Getting a patent can be a very good idea. Plenty of companies have built real value by protecting their intellectual property. You can read more about that in the ebook "Everything you need to know about applying for a patent".
But I also see entrepreneurs fall into the same traps again and again. Here are the top three, so you can avoid them.
1. Settling for a pass mark
At secondary school there was a boy in my class who studied just enough to scrape through. His philosophy was that a 6 is as good as a 10. Technically he had a point, but I never liked the idea. At the risk of generalising, patent attorneys are perfectionists. For us, a 6 is never a 10.
That is just as well, because wanting to get everything right is exactly the quality you need when drafting a patent application. One wrong word, a typo or a vague description can make a patent worthless.
So take your time. Make sure you and your patent attorney genuinely understand each other. And if you have doubts, don't file yet. It is worth waiting until the application is a 10 out of 10.
2. You have no plan for your patent
I often meet people who assume that once they have a patent, the money will start rolling in. It doesn't work like that. A patent is a means to an end, not an end in itself.
If you want to earn from your patent through exclusivity in your market, you also need a plan for tracking down infringements and dealing with infringers.
Licensing or selling your rights can be a good earning model too. Or you may want to qualify for tax relief through the innovation box.
In short: it is only worth the time, money and effort if patents are part of your business plan.
3. Too much or too little protection
If you have worked with a patent attorney before, you will have heard the terms broad and narrow protection. Here is the trap.
Describe your invention in very specific detail, naming the material, temperature or application, and you get exclusive rights to exactly that description and nothing more.
Say you patent a metal suspension system for radiators. A competitor makes an exact copy in plastic instead of metal, and they are free to sell it. They are not infringing your patent, because your protection was too narrow.
Go the other way and patent a suspension system for radiators with no further specification, and the patent has little value either. The scope is too broad, so the invention will not meet the requirements of novelty and inventive step.
