Tips & Pitfalls - UK Patent and Licensing Idea

[sandgrownun]

Hi All

I have a several ideas and am wanting to have a go at patenting and licensing one of them in the UK to gain experience and go through the process before developing my bigger ideas.

Its a simple idea based on enhancing a form of packaging to eliminate a particular problem/annoyance in a particular industry. My research tell's me it is a global thing however it is hard to put a number to it to estimate the potential market value. My gut feeling is it will sell and can be manufactured very easily and cheaply with little additional tooling but I don't expect to make a lot of money from it, it is more about gaining the experience on a low risk small scale to better prepare me for bigger projects.

My plan is take my idea from two angles where the product can be manufactured as a complete package to sell to brand names and also sold as a smaller version to independent retailers as a bolt on they can use on existing packaged products. One of the benefits is that it should increase consumer sales of the items it is designed to be used on. I am gathering a list of packaging manufactures and when I am ready will approach them with the idea. It seems that in this area there are not many of them but the ones I have seen supply their packaging globally. My hope is that if I secure a licensing deal with one of them I will potentially be able to leverage their existing client base which will include brand names and smaller retailers that package their own products. Thinking about it, it just seems to be to good to be true.

I have not seen my idea in any stores and cannot find it or anything similar in patent searches. There is a patent that involves using a device on the product itself and my idea seems to a lot simpler by addressing the problem in the cheaper packaging. I have read "one simple idea" by Stephen Key however this book is focused on the US and unless I am being naive it seems that to secure a patent pending in the UK is a lot easier and a lot cheaper.

I have explored the idea of using a patent agencies or patent solicitors but I am reluctant to pay extortionate fees for something I may be able to do myself.

I would really appreciate any tips or pitfalls to avoid from anyone that has been down this road in the UK or anywhere else in the world if it will be helpful.

Thanks in advance

 

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