For this Friday’s fact, we need to look no further than our fingertips.

Do you know Christopher Sholes invented the QWERTY keyboard in 1873? It takes its name from the first six letters on the top left of your keyboard.

The theory is during the development of typewriters, the layout of keys on a QWERTY keyboard came about to prevent commonly used characters from jamming. There are some interesting alternatives to this theory. But either way, this layout allows for quicker typing and fewer mistakes. As we’re now all familiar with this universal keyboard – it’s a good job Scholes put a patent on his idea to protect his ‘Intellectual Property (IP).

Skipping forward from Sholes’ invention and the importance of protecting your IP is still paramount. When working on a new concept, clients often ask us, ‘Can I patent my product?’. With over thirty years of experience and six patents, we are in a solid position to answer this question. Cost, timings, and scale are all things to consider, and it can feel like a complex decision.

We provide advice on cost-effective design IP options. ‘How?’ We ease the part in the process for Patents and Design Rights with our high-quality technical drawings. We take these from an initial sketch or CAD files and create the images in the correct format for the IP process. Don’t forget that we provide clients with a Non-Disclosure Agreement, giving assurance that their information is safe.

We’re always happy to help – please give us a call to discuss protecting your IP. Or you can put your QWERTY keyboard to more use and get in touch online with any enquiries.