Patents

For more help & information in Wales visit IP Wales.

UK Patent Office
Web site gives more detailed information on what is involved in applying for a patent, and will send you a free information pack. It is a complex area in which professional help is usually required.

UK Intellectual Property
Valuable information how to protect your intellectual capital and exploit it within your firm.

Inventor's Logbook
The DTI's Innovation Unit and the Patent Office have produced an inventor's logbook. As well as allowing inventors to formally record research, notes, meetings and design ideas, the logbook also contains information on how to protect new ideas and inventions.

Institute of Patentees and Inventors
A useful web site.

The Chartered Institute of Patent Agents
Patent agents are specially trained and experienced in the art of drafting patents and in knowledge of intellectual property law. Find out more here. You can find a list of patent agents in Wales in their Directory of Patent Agents

NESTA
Helps people turn creativity & ideas into products & services. Includes the Inventors' Handbook - a step-by-step guide to the process of invention and innovation. It includes guidance on pitfalls to avoid and sources of advice to pursue, tips on developing an idea into a real product, an overview of protecting your intellectual property and advice on ways to get an idea into the commercial world - from licence deals to making and selling a product yourself.

Step-by-step guide to using invention promoters
From the DTI's Innovation Unit web site.