Where's the best place to start in obtaining a patent?

Answer 1

NOLO is a great, free informational site. Also, be sure to read what the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office) has to say about patents.

Associations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

Getting a Patent:
* Patent It Yourself (11th Edition) by David Pressman
* Patents and How to Get One : A Practical Handbook by U.S. Department of Commerce
* How To Make Patent Drawings Yourself: A Patent It Yourself Companion by Jack Lo
* The Inventor's Notebook: A Patent It Yourself Companion by Fred E. Grissom

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

Start with a patent search through a patent lawyer. Once it's been determined that no patent already exists for your product or process, then the patent application can be filed and the actual process will start. Last time I knew anything about a patent... was about 15 yrs ago.. but it cost quite a bit even then. I'd say about $2500 to get it started, but that's a wild guess.

Answer 3

If you were to seriously follow TMExpress' answer then I would suggest that you get 30 units of science at college and then take the patent bar instead. Because if you are going to expend that amount of time and effort on answering your question you might as well get a useful qualification at the same time!

Now to answer your question....

First I am going to assume you are inside the USA. If you are then you have some luxuries that are not available to inventors outside the USA

In the USA the rule is the first person to invent in the USA has the patent rights in the USA. Outside the USA the first person to file their patent application is the owner of the patent rights.

So the first thing you need to do is collect all the information you have about what you invented and when you invented it. You need this evidence to establish that you are the first person to invent the invention in the USA. If you don't have enough information then write it down ASAP and date it.

Next you need $5,000 to hire a patent attorney or patent agent to file a soild patent application. Now there are a lot of "self-help" books describing how to file a US patent and some people might even tell you about filing "provisional" patent application by yourself. But these two approaches are a waste of time if you are in the USA and if your invention is truly valuable.

The patent you will get by doing it yourself will not provide you the legal coverage you need to protect your invention and a "provisional" patent application does nothing for you if you are in the USA because a "regular" or non-provisional patent needs to be filed within one year anyway (as explained below). To be honest if your invention is worth anything then you should use a professional.

If you are a small inventor in the USA who cannot immediately afford the $5,000 or so needed to file a solid nonprovisional patent application then I would advise that you continue to perfect your invention and begin to sell your invention or do whatever you can to make $5,000 needed to pay for the patent application. I advise this to small inventors in the USA because they have a one-year grace period to file for US patent from the date they first offer to sell their invention or show it to the public. That will give you plenty of time to determine the true value of your invention if you work hard on promoting it.

Unfortunately small inventors outside the USA do not have these luxuries. They need to keep their invention secret until they file their patent application.

But even if you get a patent on your invention you are not out of the woods because you can still be cheated by the agreements and licenses you make with businesses.

If you don't believe me let me tell you the sad-but-true tale of Rollin White who invented the cartridge revolver (which made Smith & Wesson rich and famous) but left Rollin White bankrupt and forgotten because he agreed to pay for the defense of all lawsuits arising from his patent.

So please seek professional advice thoroughout this entire process!

Good Luck

Answer 4

http://www.uspto.gov/