Has anyone here had an invention that they processed from start to finish? I was wondering what my first step might be (and breifly all major steps involved). I have already researched it to death and have found nothing. do I contact the company whom it may benifit or seek a patent lawyer? TIA for all replys.
Invention, Ideas, patents?
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One suggestion is to do an initial patent search yourself. You will likely be surprised at just how many great ideas have been covered - not to discourage, but I've found about 3/4 of the ones out of my head are very well described. You can do the search of US patents by going here: http://patft.uspto.gov/
The interface could certainly use some improvement, but work with it and you'll figure it out. If you find your idea described well already then you may or may not be done - you may have a new application of the same device/idea so you could still have a valid claim but it likely will be more difficult to enforce or use without infringing on the first one filed.
At any rate, once you are fairly confident that your idea is unique, figure out how to describe it well. You can look at the application filings (again same site that you just searched) to see how others are described. One important thing is that once you disclose your idea to anyone there are ramifications to the patent process (I believe there is actually a time limit from disclosure to patent filing) so keep track of things and keep it close unless you have non-disclosure agreements or attorney/client privilege in place. Keep these shared events to a minimum and well documented.
You will most likely want to get a patent lawyer involved at some point and that individual should be able to tell you at what point exactly your protection begins so you can start shopping your idea around.
If you contact companies with your idea before you have patent protections documented you risk being told "we already have that under development" and then what? Good luck proving anything... However, even if someone does have "it" under development, if you have filed a patent before they do then you are still in the game
Best of luck - I assume your idea is somehow stove/hearth related. Once you have your protection in place I'll look forward to seeing an update telling what it is that you thought of.
The interface could certainly use some improvement, but work with it and you'll figure it out. If you find your idea described well already then you may or may not be done - you may have a new application of the same device/idea so you could still have a valid claim but it likely will be more difficult to enforce or use without infringing on the first one filed.
At any rate, once you are fairly confident that your idea is unique, figure out how to describe it well. You can look at the application filings (again same site that you just searched) to see how others are described. One important thing is that once you disclose your idea to anyone there are ramifications to the patent process (I believe there is actually a time limit from disclosure to patent filing) so keep track of things and keep it close unless you have non-disclosure agreements or attorney/client privilege in place. Keep these shared events to a minimum and well documented.
You will most likely want to get a patent lawyer involved at some point and that individual should be able to tell you at what point exactly your protection begins so you can start shopping your idea around.
If you contact companies with your idea before you have patent protections documented you risk being told "we already have that under development" and then what? Good luck proving anything... However, even if someone does have "it" under development, if you have filed a patent before they do then you are still in the game
Best of luck - I assume your idea is somehow stove/hearth related. Once you have your protection in place I'll look forward to seeing an update telling what it is that you thought of.
fire_N_ice said:
I have done it.......two or three times......
Yeah, first step is talking to someone who knows what they are doing. I've worked with various folks......I'm working with this guy on a trademark...he is in NJ and might do patents:
http://www.kirshner.com
Here are some links I used for the class I teach in bringing products to market:
https://www.hearth.com/invent/
Basically, the first step is this - write down the idea of the invention and have someone notarize it. At least that dates it.
Do as much research as possible BEFORE you start spending money! I would be glad to look at your idea and provide some guidance. You have a lot of decisions to make - for instance, how much $$ are you willing to spend to develop and market it? It is only very rarely that something can be sold to another company without a lot of your own investment and development.
Etc.
Definitely don't show it to any big companies without having it patented first. If you do, they can just patent it "for you" and then it becomes their invention.
Fire n' Ice....
I've had a few idea's, some good, some not so good, and the way I always start it out is to first get everything I have together, make copies etc, and send them to myself in a sealed envelope that has been stamped by a notary public. This way you and if it ever comes to that have a record of when you had your idea etc. The next thing I do is there is a prgram up at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater where they (instructors & students alike) go over your project, they do a comprehensive patent search for you, they find and make a long comparison to anything and everything they can find that is similar in nature to what you are trying to patent. They also offer idea's etc that will help you along the way. They do quite alot for you, and the cost is usually around $500, well worth it and by the time they are done, you will have a much better idea on whether or not to proceed to the next step which would be checking into a patent itself. They will sign a nondisclosure agreement so you do not have to worry about your idea getting caught up by someone else. Pretty interesting process to go through....hope this helps.
