The UK patent application process involves several steps, including filing an application, requesting examination, and responding to examination reports. Costs can range from £1500 to over £5000, and the total timeline for patent grant can vary between 12 months to over 4 years. Applicants can also file foreign applications within 12 months of the UK application and may request accelerated publication if necessary.

1. UK patent application process
www.laudens.com
file application
Patent granted
and published
File request
for substantive
examination
Examination
report issued
Respondto
examination report
File abstract,
request search and
pay application fee
Application
published
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filing date
Approximate timescale
12 months
18 months
2years
2½ to 4½ years
After the filing date, you can publicly disclose
the invention without the disclosure affecting the
novelty of your application. The cost of filing a patent
application can be considerable. Drafting a patent
application can cost from £1500 to £5,000+ depending
on the complexity of the idea.
The search and filing fees (currently £150) can
be paid at the time of filing. This is recommended
because you are provided with the search results
within a few months, and these give a good indication
as to the patentability of your invention. It is possible
to respond to the search report and amend the claims
of the application, which may be beneficial if a simple
amendment can make the application in order for
grant.
If you wish to file foreign applications, or re-file a
British application, this can be done within 12 months
and be counted as if it were filed on the same day as
the original British application.
Publication can be accelerated on request. This
may be necessary if the invention is being copied, or if
early grant is required.
After the request for examination is filed and the
fee paid (currently £80) it can take anywhere from
6 months to 2 years for the examination report or
notice of grant to be issued. If an examination report
is issued it will raise objections to the application,
usually suggesting that the claims lack novelty and/
or inventive step over the earlier documents located
in the search. There is an opportunity to amend
the application and put forward arguments to the
objections raised. If the response is successful, the
application will be granted and published. If the
response is unsuccessful, there is usually a further
opportunity to respond.
Publication can be accelerated on request. This
may be necessary if the invention is being copied, or if
early grant is required.
file
foreign
applications
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