so how do I go about the patent process?
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Start by putting it in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
get an attorney you can trust!
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Start by putting it in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
Registered mail and don't open it! Look for a patent attorney.
Start by putting it in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
Registered mail and don't open it! Look for a patent attorney.
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
I made a part for a rifle that I think will be very marketable. I need to patent it for sure. What is the best/easiest process?
Call a patent lawyer. Really. Based on my experiences with the patents I've been involved with (I have two), it will be just about impossible for you to obtain any sort of enforceable patent without a lawyer. Enforceable, that's the key, not just registering it. The days back when you built a tiny model and sat in the Patent Office waiting room with dozens of other inventors and walked out with a piece of paper, those days are long gone, if they ever existed outside cartoons.
You should be able to find a lawyer who will give you a free consultation.
And that patent will buy you nothing at all if you can't sell the item or the patent to anyone. Are you sure your idea will be marketable at a price buyers will be willing to pay? Are you sure your idea has a clear advantage over any competition? Once your patent is out there (be prepared to wait for approval, maybe years), the competition will be free to download it, study it, and find that one tiny loophole that will allow them to bypass your hard-won patent anyway. And maybe even improve on it... Then you'll have to spend your own money trying to sue them for an alleged breach of patent.
You'd better be awfully sure of your product before you attempt to patent it. You could spend $10,000 and end up losing money overall. You might be better just to start making it and selling it online without protection, and just sell as many as you can before the other guys catch on. At which point you have another idea and the merry-go-round continues.
I made a part for a rifle that I think will be very marketable. I need to patent it for sure. What is the best/easiest process?
Call a patent lawyer. Really. Based on my experiences with the patents I've been involved with (I have two), it will be just about impossible for you to obtain any sort of enforceable patent without a lawyer. Enforceable, that's the key, not just registering it. The days back when you built a tiny model and sat in the Patent Office waiting room with dozens of other inventors and walked out with a piece of paper, those days are long gone, if they ever existed outside cartoons.
You should be able to find a lawyer who will give you a free consultation.
And that patent will buy you nothing at all if you can't sell the item or the patent to anyone. Are you sure your idea will be marketable at a price buyers will be willing to pay? Are you sure your idea has a clear advantage over any competition? Once your patent is out there (be prepared to wait for approval, maybe years), the competition will be free to download it, study it, and find that one tiny loophole that will allow them to bypass your hard-won patent anyway. And maybe even improve on it... Then you'll have to spend your own money trying to sue them for an alleged breach of patent.
You'd better be awfully sure of your product before you attempt to patent it. You could spend $10,000 and end up losing money overall. You might be better just to start making it and selling it online without protection, and just sell as many as you can before the other guys catch on. At which point you have another idea and the merry-go-round continues.
Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Start by putting it in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
Registered mail and don't open it! Look for a patent attorney.
Not to thread jack by any means, but what would doing this accomplish? I too have something I want to patent and have yet to hear of this suggestion. Currently no funds for the patent lawyer on my part, so i'm trying to figure out something in the mean time.
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Start by putting it in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
Registered mail and don't open it! Look for a patent attorney.
Not to thread jack by any means, but what would doing this accomplish? I too have something I want to patent and have yet to hear of this suggestion. Currently no funds for the patent lawyer on my part, so i'm trying to figure out something in the mean time.
When I worked for IBM, they would spend about $40K on legal fees to file a patent. That was in house lawyers.
Originally Posted By: lugNutz
Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Start by putting it in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
Registered mail and don't open it! Look for a patent attorney.
Not to thread jack by any means, but what would doing this accomplish? I too have something I want to patent and have yet to hear of this suggestion. Currently no funds for the patent lawyer on my part, so i'm trying to figure out something in the mean time.
sets the date of your design.
Originally Posted By: spasm3
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Start by putting it in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
Registered mail and don't open it! Look for a patent attorney.
Not to thread jack by any means, but what would doing this accomplish? I too have something I want to patent and have yet to hear of this suggestion. Currently no funds for the patent lawyer on my part, so i'm trying to figure out something in the mean time.
sets the date of your design.
Find a patent attorney who is young and will do the research and file the paperwork for a percentage of ownership and any future proceeds from the patent. Set up an agreement with this attorney with all of the terms spelled out plainly. This way you are protected and he/she is protected and you both work for your joint interests.
