Securing a patent in the UK can be a game-changer for your business. With a strong patent under your belt, you can keep competitors at bay, reassure potential investors, and increase your profit margins.
Nevertheless, the financial aspect of obtaining a patent can appear daunting to those unfamiliar with the process. In this blog, we’ll cover the official fees for obtaining a UK patent, as well as outlining other costs you can expect to face.
How much can a patent cost in the UK?
The cost of patenting an innovation can vary according to the jurisdictions you would like to extend patent protection to and the extent of objections raised during examination (also known as prosecution) of the application through to grant. As a rule of thumb, successful patents in the UK can cost anywhere from £1500 to £5000 to secure depending on the amount of professional support required.
Before embarking on this process, it’s vital to consider the short-term and long-term patent costs in the UK.
An overview of official patent costs UK
The official fees for a patent application are paid to the UKIPO during the prosecution of a patent application. These are necessary to ensure the application proceeds to grant and must be paid by the deadlines set by the UKIPO.
Patent application
Once a patent application has been drafted (more on this later), the application is filed at the UKIPO. The standard fee for an online patent application is £75; however, if you would like to file a paper application in-office, you will need to pay £112.50. After filing a patent application, the next step is to request a search for prior art documents that might be cited against the novelty and/or inventiveness of your application. The request for a search costs £120, plus an additional £20 for every claim to be searched over 25.
After the search, a substantive examination must be requested. An examiner evaluates your application for validity, considering the application itself and any prior art cited in the previous search. The request for substantive examination costs £100 plus an additional £10 for every page of the description over 35 pages.
Additional costs can be expected for additional searches by the UKIPO, or for requesting extensions to some time limits. Requesting divisional applications to pursue separate inventions detailed in the original application will also incur costs similar to the costs of any parent application. If your patent application proceeds to grant, there may be additional costs for additional claims or excess pages.
Patent maintenance
If your application proceeds to grant, you will need to factor in the cost of maintaining your patent. Patent maintenance fees increase progressively, so it is worth considering the value of the patent as it progresses towards its expiry date.
Fees for renewing a patent in the UK commence at £70 and come into play after the fourth anniversary of the application filing date. From there, patent owners can renew their patent every year up to the 20-year mark. By year 20, patent owners will be charged £610 to renew their legal protection. Late fees are also applicable and charged at £24 per month.
Additional Costs to Consider
To facilitate the process of obtaining a patent in the UK, many individuals enlist the help of specialised attorneys. While having a patent attorney act for you at the UKIPO is not compulsory, securing a patent is a complex process and it is recommended.
Having a professional registered patent attorney draft your patent application and respond to examination reports greatly increases the likelihood that the application will proceed to grant and the cost is reflected in the amount of advice and support that is required.
Further costs to consider are the costs for pursuing patent protection in jurisdictions beyond the UK, and the different routes available including an international PCT patent application, an application in the USA and/or a regional European application.
Applicants may consider a prior art search being conducted prior to having their own application drafted, so they have a greater understanding of the current patent protection in the field of their proposed invention. We recommend that this searching is conducted so that the patent application can be directed to those features which are novel and inventive over the prior art.
How to lower your patent costs in the UK
As outlined in the blog, patent costs UK can quickly add up. To make the procedure as stress-free and streamlined as possible, we recommend you enlist the help of an Intellectual Property firm like Bailey Walsh which specialises in helping individuals and businesses obtain a granted patent. Not only will professional guidance help you save time and reduce stress, but it will also increase the likelihood of a successful patent application.