product patents?

Question

How can I apply for patent for a new product I am designing? How much will it cost to register the product?

Answer 1

Good question.

The decision to pursue patents, which kind and how much to spend is a business decision that merits consideration and planning.

Although you can do it yourself you will probably regret it later. But then, you could spend $25k+ with a patent attorney and regret it, too. Patent services are like medical care. Cutting costs now can result in huge costs later. Often, you won't know about the problems until later, and by that time the situation is irreversible.

The patent process is like a tennis match. To get a normal, US "utility" application prepared and filed ("serving the tennis ball") you are probably looking at spending $5-20k on an attorney depending on the kind of invention.

About 1-4 years after you serve, the patent office will return the serve. You will have additional costs for hitting the ball back. When the patent office agrees to grant the patent, there are additional costs for the final processing. All told, after filing the application, the follow-on costs are typically in the $1,500-15,000 range (depending on lots of factors).

The US patent process typically takes 1-7 years. The current published average is almost 3 1/2 years.

There's also the option of an informal provisional application, which typically runs $2,000 or less. The provisional expires in 12 months and there's no tennis match. Provisionals generally don't provide much protection, but they are great to get "patent pending", to establish a date of invention, and to set deadlines for making a formal application.

Lots of people like to file provisionals to get their feet wet and during initial market tests. If it looks like the product will sell then they decide whether to pursue a real patent.

You might also want to consider pursuing a design patent. This costs about $3,000 to start and issues in 12-18 months. Design patents are supposed to be for the ornamental/ artistic/ non-functional aspects of products, but lots of people use them as a cheap way to protect a product's appearance.

A "prior art" search should be one of your first steps in the patent process. In the US, the prior art mostly includes (a) any patent filed prior to your invention, (b) any publication (e.g, magazine article, web page), published more than one year prior to when you file your patent application, (c) any public use, sale or offer to sale of the invention by you or anyone else in the US more than one year before you filed your patent application. There are some other categories -- the patent laws are filled with gotchas. From these three categories, you can see that even if someone else hasn't gotten a patent on your invention (or if they did and it expired), you still might not get a patent either.

The patent law also has gotchas on deadlines. The US and foreign laws favor early filings. Tread carefully here. If you file the application too late, you might lose US and/or foreign rights. Most foreign countries have "absolute novelty" rules, which bar patenting if there has been any kind of disclosure of the invention anywhere. The US has a one-year grace period on the absolute novelty rule. The rules are quite complex so don't rely on this simplification. The safest approach is usually to file your patents prior to any kind of public disclosure or attempt at commercialization.

Now, back to searching. Before you spend the money to hire someone else, try doing some searching on your own. Use a search engine such as Yahoo to see if there is (or was) anything out there like your invention, or articles which are on point. You should also use the patent database of the US Patent & Trademark Office www.uspto.gov to search issued patents and published applications. Most people search and find nothing, but at least it's a good start.

While there are still some professional prior art searchers, it seems like most people just have their patent attorney do the search. It is usually more efficient and accurate.

Be sure to pick a patent attorney who has some familiarity with your technology. We patent attorneys usually specialize. You probably don't want a software expert searching on a new pharmaceutical.

Patentability requires that your invention be new, and also that it is something more than an obvious variation or modification of the prior art. The US courts and the USPTO are getting tougher on the obviousness standard.

These estimates are budgeting guidelines based upon having a competent patent attorney doing the work, and include the government fees and other costs. You can look up the government fees at www.uspto.gov

Though you only asked about patents, you should ask your IP attorney about copyrights and trademarks, too. Many products can be protected by copyright and trademark in addition to patent.

Hope this helps. My email address is public. -Steve

Answer 2

Your question is quite elaborate, so let me answer it point by point.

1) You want to patent an idea, which you are not able to implement currently, however, would still want to ensure that your idea is not copied. The best feasible way to do this, from my perspective, is the route of a provisional patent application.

A provisional patent application is a means of protecting the basic idea behind your innovation, while you try to implement the complete innovation. It is a simplistic means to ensure that your idea is protected. The procedure and cost for getting a provisional patent application in India is simple and quite inexpensive.

