If you’ve come up with an innovative app concept, it’s natural to be concerned about bringing it to market before someone else beats you to it with a similar idea.
The process of developing an app often takes months — plenty of time for others, including collaborators or competitors, to capitalise on your vision.
This raises a question: Can I protect my app idea and secure my intellectual property rights? The good news is—yes, you can! As a team of experienced patent, trademark, and design attorneys, we're here to guide you through every step of the process to help safeguard your idea and secure the right protection for your app.
With the clear answer being “Yes you can protect your app!” let’s delve into why it’s worth doing.
Copycats
When you successfully launch your app, you could face the threat of imitators. Competitors might create similar versions of your idea, undermining your revenue and market position.
Value
Your intellectual property is what makes your business stand out. It’s not just a great idea that attracts investors. The idea also has a value which can be turned in an IP asset, and investors want to see that you’ve taken the right steps to protect it. The more you turn your ideas into IP assets, the more confidence investors will have in backing you.
Legal disputes
Someone could claim that your concept was theirs, even filing a patent after appropriating your idea. Without proper protection, you might be forced to withdraw your app or face costly litigation—risks that could jeopardise your business. Remember, patents aren’t awarded to the person who came up with the idea first, but to the one who files the patent application and secures the rights.
Types of app protection
Patent protection, trademarks, tradenames and copyright all help to safeguard your idea. Like installing multiple locks on a door, different rights help to keep the competitors and imitators out. Let’s look at the main features of each type.
Patents
✓ Protects unique functionalities and technical processes in the app.
✓ Blocks competitors from using similar routines in their apps.
✓ Granted for a limited time only (20 years from the filing date).
Trademarks and designs
✓ Secures the app’s name, logo, and unique branding elements.
✓ Prevents others from using similar signs that could confuse users.
✓ Requires official registration in relevant countries.
✓ Registration is granted for 10 years from the filing date, and renewable indefinitely!
Copyright
✓ Automatically applies to original code, UI/UX designs, and written content.
✓ Prevents others from reproducing or distributing your app without permission.
Which parts of my App can I protect?
While it’s possible to secure a patent for aspects of an app, you avoid patenting an app in its entirety. What is usually patented are specific methods or processes taking place under the bonnet that achieve a particular result—such as calculation of a route, delivering a medical diagnosis, or suggesting a set of actions. In essence, it’s the app’s hidden working parts that typically qualify for patent protection.
What you typically cannot patent are visual elements such as the screen design, logos, layout, or icons. These fall under the realm of design rights, trademarks, or copyrights.
As for the app’s code, it can benefit from copyright protection, which operates separately from patent protection. This means while the functionality of your app may be patentable, the underlying code is safeguarded through a different legal framework.
Searching the prior art
To ensure your app idea is unique, it’s useful to conduct a prior art search to determine if a similar concept has already been disclosed. There’s little value in investing time and effort into developing and patenting an app if the ideas behind it are already out there. You can try doing your own search using Google, or the European Patent Office’s (EPO) searching tool at worldwide.espacenet.com.
To secure a patent for your app, it must meet three main criteria
Novelty
Your app must be new, offering at least one distinctive feature or function that sets it apart from existing solutions. The search will give you an idea of novelty.
Technical Problem-Solving
The app must solve a specific technical problem using technical steps. Patents cannot be granted for purely mathematic or abstract concepts alone.
Inventiveness
The app should showcase an innovative approach, presenting something that a professional in the field would not consider obvious based on existing solutions. If the prior art search shows a novel solution to the specific technical problem, you will have a novel and inventive app!
Once you are confident all three principles have been met, you can move forward with the patenting process.
How to Obtain a Patent
💡Tip: Don’t publish or disclose your invention before filing a patent application
1. Prepare a detailed patent application with text and figures.
2. Submit your application online to the European Patent Office (EPO) along with the required fees.
3. Once submitted, your application will be “patent pending”.
4. The EPO will issue a search report, which includes feedback and references to similar inventions. You can revise your application based on this feedback and resubmit if necessary.
5. If your application meets all requirements, you’ll receive a notification of Intention to Grant.
6. Pay the required grant fees.
7. Your App is officially patented!
What Are the Costs?
If you're considering patenting an app, you may be curious about the costs. The European Patent Office (EPO) charges fees for filing and searching, which can change over time. For the most up-to-date information, refer to their fee schedule at www.epo.org/en/applying/fees. Smaller entities may qualify for discounted rates.
Although hiring a European patent attorney will add to your expenses, it is often a valuable investment. An experienced attorney can help ensure your application is accurate, complete, and compliant so minimising the risk of mistakes or delays. They will also make sure all the legal paperwork has been completed.
Although hiring a European patent attorney will add to your expenses, it is often a valuable investment. An experienced attorney can help ensure your application is accurate, complete, and compliant so minimising the risk of mistakes or delays. They will also make sure all the legal paperwork has been completed and is up to date. Exchanges with the patent examiner is a part of the process - a patent attorney can take over representation and communicate with the examiner more effectively to resolve any issues.
Conclusion
Protecting your app is more than just a formality - it’s an investment in the future of your business. By securing a patent, a trademark or a design right, you protect your hard work from copycats, safeguard your competitive edge, and most importantly increase your business’s worth in the eyes of potential investors.
Ready to protect your app? Let's talk! Simply contact us at info@dcp-ip.com.
Our team is here to guide you through the patent process and safeguard your innovation.