This way you only pay if you hit on a successful invention.
This way you only pay if you hit on a successful invention.
First order of business, you must share it
I have some experience in this area (four patents issued and two that have been filed but not yet allowed).
1. Documenting your invention process is critical. Get a good bound note book (no loose leaf or 3 ring binders) and if the pages are not numbered, number them sequentially. Record your design and development history thoroughly. Make entries only in black ink. If you need to make a correction, do not erase or obliterate your entry - strike a single line through so the corrected text is legible and initial the strike thru. Date and initial each page. If you are collaborating with a co-inventor, have that person initial too. Things that can't go in the note book (blueprints, models, etc.) should be similarly documented with date and initials and referenced in an entry in the notebook. Nothing related to your invention process is too trivial to record.
2. Do not disclose or display your invention to the public. This includes showing a sketch or model. If you have built and sold one it is considered disclosed and in the public domain.
3. It is absolutely essential that the claims in your patent submission are written so as to give you the most broad protection possible. Poorly written claims will allow a competitor to work around the patent protection on your invention. This is not a job for amateurs. Don't take shortcuts and try to do it yourself. I also advise against using an attorney in general practice - this is a specialized field of law. Find a law firm with an Intellectual Property department, preferably an IP department that has filed for inventions of similar type to yours.
4. You can find the government's filing costs on the USPTO website. Legal fees vary widely, but in my part of the country I'd budget $5,000 minimum just to get to the point where you can file. You may need to double that if your claims are not allowed and you decide to file a request for reconsideration.
5. www.freepatentsonline.com is a great IP resource. It has a searchable database of the entire USPTO library. You can get a start on the process by doing a thorough patent search for similar inventions. Your attorney will have to do this before he/she develops your claims, and every hour you spend searching is one hour less that a paralegal will do on your behalf at billable rates.
Good luck!
1. Documenting your invention process is critical. Get a good bound note book (no loose leaf or 3 ring binders) and if the pages are not numbered, number them sequentially. Record your design and development history thoroughly. Make entries only in black ink. If you need to make a correction, do not erase or obliterate your entry - strike a single line through so the corrected text is legible and initial the strike thru. Date and initial each page. If you are collaborating with a co-inventor, have that person initial too. Things that can't go in the note book (blueprints, models, etc.) should be similarly documented with date and initials and referenced in an entry in the notebook. Nothing related to your invention process is too trivial to record.
2. Do not disclose or display your invention to the public. This includes showing a sketch or model. If you have built and sold one it is considered disclosed and in the public domain.
3. It is absolutely essential that the claims in your patent submission are written so as to give you the most broad protection possible. Poorly written claims will allow a competitor to work around the patent protection on your invention. This is not a job for amateurs. Don't take shortcuts and try to do it yourself. I also advise against using an attorney in general practice - this is a specialized field of law. Find a law firm with an Intellectual Property department, preferably an IP department that has filed for inventions of similar type to yours.
4. You can find the government's filing costs on the USPTO website. Legal fees vary widely, but in my part of the country I'd budget $5,000 minimum just to get to the point where you can file. You may need to double that if your claims are not allowed and you decide to file a request for reconsideration.
5. www.freepatentsonline.com is a great IP resource. It has a searchable database of the entire USPTO library. You can get a start on the process by doing a thorough patent search for similar inventions. Your attorney will have to do this before he/she develops your claims, and every hour you spend searching is one hour less that a paralegal will do on your behalf at billable rates.
Good luck!
Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
I made a part for a rifle that I think will be very marketable. I need to patent it for sure. What is the best/easiest process?
Call a patent lawyer. Really. Based on my experiences with the patents I've been involved with (I have two), it will be just about impossible for you to obtain any sort of enforceable patent without a lawyer. Enforceable, that's the key, not just registering it. The days back when you built a tiny model and sat in the Patent Office waiting room with dozens of other inventors and walked out with a piece of paper, those days are long gone, if they ever existed outside cartoons.
You should be able to find a lawyer who will give you a free consultation.
And that patent will buy you nothing at all if you can't sell the item or the patent to anyone. Are you sure your idea will be marketable at a price buyers will be willing to pay? Are you sure your idea has a clear advantage over any competition? Once your patent is out there (be prepared to wait for approval, maybe years), the competition will be free to download it, study it, and find that one tiny loophole that will allow them to bypass your hard-won patent anyway. And maybe even improve on it... Then you'll have to spend your own money trying to sue them for an alleged breach of patent.