Once you file your provisional application, you should be able to disclose the basic idea to investors (without the worry of the idea being copied). However, you should ensure that you do not disclose even an iota of additional matter, which you have not already disclosed in your provisional application. Further, in order to be on the safer side, try to get an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) in place with any investor whom you are in discussions with. Also, mentioning in all your presentations that your idea is 'Patent Pending' (with the corresponding application number of the provisional application) shall deter a lot of people in trying to copy your idea.

A provisional patent application shall give you an exact year in which you can generate some funding and implement your idea. Within this year, hire a good patent attorney and get your regular patent application drafted and filed in India. As you are an individual/ small company, the filing and other fee shall be quite minimal. The major cost would be the cost of the attorney and drafting of the patent application.

In case your idea is doing well, and you are able to generate some more funds; go ahead and get a PCT (WIPO) application filed. Using this route you will get additional 30-32 months to decide which all countries you would like to file your application in. This is quite important because you cannot get a global patent, and filing in each country is going to cost significantly.

Coming to the second aspect of your question, which is regarding the cost.

Drafting and filing of provisional patent application is quite simple and should not cost you a lot. This should be done under a budget of USD 1,000.

Drafting and filing of the regular patent application: As mentioned above, as you are an individual, the fee of the Patent Office will be quite minimal. However, the attorney fee and the drafting fee is going to be significant. You can get a patent drafted from freelancers, who can draft your application in even 2,000 USD. However, looking at the breadth of the technologies that your idea spans across; I would advise using a professional firm. The fee may go up to even 5-7K USD based on the type of firm you are using.
Filing a PCT Application: However, by the time you need to decide to file a PCT Application, you would already have had 12 months (from your Provisional Patent Application). By this time you should be aware of the market potential of your idea.

Coming to the third aspect of your question, which primarily is an assumption, that your idea is unique. I have not doubts that your idea must be unique and that is the reason why you are passionate about it. However, I would still advise that before you file your Indian Patent Application, get a search done by professional firm. You need not do it before your provisional application. However, for the regular application, before you spend a lot of money on drafting of the patent application, spend 300-500 USD and get a search done professionally.

Answer 3

If you have a VIABLE invention then it is a good idea to protect it.

Do you know about the Provisional Application for Patent? It only costs $65 and was designed by Congress to give individual inventors a chance at bringing their inventive ideas to market easily. It is SUPER EASY to do..

If a provisional application for patent looks like the right thing for you to do then take a look at a website that shows EXACTLY how to file one using a video format. Either Google or YouTube Provisional Patent Video or PM me and I will give you links to consider. I notice you do not have your email turned on in Yahoo or I would have sent it to you..

I do not want to put links in here because lawyers delete my posts when I do.. go figure! They do not want you to know how easy this is! You can email me at [e-mail] too if you want as well!

There are LOTS of ways to move forward with your invention. I would caution you away from paying ANYONE ANYTHING until you COMPLETELY understand what and when they will give you what you want.

DO NOT pay anyone $5,000 to start your invention... Not even invention companies until you COMPLETELY understand exactly what they will do for you. I have talked to way too many folks who have spent from $1800 to $5000 to get nothing.

Not to worry.. there are ways to get what you want ant YOU can do it yourself, for the most part, and it is fairly easy to do everything. Just know the USPTO is a branch of the Federal Government and the Federal government wants YOU to be a millionaire so you can pay taxes. Therefore, the Federal Government, via the USPTO, makes it EASY to file a Provisional Application for Patent. Extremely easy.

Answer 4

That's quite the complicated question, and I can't give a definite answer.

What I do know is that a patent is only as good as your ability to litigate someone in violation of that patent.

Answer 5

No. an thought including attaching a sail to a surf board (windsurfing) won't be able to be patented as a results of fact it too generalized, in spite of the incontrovertible fact that the way you connect the sail to board including an exceptionally expert hinge you designed that rotates the sail on all axises and falls to horizontal if the surfer falls off the board may be patented. So your thought of promoting interior the bus won't be able to be patented as a results of fact promoting is in simple terms too generalized an thought, yet once you have a different layout(an illustration in assessment to the different that does what no different sign has finished until now) for providing the promoting interior the bus, that unique layout may be patented. one extra occasion, the belief of "a treatment for many cancers" won't be able to be patented, yet a particular drug to treatment maximum cancers may be.

Answer 6

have you checked out https://worldpatentmarketing?