Lone inventor with a shoestring IP budget: Freshorize, UK

Freshorize, UK, is a one-man show run by Aziz Patel in East London. His product and company have won several awards, but promotion has proved challenging and IP protection has been costlier than expected. At least filing patents more broadly has provided him some security.

Knowing how much money to devote to intellectual property is challenging for any start-up, but doubly so for a lone inventor with limited funds. Aziz Patel has worked for five years without a salary, or full-time help, trying to break into the vast toiletries consumer market with his bottled soap dispenser/air freshener product. Expenses on every front are high, but those spent protecting and exploiting IP in multiple markets can be crushing. “These costs can spiral out of control for a small business,” says Mr Aziz.

Source: EPO