It has been argued that the system of patent protection in the United Essay

It has been argued that the system of patent protection in the United Kingdom unfairly favours the inventor who is successfully awarded a patent. Discuss - Essay Example ndividual who may try to take their work without permission, they are subjected to fund for their legal action as well as their legal representations. However, this can be a relief when the patent owner wins the case because it is the other party that shall have to pay for the legal action charges1. The existence of the patent prevents other individuals from trying to copy and idea or two from the inventor’s work. However, the law is very supportive to the inventor because when another individual takes the ideas of somebody else, they are prone to be sued for that. Despite that, the legal action is very expensive and takes a lot of time as it requires professional legal advice. Despite the benefits that are posed by an individual seeking to undertake patent rights for their invention (s), it is claimed that the system of patent protection in the UK is not fair to the inventor despite the inventor being granted the patent by the Intellectual Property Office in UK. Based on that, here are some possible reasons why this is true: In the UK, patent application normally costs GBP  £230 -  £280. However, if an individual seeks the services of a professional Intellectual Property (IP) representative, the costs may rise since this individual had to be paid for their services. Once the patent has been granted, then a renewal fee must be paid for the invention every year after its fourth year of existence. Again, these costs are prone to change every year. For example, the renewal fee for the fifth year is  £70; for the sixth year is  £90; for the seventh year is  £110; for the twentieth year is  £600 etc. Moreover, there are other papers filling costs to be encountered. These include:  £30 – application fee for the preliminary examination;  £150 – to perform a search of the invention;  £100 – to perform substantive examinations of the invention. In the event that the patent is to be done online, the costs to be encountered are slightly different. For example: the