Even without a patent attorney or the use of professionally prepared patent drawings, you may pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fees to file and obtain a patent from the USPTO. Before making this investment, research the market you hope to enter and decide whether it's worth the outlay of funds. To make sure your invention is new, you must investigate all earlier developments in your field.
This involves searching U. Although patent searching is time consuming, it can be mastered with practice. Even if you decide to hire a professional later on in the process, you know more about your invention than anyone, so you are the best person to start the search. You can start your research on the Internet, but might also want to visit a Patent and Trademark Depository Library.
There, you can search earlier patents and get help from a librarian. For more information, see Patent Searching Online. When you search, you will certainly find other inventions that are similar to yours. In your application, you should show how your invention improves upon or is different from these earlier developments. A PPA is not an actual application for the patent itself. Filing a PPA simply allows you to claim "patent pending" status for the invention and involves only a small fraction of the work and cost of a regular patent application.
If you do not, you can no longer claim the PPA filing date. Often, inventors file a PPA in order to gain quick credibility and perhaps attract investors. To learn what's involved in preparing a regular application, see Understanding Patent Applications.
Here are just a couple of their stories about obtaining their own patents. He reported having filed at least 21 patent applications, with 17 of them approved. Among his patented inventions: hydraulic exercise equipment, a sidewalk lifter to repair uneven sidewalks , an innovative electric shaver, and a volleyball net adjuster.
The decision to handle his own patents was an economic one. Learn more on our Registered Designs page. Get the free info pack to find out more Get Info Pack. How to Patent an Idea Anything and everything you need to know…. Step 1. Draft Patent Specification A patent specification may include the following parts: a-Written description of idea b- Drawings to illustrate and refer to the description c- List of claims that define the novel technical features d-An abstract that summarises the content of the specification Step 3.
Step 4. Filing receipt Once your submission has been received by the UK IPO they will issue a receipt which confirms the filing date and provides a patent application number. Need a hand? Some of the questions that you may ask yourself before patenting an idea: Have you kept your idea secret? Is my idea novel? Is your product sufficiently developed, designed or prototyped? Is it commercially viable? Notice: JavaScript is required for this content.
Different forms of protection. Costs to Patent an Idea Learn about how much it costs, varying types of patent applications, and what the examination and grant timelines are like. Trademark an Idea Learn about how a registered Trade Mark can protect a word, symbol, or logo used in trade and associated with your product throughout the U. In general, the exclusive rights are only applicable in the country or region in which a patent has been filed and granted, in accordance with the law of that country or region.
Patent rights are usually enforced in a court on the initiative of the right owner. In most systems a court of law has the authority to stop patent infringement. However the main responsibility for monitoring, identifying, and taking action against infringers of a patent lies with the patent owner. This takes place according to agreed terms and conditions for example, defining the amount and type of payment to be made by the licensee to the licensor , for a defined purpose, in a defined territory, and for an agreed period of time.
A patent owner may grant a license to a third party for many reasons. Alternatively, a patent owner may have manufacturing facilities, but they may not be large enough to cover market demand. Entering into a licensing agreement can help to build a mutually-beneficial business relationship. Unlike selling or transferring a patent to another party, the licensor continue to have property rights over the patented invention. Patented inventions have, in fact, pervaded every aspect of human life, from electric lighting patents held by Edison and Swan and plastic patents held by Baekeland , to ballpoint pens patents held by Biro , and microprocessors patents held by Intel, for example.
Patents provide incentives to and protection for individuals by offering them recognition for their creativity and the possibility of material reward for their inventions. Once knowledge is publicly available, by its nature, it can be used simultaneously by an unlimited number of persons. While this is, without doubt, perfectly acceptable for public information, it causes a dilemma for the commercialization of technical knowledge.
As a consequence, inventors would naturally be discouraged to bring new inventions to the market, and tend to keep their commercially valuable inventions secret. A patent system intends to correct such under-provision of innovative activities by providing innovators with limited exclusive rights, thereby giving the innovators the possibility to receive appropriate returns on their innovative activities.
These incentives and the dissemination of knowledge about new inventions encourage further innovation, which assures that the quality of human life and the well-being of society is continuously enhanced. There are numerous conditions that must be met in order to obtain a patent and it is not possible to compile an exhaustive, universally applicable list. However, some of the key conditions include the following:. A patent is granted by a national patent office or by a regional office that carries out the task for a number of countries.
