Innovate Product Design’s Clio Davies analyses inventors most common misconceptions surrounding intellectual property, in the latest issue of Intellectual Property Magazine.
The fast-moving world of new technology and innovation seems a million miles away from many people’s everyday lives, but with current media platforms such as Dragons’ Den, The Apprentice and American Inventor championing the everyman inventor and entrepreneur, new opportunities are arising for ‘ordinary’ people to enter into this pioneering environment.
With a lack of teaching on the subject of intellectual property within educational institutions, very little is known about the steps involved in bringing a new product idea to fruition. As an established UK-based product design consultancy specialising in intellectual property and product commercialisation, Innovate Product Design Ltd see a number of ideas come through the door on a daily basis, the majority of which are from people who have no experience of the innovation industry and what steps they should or should not be taking. Due to a lack of knowledge or misconstrued advice, for some, unfortunately, it can be too late, as they come seeking protection for a product they already have on the market. It is patenting, in particular, where most misconceptions lie and this can potentially jeopardise the future of the product, as disclosure prior to applying for a patent can prevent it ever being granted.
“Hearsay surrounding the cost of obtaining intellectual property rights is often one of the greatest deterrents that prevents inventors from successfully securing the right form of protection at the right time.”
