Submitting an Idea to a Company Without Patenting It

[Judgement]

I had an idea for an innovative product so I visited patent attorney here in the UK to get an assessment of whether he thought the idea would be patentable.  Based on a brief description he thought it was patentable but said that I would be looking at legal fees of around £5,000 for a UK patent and £10,000 for an international patent.  This was rather more than I was expecting and is firmly outside my budget.

While my invention could be made with existing technology it is not something I could make myself.  In concept the idea is sound and on paper it appears to offer clear advantages but in order to fully assess its effectiveness I would have to physically have the item.  This makes my situation even worse since I can’t fully assess the benefits of the product and can’t present a prototype.

Given that the patent fees are out of my range, that I don’t have the technical skills to make the product and that I likely don’t have the business skills to develop it myself it seems unlikely that I can proceed with this idea on my own.  I was therefore considering submitting the idea to a company that operates in the field without patenting the invention.  If the company liked the idea then the fact that it hasn’t been publicly revealed would presumably allow them to patent it. 

What would be your opinions on submitting the idea to a company without patenting the invention?  Would there be any incentive for them to reward me for the idea if they did like it?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

[bleedingpen]

My understanding is the you would be absolutely dead in the water without the possibility of getting IP rights in the future in the UK. 

[Judgement]

Thanks for the reply.  Does it make any difference if the company I submitted it do is American?  I had read while searching this forum that in America you have up to 12 months to patent an invention after revealing it publicly.

[jparker1]

Hi-

How about disclosure under a confidentiality agreement or non-disclosure agreement?  Works in the US, but I do not know about the UK.  Disclosure under such conditions does not constitute public disclosure.  However, getting large companies to agree to such a disclosure is difficult.

Good luck,

Jim

[Ross Jovi]

There are other possible options for you. There are companies out there that specialise in helping people get a working prototype and can help with the design and visualisation as well as will help with a pitch towards the company you are talking about. Not sure if its any help to you but have a look online and you should find some of these companies

good luck!

[JimIvey]

You need to be aware of a couple things.

First, Europe (and most of the world outside the US) is an absolute novelty jurisdiction.  Any public disclosures of your innovation prior to having a patent application on file can jeopardize your ability to get a patent at all.

Second, outside of regions like Europe, there are no international patents, only international patent applications.  You'll need a patent in each individual jurisdiction in which you want patent rights.

The cheapest route to a licensing deal is that of non-disclosure agreements (already mentioned here).  You can also seek venture capital (investors to fund prototype(s) and/or patents).

Regards.

[pckarate]

I had an idea for an innovative product so I visited patent attorney here in the UK to get an assessment of whether he thought the idea would be patentable.  Based on a brief description he thought it was patentable but said that I would be looking at legal fees of around £5,000 for a UK patent and £10,000 for an international patent.  This was rather more than I was expecting and is firmly outside my budget.

While my invention could be made with existing technology it is not something I could make myself.  In concept the idea is sound and on paper it appears to offer clear advantages but in order to fully assess its effectiveness I would have to physically have the item.  This makes my situation even worse since I can’t fully assess the benefits of the product and can’t present a prototype.

Given that the patent fees are out of my range, that I don’t have the technical skills to make the product and that I likely don’t have the business skills to develop it myself it seems unlikely that I can proceed with this idea on my own.  I was therefore considering submitting the idea to a company that operates in the field without patenting the invention.  If the company liked the idea then the fact that it hasn’t been publicly revealed would presumably allow them to patent it. 

What would be your opinions on submitting the idea to a company without patenting the invention?  Would there be any incentive for them to reward me for the idea if they did like it?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Have you tried looking at business link for a grant for the patent??

Just my .02 ct