Product patents questions for my product

[528Sport]

I have an idea for a product (project X)
I have send my idea to patent research company and they rang me and said initial idea looks good and they will carry out some very basic research for me. A letter arrived on Saturday with some basic info as promised. They have said to do a more detailed assesment and to see if any patensts currently exist will cost £460+VAT. Is this a good price? I know the theory of how to build the product but don't have the facilities to build it, so what are my next steps as I fear this could start getting expensive.

Thanks

[AlexB]

A patent clearance search which is properly reviewed is likely to cost a fair amount more than they have quoted. Make sure that you are happy with what they propose to do for the money! In the past there have been various warnings about invention promotion firms (some are good, but some do not always do the job that they claim to do as well as they make out), see for example:
http://inventors.about.com/od/avoidingscams/a/prom...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_promotion_f...

You can do an awful lot of patent research yourself for free using the US Patent and Trademark Office site ( http://patft.uspto.gov/ ) and esp@canet ( http://ep.espacenet.com/ ). Google patents ( http://www.google.com/patents ) also works quite well. If you find any patents that look close then those would be ones to discuss with a patent attorney.

If you want patent advice then the best bet would be to find a patent agent/patent attorney locally and go and discuss your invention with them. Most firms offer some initial free advice for new clients.

Places like Business Link ( www.businesslink.gov.uk ) can provide helpful advice/contacts for raising money for your product, getting it manufactured etc...

Good Luck!

Edited by AlexB on Monday 29th March 16:28

[528Sport]

AlexB said:

A patent clearance search which is properly reviewed is likely to cost a fair amount more than they have quoted. Make sure that you are happy with what they propose to do for the money! In the past there have been various warnings about invention promotion firms (some are good, but some do not always do the job that they claim to do as well as they make out), see for example:
http://inventors.about.com/od/avoidingscams/a/prom...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_promotion_f...

You can do an awful lot of patent research yourself for free using the US Patent and Trademark Office site ( http://patft.uspto.gov/ ) and esp@canet ( http://ep.espacenet.com/ ). Google patents ( http://www.google.com/patents ) also works quite well. If you find any patents that look close then those would be ones to discuss with a patent attorney.

If you want patent advice then the best bet would be to find a patent agent/patent attorney locally and go and discuss your invention with them. Most firms offer some initial free advice for new clients.

Places like Business Link ( www.businesslink.gov.uk ) can provide helpful advice/contacts for raising money for your product, getting it manufactured etc...

Good Luck!

Edited by AlexB on Monday 29th March 16:28

Thanks for advice. Business link.. Hmmm I have found to be a pain to deal with. All they seem to ask for is a business plan (fine) but when you ring them for advice and help on writing a plan they cant help. It seems to me from researching businesslink to be a bit of a postcode lotto regarding their services.

Cheers