Every year thousands of people think they may have invented a unique product or component. But there’s a lot of work to do before they can exploit it commercially – from checking that the invention is original and safe, to building a prototype.
There’s a wide range of support available to individual inventors and small businesses looking to develop innovative ideas and technologies.
This guide explains where inventors can get the support and advice they need at different stages of their product’s development.
Table of Contents
Help in establishing your invention’s originality
You can only call your idea an invention if you can prove it is original. To do this, you need to search for patents or other forms of intellectual property (IP) – such as registered designs – that cover it. There may already be rights covering the invention itself, any components that form part of it, or any processes it uses.
You can start by looking through trade or specialist magazines and by using search engines and websites on the internet. If you can’t find anything that is similar to your invention, you may then consider a patent search using free online patent databases such as those held by the Intellectual Property Office and the British Library.
The British Library runs a free ‘patents searching’ clinic for people carrying out initial searches on the internet and has extensive online patent resources. Advice and help on searching patents and designs, as well as trade marks, is also available throughout the UK at the network of Patent Information Libraries (PATLIBS).
The Intellectual Property Office’s search and advisory service will carry out searches for patents for a fee – find out about the search and advisory service on the Intellectual Property Office website- Opens in a new window. A full patent search typically costs between £785 and £1,200, although there is no upper limit. An infringement search costs from £1,500. Individual estimates can be provided.
In Scotland, the Intellectual Assets Centre and Innovators Counselling and Advisory Service for Scotland both provide specialist advice and support for inventors and innovative companies.
For expert advice it may be in your best interest to consult an IP specialist such as a patent attorney.
See our guide on how to get patent protection for your business.
Be aware that there are businesses that take advantage of inventors by offering a patents search service for thousands of pounds, when in reality they are only searching the databases that are freely available to the general public. It is always advisable to use a registered patent attorney. You can also find resources for inventors on the British Inventors Society website.
Help to ensure products are safe
Many products have to undergo third-party testing to ensure they are safe by law, while in other cases it is the industry norm to conduct safety tests. For more information on product safety see our guide on how to ensure your products are safe.
Testing centres or laboratories in the UK are authorised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). Using such a laboratory for product tests ensures that they will be carried out competently and that the results will be accepted in other markets.
You can search for accredited testing laboratories on the UKAS website- Opens in a new window.
One of the main providers of product-testing services accredited by UKAS is the British Standards Institution (BSI). It conducts tests on items such as electrical and gas appliances, engineering products, construction products, electrical components and medical equipment. Find details of product-testing services on the BSI Product Services website- Opens in a new window.
Get legal help on intellectual property
If you’re working on an original invention and have established that nobody else has developed or is developing something similar, you need to consider how you will protect your intellectual property.
You may want to seek a patent or a registered design to keep competitors at bay. But this may not always be the best route – sometimes it could be better to keep quiet about your invention or delay your application. For the advantages and disadvantages of seeking patent protection, see our guides on how to get patent protection for your business and design right and registration.
A chartered patent attorney will be able to advise you on the best way of exploiting an invention’s commercial potential and can also guide you through the application process for patents and registered designs. You can find a patent attorney through the directory on the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) website- Opens in a new window.
Trade mark attorneys can advise you on design issues as well as trade marks – which could form an important part of the commercial viability of your invention. Search for a trade mark attorney on the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) website- Opens in a new window. For further information, see our guide on how to use trade marks in your business.
You can also search for a solicitor on the Law Society website- Opens in a new window.
Take your invention to market
There are three main ways of getting your invention to market:
- licensing
- producing and selling it yourself
- collaborating with another business or with a university
You could also decide to sell your invention outright. This will give you a one-off payment but will not generate any long-term income.
Licensing the use of your intellectual property means selling the rights, either for a set amount at the outset or, more usually, for royalties whenever the idea is used, as set out in a legal agreement.
You may find a potential licensee by researching businesses that could use your intellectual property. Ask them to sign a confidentiality agreement before you reveal your idea. See our guide on non-disclosure agreements.
Licensing enables inventors to gain income without investing resource and time into producing the product themselves.
In addition, a licensor will often have more industry knowledge and ready access to markets.
Collaborating with a business or university allows you to share the costs and work, although it may mean you’ll have to split the profits. A variety of grant funding is available for collaboration between innovative businesses and academic institutions. For more information read our guide on how to work with UK universities and colleges.
You could develop and produce the invention yourself. This is likely to be expensive but all profits and success will belong to you. You may be able to attract funding if you have a good business plan. See our guides on how to prepare a business plan and how to use your business plan to get funding.
Sources of funding include grants, tax relief and credits, and venture capital. For more information see the page in this guide on how to attract funding for your invention. Also, see the page on research and development competitions in our guide on the Technology Strategy Board.
Get support from other inventors
It can be useful to network with other inventors to share ideas, advice, knowledge and opinions on innovation.
Ideas21 is a fast-growing network of people interested in innovation who meet monthly at the Intellectual Property Office in London – non-members are also welcome. Members receive regular email newsletters with updates on the latest inventions, exhibitions and events.
Help developing your idea
If you’re considering setting up a business to manufacture, market and sell your new invention, or looking at ways of licensing it, a range of sources can help you to assess the commercial viability of your idea, draw up a business plan and find possible sources of funding.
A good first contact is your local enterprise agency. Find your local enterprise agency through the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA) website- Opens in a new window.
You can find out about the range of support for business in England included in the government’s Solutions for Business portfolio.
