Professional advice

The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys External Link (ITMA) and the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys External Link (CIPA) can both provide useful information and assistance relating to designs and wider intellectual property-related matters, and can provide details of specialist trade mark and designs attorneys in your area. Additionally, The Law Society can usually supply the details of suitable solicitors in your area, and it is also possible to get advice from certain barristers External Link who are licensed for public access.

Other sources of advice include:

  • PATLIB UK centres are based around the United Kingdom (UK), PATLIB centres provide advice on both patenting and searching patents.
  • Business Link External Link can provide advice on exploiting your ideas.
  • Enterprise Europe Network External Link (EEN) are a European wide network, with a number of centres in the UK. Each can provide consulting services on IP rights.
  • NESTA External Link,The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts provide a useful handbook on invention and innovation.

There are a number of other organisations geared specifically to helping inventors, especially lone inventors, to bring their ideas to market, and to provide advice on finding financial assistance. For example, The Institute of Patentees and Inventors (IPI) External Link is a non-profit making organisation that specifically helps lone inventors.