How would I go about patenting an idea (not a product) in the UK?
And how might that patent be extended to the USA, the EU, the Far East
and the World?
Any idea about costs?

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Request for Question Clarification by easterangel-ga on 11 Dec 2003 19:13 PST

Hi! 

Is this idea going to be turned into a tangible product in the future
like a new kind of car or something? Or is this an idea for a business
process? The reason I ask this is because not all types of ideas can
be given a patent.

Thanks!

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Clarification of Question by gnq-ga on 12 Dec 2003 18:41 PST

Hi EasterAngel

I can perhaps best describe what I mean by an analogy which came to me
whilst listening to an article on the radio.

Take the disposable razor. This is a neat idea, but the idea itself
doesn't seem patentable. But then someone had the idea of putting two
blades side by side to make a twin blade razor. To me this seems like
it might have been a unique idea which could have been patentable
without having to design and make the prototype. It's ideas such as
the twin blade I'm thinking of: the bringing together of two or more
pre-existing concepts to make a unique improvement.

By the way, the radio article was about legal wranglings between two
disposable razor companies, one of whom is claiming that the other's
new four-blade razor breaches its patent on a triple-blade razor by
virtue of being a multiple blade razor. One wonders how lomg it will
be before the number of blades reaches double figures!

Hi! Thanks for the question.

Please take note of the disclaimer below that Google Answers is
general information only and is not a substitute for professional
legal advice.

It seems that from your description and analogy that this is an idea
that can be applied for a patent. The reason for this is that the
product description is submitted using drawings and other documents
(not yet physical products) to the UK Patent Office. If it is approved
then it will be given a patent. The procedure to apply for a patent in
the UK can be found our first two links.

?To file an application for a patent you should prepare a patent
specification, including drawings if these are useful in describing
the invention. The specification should contain a full description of
your invention. It is absolutely vital that you put all the necessary
information about your invention in the description. You cannot make
any changes to your specification once you have filed your
application. It may include claims and abstract or these may be
supplied later. If they are supplied later they must not add
information to what was originally supplied.?

As of this time you cannot file for a patent application online.

?How to apply for a patent?
http://www.patent.gov.uk/patent/howtoapply/index.htm 

?Procedures for obtaining patent protection?
http://www.bl.uk/services/information/patents/apply.html 


Here are the necessary forms you will need to submit and the fees you
will need to pay. As you can see the basic request to grant a patent
is free of charge.

?UK patents & supplementary protection forms & fees?
http://www.patent.gov.uk/patent/forms/ukpatsupp.htm 


Your next question deals with obtaining a patent internationally.
Since different countries have different laws, it is evident that
there will be different requirements for the application. The UK
Patent Office has suggestions on its website on how to go about
acquiring a patent internationally. There are two ways to do this, one
is through the European Route and the other one is the International
Route.

----------------------------------
?The European route?
http://www.patent.gov.uk/patent/howtoapply/abroad/european.htm 

?How to get a European patent:?
http://www.european-patent-office.org/ap_gd/index.htm 
http://www3.european-patent-office.org/dwld/applicant_guide/part_2/pct_guide_e.pdf 

Our next link provides the documents for the types of fees to expect
when you want to get a European Patent.

Schedule of fees, costs and prices of the EPO
http://www.european-patent-office.org/epo/fees1.htm#cost 

-----------------------------------------------
?The International route?
http://www.patent.gov.uk/patent/howtoapply/abroad/international.htm 

Here are more details about filing for patent application internationally.

?BASIC FACTS about the PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)?
http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/basic_facts/basic_facts.pdf 

PCT Forms
http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/forms/index.htm 

Fees
http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/fees.pdf 

Search terms used:                           
UK patents ideas 
Patent Co-operation Treaty 
European Patent Convention
                 
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have further questions
or if you would need further information.
                         
Thanks for visiting us.                         
                         
Regards,                         
Easterangel-ga                         
Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Answer by easterangel-ga on 13 Dec 2003 07:27 PST

This FAQ regarding British Patents can also be helpful to you.

FAQ
http://www.bl.uk/services/information/patents/faq.html

Thanks!