Can a prototype demo jeopardise a UK patent?
Yes. A public demonstration before applying can jeopardise a UK patent if it reveals the invention. What viewers can learn matters, so a working prototype does not automatically settle the question. Seek patent advice before showing it publicly. Coordinate confidential factory development with Cambridge China Bridge.
Check what the demonstration reveals
UK patent guidance requires an invention to be new and inventive, rather than an obvious change to something that already exists. Public availability anywhere in the world matters. A demonstration at a trade event, a public video or an unrestricted factory presentation should therefore be reviewed before release.
The IPO manual distinguishes merely seeing a product from being able to handle, measure or test it. Depending on the circumstances, a skilled person might learn how it is constructed and operates, or learn nothing material. Do not assume that hiding the drawings makes a functional demonstration safe.
Keep development and feedback confidential
IPO guidance warns that public knowledge may prevent patenting and that discussions with people other than a patent attorney may need a non-disclosure agreement. Ask your adviser to review confidentiality arrangements before showing suppliers, testers or prospective customers the technical detail.
Prepare an approved sharing pack: identify the recipients, permitted purpose, drawings, sample version and demonstration script. Agree controls on photography, recordings, forwarding and sample access. Ask our staff in China to work from that pack. Use making a product prototype with a Chinese factory for the development workflow.
Separate appearance from the invention
A UK design registration helps protect appearance, such as shape or pattern. It does not register functionality. If the value lies in how a mechanism operates, ask a patent attorney about the technical invention; do not treat an appearance registration as an answer to the patent question.
Write separate descriptions of the visible styling and the technical feature you want to protect. For example, distinguish a casing's shape from the mechanism inside it. Our guide to protecting IP and tooling covers broader sourcing arrangements; this guide focuses on disclosure before a UK patent application.
Put advice before the public demonstration
Send a patent attorney the technical explanation, drawings, planned demonstration and intended audience. Ask what the audience could learn, whether patent protection is suitable and what should happen before disclosure. Make the demonstration approval depend on that advice, rather than on the sample working successfully.
Keep engineering approval separate from permission to publish. A sample can be ready for confidential testing while its public presentation remains on hold. When approving a development sample remotely, specify who may see the recording and whether it may be shared.
If you have already shown the prototype
Pause further demonstrations and preserve the evidence. Gather the dates, audience, confidentiality arrangements, exact sample version, slides, recordings, photographs and any information supplied afterwards. Take that record to a patent attorney promptly so they can assess what was actually disclosed.
Do not decide that the opportunity is lost, or that a concealed mechanism makes everything safe. The IPO manual makes the information available through the demonstration central to the assessment. Ask for advice on the particular technical features before committing to a launch.
Frequently asked questions
Can I show my prototype before applying for a UK patent?
Seek patent advice first. A public demonstration can jeopardise novelty if it reveals the invention. The risk depends on what people can learn from seeing or examining it.
Is a prototype demo safe if I keep the drawings secret?
Not necessarily. A skilled viewer may learn technical features from operation or inspection. Ask a patent attorney to review the demonstration itself.
Does registering the design protect how my product works?
UK design registration protects appearance and does not register functionality. Ask about patent protection separately if the value is a technical invention.
What if I have already demonstrated my invention?
Pause further disclosure, preserve exactly what was shown and who could access it, and seek patent advice promptly. Do not assume either that patenting is impossible or that the demonstration was harmless.