
Getting A Patent For An Idea – That’s right, you can’t get a patent on just an “idea”, even the best idea in the world.
My name is J.D. Houvener and I am a patent attorney at Bold Patents Law Firm. My goal in this article is to tell you everything you need to know about the topatentan invention.
Getting A Patent For An Idea
Because this article contains a lot of important information, I have included a table of contents/navigation menu for your convenience. You can go to any section that interests you.
How To Patent An App Idea In 5 Steps
PS: For your visual learners, we have prepared a video that will help you understand the basics of obtaining a patent for your idea.
Additionally, below is a simplified diagram of the patent application process, showing the 4 main steps to patenting an idea.
They’ve even been color-coded throughout the article to help you understand where you are in the process.
Before you even think about hiring a patent attorney or trying to handle the patent application process yourself (this is not recommended), you need to know the answers to a few important questions.
In Today’s Market, Do Patents Even Matter?
If you have already done this, you can skip to Chapter 2 where you will learn how to conduct a patent search and ensure the marketability of your patent.
When I provide legal advice to my clients for the first time, it always pains me to hear the statement: “There are plenty of ideas.”
When you have an idea that can be described in so much detail that someone could build it just by reading the description and looking at the drawing, you have identified an invention.
When conducting a discussion, please approach it with an open mind. Many times I talk to clients and try to give them helpful advice, but they get stuck in their ways, making assumptions about the technology around them. Accept the criticism, it could save young people dollars and headaches in the future.
How To Patent An App Idea? [copyright An App Complete Guide] Openxcell
“a new and useful process, machine, manufacture or composition of material, or any new and useful improvement thereof, is eligible for patent protection.”
While the list of qualifying items seems quite extensive (and it is), there are some items that clearly fall outside this definition and have been the subject of solid judicial approval over the years.
You must obtain a qualifying opinion from a licensed and registered USPT patent attorney who understands the latest case law and can help you decide whether to pursue or find another patent route.
Instead, you will receive an insightful review that will look at various aspects of your invention and take into account certain features to provide a risk level that allows you to proceed.
What Do Patents Mean?
With so much change in the courts and among USPTO examiners, it is impossible to be 100% sure of anything, so the opinion will only include a risk assessment and it will be up to you whether you proceed.
Once you have talked to a patent attorney and obtained the signs of eligibility, you are well on your way to obtaining a patent for your idea!
There are TWO important questions that need to be answered from the very beginning so as not to trip you up further down the road.
These questions will become very important as the inventor prepares to take the required oath disclosing all known inventors under 37 CFR 1.66.
Easy Steps To Patent An Idea
A question that often arises is whether it was the people or entities who helped create the prototype or the developers who created the software application.
Whether it is admission, knowledge, or discovery under the above inventor inquiry, it is extremely important to identify all co-inventors before filing a patent application.
Co-inventors, obtain the same rights as each inventor to have exclusivity over the ENTIRE invention to prevent any person (non-inventor) in an applicable jurisdiction from making, using, selling or importing the invention.
This also means that no co-inventor may prevent another co-inventor from exercising his or her rights to exclude others from making, using, selling or importing the invention. These rules apply unless the inventor has transferred his or her invention to another person or entity (see patent assignments).
Free Provisional Patent Application
If you have co-created a project or feel you are unsure who the inventors on your project are, please follow the steps below or click here to book a free consultation and get help.
This inquiry may be quite detailed, and the opinion regarding the ownership of the invention may be an important issue to discuss with your local patent attorney who has been subject to the statute of limitations.
Here’s a great chart that should help you see the BIG benefits of analyzing the market and developing a business plan for your invention.
This may not be a surprise to seasoned professionals who know that intellectual property is the key to competing at the highest level, but for many newcomers, especially millennials, they grew up on the concept of sharing, open source and crowdfunding and patent grants .
How To Get A Patent For An Idea In 7 Simple Steps?
As you will see below, if you disclose your invention to the public inappropriately, you may lose the ability to make claims for your invention yourself before filing a patent application – you have made it available to the public without any recourse for monetary gain.
The United States patent statute provides a one-year limited grace period for inventors to publish an invention before it becomes public domain. This means that if you publish your invention (take it to a trade show, put it on Kickstarter, present your company and technology at an angel convention, etc.), you start a yearly timer.
Be careful about publishing your invention in a trade journal, at an exhibition, or presenting it to a panel of sharks, etc. In many countries, you have potentially lost your exclusive rights to manufacture, use and sell there.
Each time you sell or even offer to sell your patented product or service, TOO begins a one-year grace period in the U.S. and may result in loss of rights in other countries.
Taking An Invention From Idea To The Store Shelf
This is a contract, like any other contract, that should be taken quite seriously and you should hire a lawyer to ensure that it will be binding and enforceable on all parties who sign it.
The main disadvantage of a non-disclosure agreement (also called a non-disclosure agreement or NDA) is that you rely on the agreement to save your invention.
If the other party breaches the contract and shares your invention with someone else – your only recourse is to fight a legal battle to enforce the contract… and now you have wasted valuable time and resources on what you really should be focusing on: learning how to write a patent application and fold it and secure it!
Instead of relying on an NDA to protect your interests and confidentiality, unless you absolutely require bringing someone else on the project for funding or additional technical reasons – you should work with a USPTO registered patent attorney to file your patent application to get everything valid DATE COMPOSITIONS. You can then share your invention with anyone and everyone without worrying about confidentiality.
How Do You Obtain A Patent? Tips For Getting Creative Work Patented
The real charm of filing a patent application is that it is “patent pending,” which frees the inventor from having to worry about showing all his cards.
This means that any improvements you come across, any potential new uses or alternatives you come across in user research, or customer feedback MUST REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL.
You should treat any improvement (no matter how subtle) as closely as you would a new invention (because it might as well be).
The way to monetize patents is to enforce them, and the best way to enforce a technology is not just one patent, but a portfolio of patents covering a broad area/scope of the industry and market.
How To Patent An Idea In 7 Steps
At this point, you understand the difference between an idea and an invention, you realize that your idea is patentable, you identify the inventor and ownership, the goals developed, and hopefully you have learned that you are not barred from patenting.
Now it’s time to conduct both a patent search and market analysis to determine both the patentability and marketability of your idea.
A patent search is the process of searching a database of existing patents to make sure your invention doesn’t already exist.
Patent searches help you save time and money by finding out at an early stage whether your idea is worth pursuing.
Your Patent Expert
I recommend doing your own patent search first (I’ve provided a guide below) and then, after doing your due diligence, book a free consultation so your lawyer can conduct a professional search.
Here we delve even deeper into it to further emphasize the importance of having a ROI plan in place.
I tell inventors that simply granting a patent won’t make money – you have to go to market and make it happen.
The Patent Success Matrix was created to help inventors, entrepreneurs and business owners see that marketability (economic viability) is just as important as patentability (the ability to obtain a patent, often determined by a patent search) when it comes to a successful invention.
Provisional Patent Application Templates (free) ᐅ Templatelab
The patent success matrix consists of two areas. One focused on the patentability of your invention and the other on how it would perform in the marketplace. Both areas are needed for the invention to be successful.
At this stage we will focus on patentability or search. In step 7 we will change the focus
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