Protect Your Innovation: Expert Patent Drafting for "Patent Pending" Status
Do you have an idea and need to protect it? Before you go forward, securing your intellectual property is the most critical step in your journey. At Innovate Design, we specialise in a creative, strategic approach to patents that gives you protection you need without an immediate, heavy financial burden.
Do you have a new idea?
Would you like us to review your idea?
What is Patent Drafting and How Does It Work?
It is always advisable to use a professional to draft a patent specification, as the format and contents are highly specific and particularly worded, and this could all be very important at a later date. Our in-house patent drafting team has over 15 years of experience and has successfully helped secure thousands of patent filings. We guide you through the process to ensure your application is robust and professional.
- Drafting & Design: Our design team prepares professional drawings while our patent drafting team writes a detailed specification describing your invention’s unique elements.
- Professional Review: We send the documents to you for a thorough review to ensure your vision is captured exactly as you want it.
- Secure Your Filing Date: Once you’re happy, simply sign and date the application and post it to the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) using our included envelope. There is no official fee to get a filing date.
Why Choose Our "Patent Pending" Service?
Many inventors feel trapped: they need to talk to manufacturers or investors to progress, but they are afraid of losing their idea. As we are not patent attorneys we can provide affordable services designed to help inventors escape this trap. We provide a patent drafting service to help you obtain patent pending status, allowing you to:
- Validate Your Idea: Gain the confidence to seek feedback and explore funding opportunities because your idea has now been protected by a filing date.
- Stay Agile: Manufacturing often leads to design tweaks. By starting with this model, you can modify your patent as your product evolves, avoiding spending thousands upfront for a "final" design that might be changed later.
- Market Early: Use the "Patent Pending" label which can be a very valuable asset for marketing and to establish your brand's authority.
- Low Cost: Only £1,320 including VAT. This offer is to clients who either have their own line drawings or have done their design work with us.
- Expert Oversight: Access our in-house patent drafting team to ensure high-quality specifications.
Strategic Protection for Smart Inventors
We believe in a "Broad-to-Narrow" strategy. Our initial draft aims to cover a broad interpretation of your invention with an eye on future directions - as based on our uniquely broad design expertise. This keeps your options open while you test commercial merit. If you decide to pursue a fully granted patent later, we can introduce you to specialised Patent Attorneys who understand our model - to help you navigate the UKIPO search and examination process.
Ready to Protect Your Idea?
Send us your idea in confidence. We can review your concept to see if it qualifies for patent pending status.
Frequently Asked Questions
Got questions about patents? Here are answers to the most common queries from UK inventors.
What exactly is "Patent Pending" status?
Once you receive a filing receipt from the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), you officially have patent pending status. This provides you with an internationally applicable filing date over your idea as described in your documents. It acts as a "priority" date while you develop the concept further.
How does this help me with marketing or funding?
Patent pending status is a commercially valuable asset. It also allows you to start talks about your ideas with reduced risk of losing your intellectual property. It allows you to approach potential partners or investors with the confidence of a formal filing date that can later be used around the world if needed.
Why shouldn't I just go straight ahead for a "Granted Patent" as soon as possible?
A granted patent should cover a rigid, final design. However, ideas often evolve during the manufacturing process. Our model allows you to save money early by avoiding thousands of pounds upfront on a "final" version that might then change. It keeps you flexible so you can file follow-on applications as your design is refined.
What is the difference between this service and a Patent Attorney?
Innovate Design is not a legal practice. Our service focuses exclusively on the technical drafting for filing to get you patent pending cost-effectively, quickly and creatively. You will need to later respond to feedback from the UKIPO on the novelty of your idea following their search and examination. This is why we always recommend a professional patent search prior to drafting.
CASE STUDY - THE VALUE OF PATENTING AN IDEA
The Sink Station Story
From kitchen frustration to John Lewis; why filing first made all the difference
Damon Meredith had a simple problem. After preparing dinner one evening, he returned to a sink full of vegetable peelings and blocked plughole , and couldn't find a single product on the market that solved it. So he decided to invent one: a flat colander that sits at the base of your sink, catching food waste as you prep and lifting cleanly away when you're done.
The idea was straightforward. But Damon knew that before he could show it to anyone , retailers, distributors, manufacturers, he needed to protect it. So the first step wasn't manufacturing. It wasn't even a prototype. It was a patent search, followed by a patent filing in the UK and USA.
That filing date gave Damon something invaluable: the confidence to have conversations. With patent pending status secured and professional CAD visuals developed with Innovate Design, he could walk into meetings with major buyers without fear of losing his idea.
"The CAD images made my product exist virtually before it actually did, which enabled me to present my idea to a number of different companies. You give them a 3D realistic design so they can see it. It really helped move things along."
— Damon Meredith, inventor of Sink Station
The result? Sink Station is now selling worldwide through a global distributor, as well as in retailers including John Lewis, Lakeland and Robert Dyas. It also won the Excellence in Housewares Award.
The patent came first. Everything else followed. Read More
TESTIMONIALS
Emma's guidance on my patent idea was invaluable. The patent search was instrumental in shaping my ideas for the potential product. I highly recommend Innovate Design to anyone looking to develop their ideas.
Designer Sean Irving did brilliant work turning the basic idea into a well-functioning piece of machinery. At the time of writing, I have begun the patent application process. I recommend Innovate Design to anyone seeking help with a creative idea.
Tom understood my idea and explained how Innovate Design could help. This gave me the confidence to take the next step — a Worldwide patent search. I was very impressed by the professionalism of the document.
So far everything has been First Class. Documentation and graphics have been carried out very well. Now on to the Patent Pending Stage.
I would wholeheartedly recommend Innovate to help navigate the world of innovation and all that comes alongside bringing an idea to life. Always reassuring, informative and helpful.
A step by step guide on how to get my invention from paper to something I can hold. Emma my innovation coach has been excellent in taking me through every stage of the process.