Patents & Trademarks – Applying for a Patent

Patent application

The patent application form is called form 1. (You can download form 1 at the bottom of this page.)
Fill in form 1 in capital letters using black ink, or type them. You must include a full description of your invention, including any drawings, and should include your claims and abstract.
You need to send form 1, along with the application fee, to: Intellectual Property Office, Concept House, Cardiff Road, Newport, South Wales, NP10 8QQ.

If you are not the inventor, there is more than one inventor, or you are applying on behalf of a company, you must also send a statement of inventorship, which is form 7. (You can download form 1 at the bottom of this page.)

The patent search form is called form 9A. (You can download form 9A at the bottom of this page.)
You can fill in form 9A and send it, along with the search fee, at the same time as you send form 1.
If you choose not to send form 9A and the search fee with form 1, the Intellectual Property Office will inform you of the date by which you must send it to them.
The search service checks if your invention is new or has already been patented. The service also decides whether or not your invention is a progression of an existing product/process or a new one.

The Intellectual Property Office will send you a receipt confirming the date they received your application and stating your application number.
They send the receipt within three days of receiving your application, so if you don’t receive one you need to get in touch with them.
If your application meets patent requirements, it is published 18 months after your application date.

Within six months of your patent being published, you must request a substantive examination.
The substantive examination is where the Intellectual Property Office examine your patent application in detail.
The substantive examination form is called form 10. (You can download form 10 at the bottom of this page.)
You need to send form 10, along with the examination fee, to: Intellectual Property Office, Concept House, Cardiff Road, Newport, South Wales, NP10 8QQ.

Once the Intellectual Property Office has carried out a substantive examination, they will either grant your patent or contact you to tell you it does not meet their requirements.
If they grant your patent, they will publish it in its final form and send you a certificate.
If they do not grant your patent, they will tell you what you need to do in order for them to be able to grant it.