I don't know where to start. A friend told me to get a patent right away so that the idea is identified as mine and noone else can steal the idea from me.
2007-12-15 12:38:12 · 6 answers · asked by spaz5629 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The first thing to do is to INVENT something. You cant patent and idea.
A valid patent must describe how to MAKE and USE the invention so that one of ordinary skill in the art could make and use the invention without undue experimentation.
If you can do that, write it down and file a patent application. You should get an attorney or agent to do that for you...but its not a requirement. A provisional application will put your idea on record...which will give you some protection...and give you a year to see if there is any interest in it...if so... you can spend some money and file a full blown utility application....
if 10 or 20 grand for the application process seems unreasonable....then... you should think about how wonderful this invention is.....if it wont make that much for you....then why bother....
If you are in the US , you can find a patent attorney or agent by searching the roster of attorneys and agents that you can find at
www.uspto.gov
2007-12-16 05:07:21 · answer #1 · answered by cato___ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Unfortunately, an idea alone is not enough to get a patent, and like someone else mentioned, getting a patent is very expensive and time consuming (figure 10's of thousands of $$$ and 2+ years). The truth is that very few individuals get patents nowadays; almost all patents belong to large companies who employ engineers, scientists, etc.
If you truly have something novel and useful, you pretty much have to be able to build a working prototype. Then you should discuss it with marketing experts in that industry to determine how valuable your product might be. If it's very valuable, then you should talk to a patent attorney and they will help determine whether your product is patentable.
p.s. - "Writing down your idea" would give you a copyright only on the writing itself, but would do nothing to protect your actual idea.
2007-12-15 19:00:15 · answer #2 · answered by phab_4 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Joshot: The category is LAW & Ethics. This question DOES fit
netjr: Registering a copyright of a description is NOT the equivalent of patenting an invention.
Unless you have a sufficiently DETAILED description to build a prototype from, you don't have anything to patent. If you DO, you should consult a patent attorney to find out if your 'idea' is even eligible for patent protection. Just because the product is not currently available, it may already be protected by someone elses patent.
2007-12-15 13:58:15 · answer #3 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A patent won't keep anyone form stealing the idea from you.
in fact, patents make public information that may be better protected by trade secrets or other methods.
Not only that, but a patent my be declared invalid after the fact, or it may already exist. and it is easy to engineer around a particular patent.
if you don't have the resources to defend a patent, and that is incredibly expensive, then it is better to explore other methods of protection.
Unless you have a feasible business plan and the ability to finance it, it doesn't make sense to even think about filing a patent for vanity purposes.
2007-12-16 05:10:24 · answer #4 · answered by Barry C 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Patents are incredibly expensive and time consuming. Write up a description and copy right it - that is cheap and affordable - you can get that done tomorrow. Search "copy right" on the web and there are tons of web sites that can do it for you.
2007-12-15 12:40:51 · answer #5 · answered by netjr 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
How is this a political question???
2007-12-15 12:43:49 · answer #6 · answered by Joshot 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