Patents

Before you file for a patent it is important to understand a little about the process. It is possible that someone has had your idea, patented it and not done anything with it (thus the importance of a thorough patent search). It is also possible that someone may have already filed for a patent on your invention but it is still in the patent pending process. If it has already been patented you can find out about it. If it is in the patent pending process you must decide if you want to proceed with your own patent application hoping that you are the first. Patent pending applications are made public after 18 months if the inventor has not specifically indicated that he/she does not wish to have it made public (and they are not filing for any foreign patents). For the first 18 months after a patent has been applied for the patent pending applications are not made public so there is no way to find out if one is already in the system. 

If your idea is great enough, your enthusiasm is great enough, the potential profit margin is great enough and your possible market is large enough, you may decide that you want to try for a patent. Only you can make that judgment call after you have conducted the most thorough patent search you possibly can.

There are a few ways to go about filing for your patent. The first, of course, is to go to a patent attorney. The second is to go to a patent agent. The third is to do it yourself with the help of patent application software or with the help of a book.

Hire a Patent Attorney

Our recommendation is to hire a patent attorney to do it for you if you can. We were really "shoe-stringing" it when we first invented Ghostline and we considered writing our patent application ourselves. Our plan was to find the existing patent that was closest to ours and use it as a sort of template to go by. In our case, anyway, that would have been a big mistake! Our patent attorney was able to write the claims in such a way that it made our patent much stronger than it would have been if we had done it ourselves. Scrimping on the attorney fees would have cost us dearly in the value of our final patent (assuming that would have been able to navigate our way through the process at all!). 

When people hear that for a patent attorney to file for a utility patent often costs between $8,000.00-$10,000.00 it can be discouraging. That is a lot of money to come up with. What most people don't understand is that you do not have to come up with the total amount at the start. We paid around $2,500.00 to start and then paid other fees as they were due. It is our understanding that most patent attorneys allow clients to pay fees as they come due and as work progresses on the patent. Many patent attorneys do not charge at all for the first visit with them when they evaluate the patent ability of your invention. Check to be certain that this is their policy, however, before scheduling an appointment.

Need professional help writing your patent on your relatively simple invention but money is an issue? Try Dirt Cheap Patents. Contact them by clicking here. They may be able to save you thousands of dollars on your patent.

Use a Patent Agent

The second way to file for a patent is to use a patent agent. They are as qualified as patent attorneys to draw up and file your patent application (Patent Agents and Patent Attorneys have to pass the same test on their competency). Patent agents are not attorneys, however and could not represent you in court. Patent agents are usually substantially less expensive than patent attorneys.

Look for referrals to patent attorneys and patent agents on our Helpful Links page!

Do it Yourself

The third way to file for your patent is to do it yourself. You could check out the patent writing software. There is a user-friendly software program that guides you through the steps and even has a patent attorney look over your application before you submit it to the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. You can find it listed on the UIAUSA.com website.  We list another patent writing software, Patent Ease, on our Helpful Books page.

Finally, you may choose to write and file for your patent yourself. If you choose this last option we would encourage you to get the book Patent It Yourself by David Pressman. That is not the only book that would be helpful. There are many others as well. Also, if you do choose to patent it yourself we would suggest that you have an attorney look over your application before you submit it. They will often do that for a reasonable fee.

Provisional Patent Application

If your purpose in filing for a patent is to obtain the "patent pending" status you may want to file a provisional patent application instead of filing an application for a regular utility patent. It costs only $120 to file a provisional patent application and the format is much looser than it is for filing for a regular utility patent. Basically a provisional patent application will "hold your place in line" at the patent office by allowing you the earliest filing date possible. It will never result in an actual patent.

Within one year after you file your provisional patent application, you must file for a regular patent or lose the advantage of the earlier filing date. Provisional patent applications are not even looked at by the examiners at the patent office.

Provisional patent applications are very attractive to some inventors because they allow the inventor to have as early a filing date as possible and it allows them to list their product as "patent pending." That gives the inventor one year in which to find a company to license his/her product without going to the expense of filing for a utility patent.

***IMPORTANT NOTE***

It is very important NOT to divulge your invention to anyone (without a nondisclosure agreement) because the USPTO has very strict regulations about when you can file for a patent. You have ONE YEAR from the time that you first make your invention public (either by showing it to someone without a nondisclosure agreement or by offering it for sale or public use). The USPTO is VERY STRICT about that. The one-year clock starts running the moment you "make your invention public" and if you apply for the patent one year and one day after that they will disallow it. DON'T LET THE CLOCK RUN OUT ON YOUR INVENTION!

NOTE: If you are interested in filing for an international patent (PCT) on your product the one year grace period after public disclosure does not apply. Check with a patent professional before making any public disclosure of your invention if you want to market your invention internationally.

Rates vary widely for writing Provisional Patent Applications. . Most attorneys and agents charge between $800 and $2,400 to write the provisional patent application.

Click " Non-Disclosure " to find a sample that you may print out.

Since laws may vary slightly from state to state or country to country it is always wise to have a local attorney look over the agreement before using it.

 

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NOTE: You may perform free online patent searches at either www.uspto.gov (The official website of the United States Patent and Trademark office or www.freepatentsonline.com.