I've had a few idea's, some good, some not so good, and the way I always start it out is to first get everything I have together, make copies etc, and send them to myself in a sealed envelope that has been stamped by a notary public. This way you and if it ever comes to that have a record of when you had your idea etc. The next thing I do is there is a prgram up at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater where they (instructors & students alike) go over your project, they do a comprehensive patent search for you, they find and make a long comparison to anything and everything they can find that is similar in nature to what you are trying to patent. They also offer idea's etc that will help you along the way. They do quite alot for you, and the cost is usually around $500, well worth it and by the time they are done, you will have a much better idea on whether or not to proceed to the next step which would be checking into a patent itself. They will sign a nondisclosure agreement so you do not have to worry about your idea getting caught up by someone else. Pretty interesting process to go through....hope this helps.
I'd be cautious about the information in these replies as there appears to be considerable confusion about patenting your invention.
ie. The phrase 'idea rights' is deceptively broad. A patent simply gives one the right to exclude others from the practice of the claimed invention, nothing more. Additionally, there are several different terms related to patents that include the word 'provisional', these do not include the term 'provisional patent ' - at least in the US. One can file a 'provisional application' compartively cheaply, but no rights attach related to the practice of the invention and no advantage is gained other than holding one's place in line with respect to the filing date of the application. I believe that the individual that made the '1 year' was speaking to the perishable nature of a provisional application, that is to say that a provisional application goes abandoned by operation of statute one year after filing and that an applicant must file a nonprovisioanl application within one year of the provisional application claiming benefit of the provisional application to realize the benefit of the earlier filing.
The comments regarding 'talking to a company' involve disclosure. Disclosures can be protected, to some extent, by confidentialy and non-disclosure agreements, though these add expense and are subject to consent by the other party.
Sometimes things are cheap for a reason. A solid application can cost serious money, though it is possible to get a decent product cheaply - albeit with risk. The guy who with no reputation who advertises a cut rate chimney cleanings may in the end do more damage than good, alternatively, he may do a decent job. But if you go with a professional the odds of getting quality work done is better.
My suggestion would be to check the website of any law schools in your area, particularly state institutions, ie. Rutgers, for intellectual property clinics where you might be able to get a student to write an application under the supervision of a licensed practicioner.
Good luck!
ie. The phrase 'idea rights' is deceptively broad. A patent simply gives one the right to exclude others from the practice of the claimed invention, nothing more. Additionally, there are several different terms related to patents that include the word 'provisional', these do not include the term 'provisional patent ' - at least in the US. One can file a 'provisional application' compartively cheaply, but no rights attach related to the practice of the invention and no advantage is gained other than holding one's place in line with respect to the filing date of the application. I believe that the individual that made the '1 year' was speaking to the perishable nature of a provisional application, that is to say that a provisional application goes abandoned by operation of statute one year after filing and that an applicant must file a nonprovisioanl application within one year of the provisional application claiming benefit of the provisional application to realize the benefit of the earlier filing.
The comments regarding 'talking to a company' involve disclosure. Disclosures can be protected, to some extent, by confidentialy and non-disclosure agreements, though these add expense and are subject to consent by the other party.
Sometimes things are cheap for a reason. A solid application can cost serious money, though it is possible to get a decent product cheaply - albeit with risk. The guy who with no reputation who advertises a cut rate chimney cleanings may in the end do more damage than good, alternatively, he may do a decent job. But if you go with a professional the odds of getting quality work done is better.
My suggestion would be to check the website of any law schools in your area, particularly state institutions, ie. Rutgers, for intellectual property clinics where you might be able to get a student to write an application under the supervision of a licensed practicioner.
Good luck!
Hey F-N-I, I think you should just tell me what it is (with details) and I will let you know if it is a good idea or not. ;-P
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