Your local chamber of commerce should also be able to advise you – find your local chamber of commerce on the British Chambers of Commerce website- Opens in a new window.
You may also be able to get help from one of the ten European Union (EU) funded business innovation centres (BICs) in the UK. These provide a range of services to inventors and innovative small businesses including:
- training
- help with business planning and finding finance
- mentoring
- strategic guidance
- access to premises
- business incubation
BICs have teams of technical managers responsible for developing new products and brokering links between groups including innovators, marketers and manufacturers. Find your nearest business innovation centre on the European BIC Network (EBN) website- Opens in a new window.
If you’re looking to license or sell new technologies on a European level, or even just find partners to conduct further research, your local Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) organisation is a key contact.
This EU-funded initiative acts as a broker to match businesses with similar technology needs and interests. Find your local EEN organisation on the EEN website.
Find manufacturers to build a prototype
If you want to produce a working prototype of your invention, you’ll probably need to work with a manufacturer or a centre specialising in rapid prototyping. A university or incubation centre may also be able to help.
Product designers and model makers also specialise in prototypes, particularly for non-mechanical products. You can find product designers on the British Design Innovation (BDI) website- Opens in a new window.
The government’s Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) can help you to source manufacturers as well as provide general help and advice. Find your regional MAS on the MAS website- Opens in a new window.
Your local library will have copies of trade directories containing lists of manufacturers and service providers.
Remember that if you’re approaching manufacturers with a view to having a prototype produced, you’ll need to ensure they don’t make your invention public. If they do, its commercial success and eligibility for patent protection could be at risk.
As a result, it’s often advisable to get them to sign a confidentiality agreement. For more information see our guide on non-disclosure agreements.
You may want to seek legal advice when drawing up such an agreement.
Attract funding for your invention
You may need some form of finance to get your invention to market.
As a general rule, investors are more willing to fund an invention once the prototype stage is reached. They are also more likely to consider your project if you have prepared a well thought-out business plan.
Equity finance
There are two main options if you want to raise equity finance. You may be able to attract investment from business angels – wealthy individuals who invest in private companies. Alternatively, venture-capital firms provide investment from £3 million upwards in return for shares in a business. See our guide on equity finance.
Government grants and contracts
Grants are available that could help finance part of your project. For further information see our guides on innovation, research and development grants, support networks and facilities for innovation and R&D and how to work with UK universities and colleges.
The Small Business Research Initiative provides funding for innovative products that could help solve a specific problem a government department or public sector organisation wants to solve.
Successful applicants receive a development contract for the full cost of demonstrating the feasibility of their technology. There is the opportunity for subsequent funding for prototype development, while retaining the intellectual property.
The government’s new Green Investment Bank will provide funding to promote innovations for low carbon manufacturing, as well as other aspects of the low carbon economy. The new bank will co-finance projects together with private sector banks. The new bank will open for business in 2012.
You can read more about government funding for research innovation on the page on the Small Business Research Initiative in our guide on support networks and facilities for innovation and R&D.
Other sources of help
Inventors can claim tax relief and credits on appropriate research and development (R&D) spending. See our guide on Research and Development (R&D) Relief for Corporation Tax.
CASE STUDY
Here’s how I got support for my invention
Glenn Melvin had the idea for his energy-saving invention, a new insulating plaster called Wall Reform, while studying for an HND in Building. Glenn describes how he got support and advice to get his idea off the ground and into full commercial production.
WHAT I DID
Research support options
“My HND course included a module on environmental awareness. One of the things I learnt was that heat loss through single-thickness walls is one of the biggest contributors to energy wastage and carbon dioxide emissions. With my background as a plasterer, I started thinking about developing a wall coating to cut heat loss in buildings.
“Like most inventors, in the early days I was going it alone – I put in a lot of my own time and effort to see whether my idea was viable. However, once I was convinced that it could work, I needed support to take things further. I researched grants and other sources of help, and a contact at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills recommended the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA).”
Apply for funding
“NESTA sent round a consultant to talk to me and assess whether I met their criteria for financial support, which I did. There were lots of funding forms to complete, but nothing too onerous.
“It’s important to be able to show funding bodies that you’ve thought things through, including cost projections and a breakdown of how you intend to spend the money. I was awarded £59,000 to cover the first year’s research and development costs. NESTA subsequently made another award of £50,000 to get the product into production.”
Get plenty of advice
“NESTA has been a great source of advice throughout. For example, they found me a patent attorney who helped to determine the originality of my idea and apply for a UK patent. They also advised on trade marking and other forms of intellectual property protection.
“I also approached Newcastle University and was lucky enough to collaborate with a professor who specialised in thermal materials. He assisted with testing product samples and helped me attain further certification from the British Board of Agrément, the accreditation body for new construction products.
“Having NESTA support, plus independent certification for the product, has been invaluable in finding a manufacturer and a distributor to take the product on. It’s also meant we get taken seriously by the government – we’ve been lobbying with some success to include Wall Reform in their eligibility criteria for energy-saving grants.”
WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
Think internationally
“When I applied for the patent, I was only thinking about the UK market. In retrospect, I should have applied for patents in other countries at the same time to increase the options for future expansion.”
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Every effort has been made by the author(s) to ensure this article’s accuracy but it does not constitute legal advice tailored to your circumstances. If you act on it, you acknowledge that you do so at your own risk. We cannot assume responsibility and do not accept liability for any damage or loss which may arise as a result of your reliance upon it.
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