Vault IP is proud to be sponsoring TEDx Leamington Spa this month. The theme is "home", and so we've picked three of our favourite patented inventions used every day around the home.
Home- three inventions we take for granted
How patents work; the 10 stages of getting a U.K. patent
Patents for diapers? Or a load of pants?
I reckon I've dealt with hundreds of nappies over the course of the last five years (I have a 4 year-old and a 1 year-old). At no point (perhaps due to the task at hand) did I stop to look at quite how much clever tech goes into making nappies. A recent patent case means that I'll probably pay more attention when nature calls!
So long and thanks for all the IP
Being an IP attorney is inherently a "European" business. I am a UK and European patent and design attorney. My business partner, Michelle, is a Registered UK and European trade mark attorney. We (mostly) deal with European law. We obtain pan-EU design and trade mark rights for our clients. I took bi-lingual European Patent exams in English and German. The list goes on.
As such, a UK exit from the EU is going to shake things up for us- and for our clients. I wouldn't want to try and sway anyone reading this either way, so our intention is to simply explain what we think would happen to UK companies' IP rights should we decide to go it alone.
Watching your competitors- or getting your head out of the sand
5 tips for patent searching - how to get ahead of the game
There are two main reasons-
- Freedom to operate. This search seeks to answer the question "will I infringe anyone else's patent if I make / sell / import this item?".
- Patentability. In other words- "can I get a patent for this?".
Searching is a complex art which most patent attorneys avoid like the plague- we tend to outsource to specialists. That said, as an aspiring inventor with a good idea, there is some preliminary searching you can do yourself to get a head start. Here are 5 tips to get you started.
Subsidised IP Audits- what are they and how do you get them?
The Great Patent Give-away
Has the world gone crazy? Are companies spending millions on R&D, tens of thousands on patent protection and just giving it all away? Tesla, Ford, Toyota - all have attracted headlines along the lines of "Company X opens up patent portfolio" or "Company Y gives away patents". But what's really going on?