Currently, the following regional patent offices are in operation:. Under such regional systems, an applicant requests protection for an invention in one or more member states of the regional organization in question. The regional office accepts these patent applications, which have the same effect as national applications, or grants patents, if all the criteria for the grant of such a regional patent are met. In general, applicants can prepare their patent applications and file them without assistance from a patent attorney.
Furthermore, the legislation of many countries requires that an applicant, whose ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside the country, be represented by an attorney or agent qualified in the country which usually means an agent or attorney who resides and practices in that country. Information on the qualified attorneys and agents can be obtained directly from national and regional IP offices. The costs vary considerably from country to country and even within a country.
As the official fees vary widely from country to country, please contact the relevant national or regional patent office which will be able to give you details on the fee structure. Consult our list of national and regional intellectual property offices. Some countries offer discounts to small- and medium-sized enterprises and applicants filing the application online. In addition, some countries allow expedited examination upon payment of additional fees. In addition to the national official filing fees, once a patent is granted by the patent office, you must pay maintenance or renewal fees, generally on an annual basis, to maintain the validity of the patent.
In case you decide to patent your invention abroad, you should also consider the relevant official filing fees for each country in question, the translation costs, and the costs of using local patent agents, which is a requirement in many countries for foreign applicants. In general, an application for a patent must be filed, and the patent granted and enforced, in each country in which you seek patent protection for your invention, in accordance with the law of that country.
Therefore, one way of obtaining patents in a number of countries is to file a national patent application with each relevant national patent office.
These have the same effect as applications filed, or patents granted, in the member states of that region. This means that, in certain regions, you can obtain a regional patent from a regional patent office , which is valid in some or all of its member states. If you are seeking patent protection in a number of countries worldwide, a good option is to file an international application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty PCT , administered by WIPO.
Any resident or national of a state party to the PCT contracting state can file a single international application which has the effect of a national patent application and certain regional patent applications in some or all PCT contracting states.
In some cases, this can be a more straightforward choice than choosing to try to submit individual applications in each and every country in which you require protection. Find out more about the PCT System.
The first step in securing a patent is the filing of a patent application. Many patent offices provide a specific form to fill in. In some patent offices, you can file a patent application on line. In the patent application, in general, you must describe the title of the invention, as well as provide an indication of its technical field.
You must also include the background to and a description of the invention, in clear language and enough detail that a person with an average understanding of the field could use or reproduce the invention. Such descriptions are usually accompanied by visual materials such as drawings, plans, or diagrams to better describe the invention and an abstract, which contains a brief summary of the invention. In addition, depending on the applicable patent law, you may need to submit various kinds of statements, declarations or supporting documents to a patent office.
In view of the complexity it is recommended that you consult a patent attorney or a patent agent to prepare a patent application. The procedures vary significantly from one country to another, so it is impossible to provide an exhaustive step-by-step overview.
However it is recommended that you consult either a practicing lawyer specializing in IP or the relevant IP office. Same goes with plagiarism.
Also, proven plagiarism can not only cost lots of money and cause someone great shame, but it can also cost a person s their job and even careers, and in so doing ruin their life — forever. So, I treat any idea that is not common i. The later seems to be particularly distasteful to many inventors today, who would seem to prefer not to citing ANY prior art, whatsoever despite that not being kosher with the PTO!
No worry, the Examiner will find those prior art references anyway despite your best efforts to suppress them. Attorneys do people a great disservice if they tell people otherwise.
Ideas can be worth a LOT of money, in and of themselves, even if not patentable. People have become multi-millionaires, even without having any patents issued to them! Basically how Google, Facebook and Amazon started — with just an idea no patents even pending at the time! Perhaps Gene can suggest some good academic or legal writings about that problem or a definition that seems very concise and comprehensive. I would be interested to see comments on that from Gene Quinn and others.
Stuart Fox — inventor. You might want to search re those legal issues using the given terms. View More…. Advertise Here. Our website uses cookies to provide you with a better experience. Read our privacy policy for more information.
Accept and Close. Figure 1 from U. Patent No. There are currently 8 Comments comments. Stuart Fox November 18, pm Hi Gene — Thanks for another interesting article — I am a great fan of yours and agree with virtually everything written in the article and with respect in this instance I am sorry to say I am disappointed with the way you put some of it.
Stuart Fox. Detroit December 13, am Step back 5, did you just learn two new words today. Varsity Sponsors. Upcoming Events.
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