KickstarterForum.org

Do many people bother with registering patents or design? I have heard lots of people say it's not worth the effort.

How do you protect your IP if you are selling overseas?

Any kickstarters know of any good UK companies who can do the paperwork or is it easy enough to do properly yourself?

So.... in my experience, patents are very difficult to enforce, require funds (more apt for a venture backed hardware startup), and are even harder to enforce internationally.

Yea, it's difficult to enforce your IP if you are selling overseas. The truth is, there's not much you can do, unless you have deep pockets and connections. See: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... py-machine

I try to advise entrepreneurs to have other types of barriers to entry built into their startup other than patents. One example is if you lock down materials to create your product, have remarkable customer service, or form relationships with the suppliers in the industry (make it in their interest to do business with you and not others). People will still try to reverse engineer your product.

It's easier to enforce IP within your own country, but still costly. Not as familiar with UK law, so may want to ask someone else.