Patent registration in Scotland. Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Scotland has a Western-style open mixed economy closely linked with the rest of the UK and the wider world. Scotland was one of the industrial powerhouses of Europe from the time of the Industrial Revolution onwards, being a world leader in manufacturing. This left a legacy in the diversity of goods and services that Scotland produces, from textiles, whisky, and shortbread to jet engines, buses, computer software, ships, avionics, and microelectronics, as well as banking, insurance, investment management, and other related financial services. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of patent registration in Scotland.
Patent in Scotland
According to Scotland law, a patent in this country is a grant of a property right given by the Government to an inventor. With a patent, the inventor, or the patentee will have the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, selling the invention in a country, or importing the invention into a country, along with other rights to protect their best interests.
To be patentable in Scotland, an invention must satisfy the requirement of new, inventive, and industrially applicability.
In addition, an invention that is patentable can also be an improvement on existing items or methods.
On the other hand, the subjects that are patentable in Scotland are:
- Discoveries, laws of nature, and mathematical methods;
- Aesthetic designs;
- Systems, rules, and methods for the performance of mental labor, games or management, computer programs;
- Presentation of data and abstract ideas.
Necessary documents for patent registration in Scotland
The necessary documents for patent registration in Scotland include:
- The request to grant a patent (patent application);
- Detailed information on the applicant(s) including the applicant’s names, addresses, etc.;
- A description of the invention;
- A signed and stamped power of attorney by the applicant(s);
- A copy of the amendments (if any);
- Priority documents (if any).
- Other required documents.
The procedure for patent registration in Scotland
To obtain a patent in Scotland, the applicant needs to file their patent application to the IP Office of Scotland.
Before officially filing a patent application, the applicant should conduct a patent search for a similar invention of the same nature to the subject of the patent application.
The patent search will help the applicant to reduce time as well as money if there are indeed similar invention that is currently pending or has been granted patent protection.
After receiving the application, the examiners at the IP Office will carry out a search to check if the invention satisfies the novelty, inventive as well as industrial applicability requirements.
The application will then be published and examined in detail to determine whether it meets legal and formal requirements.
If there are no errors and no objections occur during the patent registration process, the patent should be granted to the applicant within 18 months from the filing date.
The maintenance fees should be paid regularly to allow the patent to reach the maximum validity of 20 years in Scotland.
You can see a list of Scotland IP Firms here.