Frequently Asked Questions

No. The Notary Solution Limited provides information, documentation and process support. We explain how procedures work, prepare and review the paperwork that supports an application, and administer the steps involved. We do not provide legal advice, we do not represent clients in legal proceedings, and nothing on this website or in our correspondence should be read as legal advice. Where a matter requires legal advice or representation, we will say so and you should instruct a suitably qualified professional.

Information and process support covers explaining how a procedure works, identifying which documents and details a filing requires, preparing and checking that paperwork, and managing the administrative correspondence and deadlines around it. Legal advice involves applying the law to your particular circumstances and giving a professional opinion or recommendation on your legal position. The second is outside what we do, and we will tell you when a question falls into that area.

We start with a structured conversation about what you hold, what you are trying to protect and any deadlines already running. You do not need to send documents in advance. At the end of it you receive a written scope setting out the stages involved, what we need from you and the indicative fee for each stage. The initial consultation is charged at £95.

Work is quoted by stage rather than by the hour, and every stage carries an indicative fee that is confirmed to you in writing before work starts. Publication, examination and registration fees charged by a patent or trade mark office are set by that office and are passed on at cost, with the amounts shown separately in your written scope. No work is started, and no official fee is incurred, until you have confirmed the scope in writing.

No, and you should be cautious of anyone who offers that assurance. Whether a patent, trade mark or registered design is granted is decided by the relevant office, and outcomes depend on factors including prior rights, examination findings and the completeness of the documentation. What we can do is make sure your paperwork is complete, your classification is appropriate and nothing is missed on the administrative side.

We do not handle litigation, we do not represent clients before a court or tribunal, we do not give opinions on infringement or validity, and we do not provide advice on the commercial merits of enforcing a right. If your matter needs any of those, we will tell you at the outset and you should approach a qualified legal professional.

It depends on the route involved and on how quickly the relevant office responds. Preparing and checking an application is usually measured in days or a few weeks of our own work, while examination and registration stages are controlled by the office and commonly run into months. Your written scope includes an indicative timetable for our stages, and we tell you when the timetable changes.

At the preparation stage we send a checklist for your specific matter. In practice it usually covers a written description of the invention or mark, any drawings, diagrams or samples, dates of first use or disclosure, full details of the owner, and any earlier applications or registrations. We review what you send and tell you what is still missing before anything is submitted.

Documents and correspondence are held for the purpose of the matter you have instructed us on, are accessible only to the team working on it, and are retained only as long as needed for the matter and for our record-keeping obligations. Please tell us before sending anything if a document is subject to particular handling requirements.

Every stage closes with a written status summary setting out what was prepared, what was filed or recorded, what the relevant office charged, what happens next, and any deadline that now applies to your matter. Where a renewal or response date falls in the future, it is recorded and a reminder is issued in advance.