how can you patent a product without paying to much?

Answer 1

Obtaining a patent is not cheap. The filing fee to the Patent Office for an individual inventor or a small company that qualifies for small entity status (i.e., companies with fewer than 500 employees) is now $150.00. For those who are familiar with the fee structure prior to December 8, 2004, you will remember that the filing fee for small entities was formerly $395.00. It would, however, be a mistake to believe that the Patent Office has decreased its fees in such a significant way. The Patent Office has always like to charge a la carte fees, and now they have taken that tendency to new heights. In addition to the basic filing fee the patent fee legislation enacted on December 8, 2004, requires payment of a Search Fee ($250 for small entities) and an Examination Fee ($100 for small entities). Therefore, the total fee due to the Patent Office for a small entity to successfully launch a non-provisional utility patent application is $500.00. It is also important to realize that this initial fee covers 3 independent claims and 17 dependent claims. If you have more claims it costs more.

In addition to the various filling fees there will also be an issue fee due before any patent will be granted by the Patent Office. The current issue fee for a small entity is $700.00. So even without any attorney fees the absolute lowest you could pay for a single patent is $1,200.00.

If you want to apply for a patent yourself you can save the attorneys fees, but going it alone opens you up to potentially making critical mistakes that cannot be fixed. For this reason, IPWatchdog has developed a unique system that can help inventors create a non-provisional patent application. We have a United States patent pending on this process, and we have used it to help hundreds of individuals save substantial sums without sacrificing quality. Because the process is a team effort in drafting, the time needed to be spent drafting is kept to a minimum, which keeps costs down. For more information see:

http://www.ipwatchdog.com/nonprovisional.html

Good luck with your invention.

Answer 2

It might not be free for you.. but what you can do is do a search online for free...
Read more here..
http://www.my-infoworld.com/patents/Online_Free_Patent_Search.html

Patents : Do it yourself.
http://www.my-infoworld.com/patents/Do_It_Yourself_Patents.html

Answer 3

Find a backer.