Is there already a patent on my idea?

Investigation into existing patents is extremely time consuming. There are agencies who will undertake this work for you if you have the money to spare.

It all depends upon the commercial value of your idea and this is where you should accurately estimate the likely return.

Most probably you will find inventions which appear identical but don't be discouraged as patents which often look identical make different claims.

Initially investigate existing patents to see if your idea is already registered undertaking a search at the following web addresses:

http://gb.espacenet.com/ - the UK Intellectual Property Office
http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ - for further information
http://www.freepatentsonline.com - an excellent site for searching and information

For searches using espacenet, we suggest a two stage approach.

Firstly, enter relevant keywords into the search wizard to return a summary list of individual patents.

Click on each of these in turn and read the abstract which will indicate if the patent is of interest. To read the complete patent entry click on the underlined patent number.