This year’s “National Electronics Week: UK” exhibition, held at the NEC in Birmingham, was attended by Rosemary Eve and Gareth Holliday from Brookes Batchellor; we were the only patent and trade mark attorneys to exhibit there, although we noticed some of our colleagues from other firms floating around! . The event showcases the best of British electronic research, development and enterprise, and those exhibiting ranged from small start-up companies and consulting firms to industry-leading manufacturers. Similarly, the attendees were a diverse crowd of industry experts, students, business minds and simple enthusiasts keen to see what was going to be the next big thing.
Our visit was designed to provide any attending inventors, entrepreneurs and developers with on-site information about how they can best protect their goods and services. It was also a good opportunity to take in the current state of the UK electronics industry, and investigate some of the newest developments.
When talking to a inventors at smaller companies about patents, one misconception that we were surprised to hear from more than one person we spoke to was that an invention was safe if you could prove you invented it first, “Can’t I simply write my invention down, and mail it to myself, therefore creating sealed and date-stamped proof that I invented it first?”. This idea appears to originate from the American Patent “first to invent” system, where the first person to conceive of an idea, with proof, is the rightful owner of the intellectual property. Even then, due diligence and efforts to reduce the idea to practise must be demonstrated in order to claim the rights.
However, this is not the case here in the UK, Europe, and ultimately rest of the world. Instead, a “first to file” policy is employed, where the rights to any new invention lie with the person who files the corresponding application first. Because of this, we strongly recommend that an application is filed as soon as possible for any new invention, especially if there is a danger of a competitor developing the same technology. Even without the threat of competitors beating you to the post, an application is the best first step to protecting your invention, because it ensures the rights will always belong to the applicant, and he or she can freely disclose the invention in order to publicise or seek investment from third parties.
If you aren’t sure what you can or cannot protect through Intellectual Property law, or what the various options are for protecting your ideas, you ought to have a chat with a patent attorney. We were delighted to perform that service for many visitors to the NEW Exhibition, and whether you’re developing R&D in the electronics field or another, we’d be happy to do so with you.
Gareth Holliday
Electronics Patent Specialist
Brookes Batchellor LLP
0207 253 1563