I was given plenty of time to discuss what was happening. Along with sound advice I have been able to make great progress. In my opinion it is one of the best companies I have ever dealt with and would be happy to recommend them.read more
Next Reviews

PCT Cost Calculator

Need a Product Designer?

Duku

Helpful Tips

The best Trademarks are invented words, think Google®, Daz® and Kodak®. Consider this when selecting your Trademark.

Quicklinks & Glossary

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

Cheltenham Head Office

Albright IP
County House
Bayshill Road
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL50 3BA
United Kingdom

 

(use for all correspondence)

Cornwall Office

Pool Innovation Centre
Redruth
Cornwall TR15 3PL

 

London Meeting Room

5 Merchant Square
London, W2 1AY

 

See the Contact Us page for details

Contact Us

Cheltenham: +44 (0)1242 691801
Cornwall: +44 (0)1209 316161
London: +44 (0)20 3813 2885

Email: info@albright-ip.co.uk

Vat No: 891 4780 86


  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

Newsletter

reCAPTCHA
Please leave this blank
Sending

Copyright © 2021 · Dynamik-Gen on Genesis Framework