Seeking Help For Patent Application?

[megasat16]

Let's say I want to apply patent for my hopefully new invention.

I like to know if I should seek help or go on my own.

I know there are people in the forum holding several patents.

Would you kindly share your journey?

I think getting something approved required a lot of careful wording in the very overlapped world of inventions. Any guidance on how to choose what to says and what not?

TIA!

[rayma]

Originally Posted by megasat16

I want to apply patent for my hopefully new invention.

You will need a patent attorney.

[leadbelly]

There's already a lot of material on patents. If you search on user "SY" you will come across a lot of excellent material. I'm sure other users will chime as well.

One thing I would like to point out is that patents are not really as valuable as the general public might think. You might want to do an evaluation if a patent is what you need: Trade Secrets vs Patents: Which Approach is Right for You?

[olsond3]

A patent only allows you to legally block others from making what is described in your patent. So doing that requires a lot of money for lawyers and court time. Sometimes it is good to simply block others from patenting your idea by releasing it in the public domain. That way others can't patent it and come back and block you from making it. Provisional patents are cheap and last 1 year. Many patents, maybe half are granted for absolute garbage, so they are easy to get. You will want to hire a Patent Agent who is trained in the technical field you are working in. I recommend learn to search and read all the patents that are close to your idea. There are short courses on understanding patents. The claims section contain the legally binding language. The rest is just background. Unless you are very familiar and connected to the industry associated with building things like what you are about to patent, it is very very unlikely you will be able to use it to license your idea to a large company and make money. Much of my career was spent working in R&D at large companies creating slightly different designs from those that were patented by competitors. Many of the most novel design ideas are not even identifiable or discoverable in a product and are simply kept as a trade secret.

[phase]

Olsond3, at one point I was talking to Mr. Frick at Physio, was a long time ago. I was working in the model shop at an industrial design company down Willows Rd.
Wound up doing similar work in similar industries as well in the northwest, grew up around here also.

Patents used to be whoever could prove they fake up with it, now its whoever gets to the patent office first.
It is true that many are made trade secrets when they aren’t likely to be discovered, buried in devices or within processes.

[scott wurcer]

Originally Posted by megasat16

Let's say I want to apply patent for my hopefully new invention.

Find an attorney and file a provisional patent ASAP, it s not a large expense but enough that you should really be convinced in the value of going forward.

[gabdx]

First thing,

GO to the patent office and look for similar inventions.

If your invention is truly original, it can be patented in USA, states (i cant remember), and other countries.

The IDEA behind patent is 2 things.

1. You patent , someone will copy, you sue them, typical law suits value 10-25 millions

2. You patent and sell your idea to a big company able to buy it. Typical value 1 - 10 millions.

If your idea has no commercial/technological advantage value, (less than 500K worth of savings etc) then you should NOT patent it,

Typical patent lawer can be around 50 to 200k.

Otherwise you can do it yourself, but prepare for hard work into unknown ground.

My info: I graduated in common law and civil law, been around patent lawyers for clearkship, now I do a different job,

Remember, patent lawyer usually have their law degree (or a master) which took them 7 years and a doctorate in some science which took them another 6 years, they have to get some of their investment back. I though once of doing that with a master in electricity.

The best is to addend meetings with other inventors and lawyers.

In my family we patented 2 or 3 things, never went to production due to disagreements on shares of the company, those who own 51 % are worth over 20 million. So be prepared to be ripped off your idea very soon.

My grandfather used to say a letter posted to yourself worked because of the date of the stamped letter, so you can claim first to invent it lol

[gabdx]

I should add, most valuable patents, or any that are worth patenting nowadays are related to industrial processes. And they involve nanotechnology.

How do I know this? I worked as industrial electrician in top big industries. Usually incorporating the new technologies cost around 150 million dollars + and it is a risky investment. The promise in cost cuts and higher quality products.

You would be surprised how many consumer products are now incorporating nanotech in the production to cut costs and pollution.

You should incorporate and bring friends with shares to help you launch the company. Being a one man show is impossible today.

[phase]

Painfully simple ideas are valuable also, just don’t get ripped off if it’s something of value!

[wayne]

This isn’t something you do yourself anymore. You need a patent attorney. You can do searches online with google patents but the attorneys will do it better and they will be needed for proper wording and drawings.