When a new enquiry is received it is important that we understand exactly what the enquirer needs, rather than just accepting what he or she thinks is needed. We should aim to “strike while the iron is hot” and speak to the person as soon as possible, to establish a relationship and to determine what we should offer them.
New enquiries should be handled by a fee-earner. It should be possible for any of the fee-earners (whether on the patents side or the trademarks side) to establish in an initial 20-minute telephone call the nature of the work required, and the conclusion may be that a further, paid, meeting will be needed to enable you to advise fully.
What may initially appear to be a patent enquiry may turn out to be a trademark or designs one, so because we have three fee-earners, please don’t tell a new enquirer that someone will call them back. If one person is too busy to take the call, pass it to another – it doesn’t matter if the new enquirer asks for someone specifically. Remember that all enquiries are from potential clients of the company.
Fee-earners can offer a Review Clinic as the next stage, for which the current cost is £250+VAT, including a letter confirming our advice. For new patent enquiries, this is one of our Invention Review Clinics, in which we will look at their idea/invention and give advice on patentability i.e. whether it meets the basic requirements for patent protection. For trademark enquiries it can be called a Registrability Review Clinic, but the same terms apply. The Review Clinic is payable on the day, by cash or card, and we should have a receipted invoice ready for the end of the meeting.
During the clinic, if further work is required, you will normally offer to send a quotation or, in the case of open-ended work, such as an opposition, you can agree an initial budget and ask for a payment on account sufficient to cover the initial stage – this can be done in subsequent correspondence if appropriate. It will need to be made clear to the client that when you are nearing the limit of the initial budget you will come back to them to discuss further costs, and that work will not be able to continue without further funds being made available.
Last Updated on 30 March 2022 by Keith