You'd better be awfully sure of your product before you attempt to patent it. You could spend $10,000 and end up losing money overall. You might be better just to start making it and selling it online without protection, and just sell as many as you can before the other guys catch on. At which point you have another idea and the merry-go-round continues.
As I was reading your post i was thinking to myself 'wow, is a patent really necasary to market a product,' but then you answered my question. Interesting. I guess you have to ask yourself what is the value of a patent.
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
I made a part for a rifle that I think will be very marketable. I need to patent it for sure. What is the best/easiest process?
Call a patent lawyer. Really. Based on my experiences with the patents I've been involved with (I have two), it will be just about impossible for you to obtain any sort of enforceable patent without a lawyer. Enforceable, that's the key, not just registering it. The days back when you built a tiny model and sat in the Patent Office waiting room with dozens of other inventors and walked out with a piece of paper, those days are long gone, if they ever existed outside cartoons.
You should be able to find a lawyer who will give you a free consultation.
And that patent will buy you nothing at all if you can't sell the item or the patent to anyone. Are you sure your idea will be marketable at a price buyers will be willing to pay? Are you sure your idea has a clear advantage over any competition? Once your patent is out there (be prepared to wait for approval, maybe years), the competition will be free to download it, study it, and find that one tiny loophole that will allow them to bypass your hard-won patent anyway. And maybe even improve on it... Then you'll have to spend your own money trying to sue them for an alleged breach of patent.
You'd better be awfully sure of your product before you attempt to patent it. You could spend $10,000 and end up losing money overall. You might be better just to start making it and selling it online without protection, and just sell as many as you can before the other guys catch on. At which point you have another idea and the merry-go-round continues.
As I was reading your post i was thinking to myself 'wow, is a patent really necasary to market a product,' but then you answered my question. Interesting. I guess you have to ask yourself what is the value of a patent.
Originally Posted By: Tegger
You might be better just to start making it and selling it online without protection, and just sell as many as you can before the other guys catch on. At which point you have another idea and the merry-go-round continues.
Sounds like my best plan. I figured I could sell around 100 of these within the first year and be happy. Should be able to sell for $30-$40 each to be fair to the market they are intended for. Should cost me around $3 each to make or have made bulk (talking to a couple machinists.) I wasn't sure I could do that but I guess it is the best option as $5K isn't feasible at this point.
You might be better just to start making it and selling it online without protection, and just sell as many as you can before the other guys catch on. At which point you have another idea and the merry-go-round continues.
Sounds like my best plan. I figured I could sell around 100 of these within the first year and be happy. Should be able to sell for $30-$40 each to be fair to the market they are intended for. Should cost me around $3 each to make or have made bulk (talking to a couple machinists.) I wasn't sure I could do that but I guess it is the best option as $5K isn't feasible at this point.
Dunno about the US, but here there's a difference between a patent and a design.
A patent could be a new firing mechanism, ala Browning or Maxim, and very expensive.
A registered design could be a firing pin that doesn't break, or a subtlety, and allows you the freedom of someone not copying it for a period.
As the bloke who invented the foreverlight told me once, that if he'd patented it, he had to tell the world how to nearly get there
A patent could be a new firing mechanism, ala Browning or Maxim, and very expensive.
A registered design could be a firing pin that doesn't break, or a subtlety, and allows you the freedom of someone not copying it for a period.
As the bloke who invented the foreverlight told me once, that if he'd patented it, he had to tell the world how to nearly get there
A patent in no way results in sales. Instead it supports preventing others from selling whatever the claims of your patent protect. The process is long (many years) and expensive (you even have to pay regular maintenance fees to keep the granted pantent alive). As someone who works in the patent process almost daily their value is complicated. You can find a good flow chart of the process here:
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/
I dont know much about it but I believe small businesses get greatly reduced fees:
http://www.uspto.gov/aia_implementation/faqs_fees.jsp
Something called a Micro Entity
http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/
I dont know much about it but I believe small businesses get greatly reduced fees:
http://www.uspto.gov/aia_implementation/faqs_fees.jsp
Something called a Micro Entity
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