Background
Alex Shirley-Smith conceived ‘Tentsile‘ as a usable living space created through pure tension. The lightweight, portable treehouse uses three anchor points to create a living space suspended between trees.
Challenge
After developing several prototypes, co-designers Alex Shirley-Smith of Tentsile asked Forresters how best to protect their IP in these products on a limited budget.
Action taken
Tentsile had previously filed design applications in the US and Europe and wanted to make the most of registered design protection. We reviewed the earlier design applications and developed a filing strategy for Tentsile’s latest designs in key territories of interest, deferring costs where possible. We explained and exploited the benefits of European designs and filed variants of several designs to offer a broad scope of protection whilst simultaneously benefitting from lower official fees. We also filed trade mark applications protecting Tentsile’s various brands and later filed patent applications protecting the functionality of Tentsile’s products.
Result
Tentsile has continued to grow and innovate amongst stiff competition and now has warehouses across four continents, ready to fulfil orders from around the world, backed by an extensive portfolio of registered designs, trade marks and patent applications protecting their IP. Tentsile’s products are available to purchase from their online webstore.
Tentsile are represented by a team of experienced patent, design and trade mark attorneys from Forresters, including Alex Beattie and Mark Bhandal, all of whom regularly advise small businesses on how best to secure cost-effective IP protection.
