Most founders know they probably need a patent. Very few know what that actually means for their business, or when getting one could do more harm than good.
In this episode of the Sonin //Podcast, Paul is joined by Adam Kelvey, Partner at Reddie & Grose, one of the UK’s leading IP firms, to cut through the confusion around patent protection and get into what it actually means to own what you build.
Adam’s opening move is a deliberate provocation: founders don’t need patents. They need a business strategy, and sometimes a patent is the right tool to support it. That reframe sets the tone for a conversation that covers everything from why Dragon’s Den gets it roughly right to the PhD student whose unpublished thesis killed a patent application because it was sitting on a library shelf.
They work through the full lifecycle, when to file, why the costs are more of a train than a one-off transaction, how to use the PCT system to buy yourself time, and what “keeping your invention secret” actually means in legal terms. There’s also a sharp section on how larger organisations play the game differently, using pending applications to maintain competitive uncertainty for years and filing speculatively against competitors they’re pretty sure they know are coming.
And for anyone building digital products who’s been told patents simply aren’t for them, Adam’s view is more nuanced than that, and worth hearing.
What this episode covers
- Why patents are a business tool, not a compliance exercise
- The real reasons to file — investment, marketing, licensing, tax relief, deterrence
- How the patent timeline works and why the costs compound
- Using the PCT system to delay decisions without losing your position
- What “secret” means under patent law — and a cautionary tale involving a university library
- How large organisations use pending applications as a competitive weapon
- Whether software and digital products can be patented in the UK and Europe