I am not sure my idea will be a success

How can you keep costs down at the start if you're not sure your idea will be a success?

Video  \  23 Apr 2018

In this video, AJ Park principal Anton Blijlevens outlines how you can keep costs down at the start if you're not sure your idea will be a success.

I am not sure if my idea will be a success. How do I keep IP protection costs down at the start?

It depends on the kind of IP that we are talking about. Typically, we are talking about:

  • patents
  • trade marks
  • copyright
  • trade secrets.

A good way to keep the costs down at the very early stages of a new initiative is to keep the new initiative confidential. Only disclose it to a handful of people that really need to know to help develop the initiative, the idea.

For some forms of IP, it’s necessary to apply at the patent office and the application needs to be filed before there is any public disclosure of the idea, and so therefore trying to delay public disclosure for as long as possible can help delay the costs of the application process.

Can I delay the costs of international protection?

So, once an initial application is filed at the patent office, international laws allow for you to delay filing into other countries for between six and 12 months depending on the type of IP we are talking about. So, that means you can delay the cost of international IP protection for a little bit longer. That gives you some time to validate the technology, the product, the business model and then decide to invest in IP abroad.

What about trade secrets and copyright?

If we are talking about trade secrets and copyright, they’re a slightly different form of IP that doesn’t require registration and it’s necessary to understand the right steps to take to have the benefit of that protection at the early stages of a new initiative.

If you need plain English advice on IP protection, get in touch with one of our experts.