UK patent application

The documents/information/ instructions required by us to prepare an international patent application are as follows:

• The full name, address and nationality/ state of incorporation of each applicant.
• A patent specification consisting of description, claims, abstract and drawings (if any). If the specification is not in English, we can arrange for a translation to be prepared. If time is short, it is possible to file the application with a foreign language specification and to provide the English translation within two months from the date of a request to do so from the UK Intellectual Property Office. Drawings can be filed informally at first, but formal drawings must be filed within 15 months from the priority date.
• If priority is to be claimed for the UK application, the country, date of filing and application number of the priority application. The UK application must be filed within 12 months from the date of the first filing.
• If priority is claimed, a certified copy of the priority application may be needed although increasingly it is possible to request that the relevant documents be transferred electronically from the office of first filing to the IPO. If the priority document is not in English, an English translation is no longer required as a matter of course. An examiner may request the filing of a translation during the examination process.
• A request for preliminary examination and search must be filed within 12 months from the priority date. We will automatically file this request with applications claiming priority unless you specifically instruct us not to do so.
• A request for substantive examination must be filed within six months from the date of publication of the UK application, which takes place approximately 18 months from the priority date. However, if the examination request is filed at the same time as the search request, the application will automatically be subjected to expedited prosecution and a combined search and examination report will be issued. We will typically file a request for combined search and examination unless instructed otherwise.
• The full name and address (which can be that of the applicant) of each inventor and, if the inventor(s) is/are not the applicant(s), an explanation of how the applicant(s) obtained its/their right(s) to the application. This information is required for the statement of inventorship, which must be filed within 16 months from the priority date.

The UK Patent Office does not require any forms to be signed by the applicant. Although it does have the right to request a Power of Attorney, it rarely does so.