patent

Has anyone patented some thing that they have made and thought it was a good idea???I have come up with a good idea and want to make and sell it but don't want it copied.how do you apply for a patent?? contact a patent lawyer or can you do it on-line?? does anybody have any suggestions??Thanks in advanced JD530

I have no patents, but did a remodel for a fellow who had 9. His last one was for a product that would sell for $.25 each, but figured the first one cost him $10,000. ($5000.00 for the patent, $5000.00 for the mold). Can't help you with the process of getting one-sorry!

I would document it with dates, drawings, pictures or whatever and then send it to yourself by registered mail.Then don't open it. Anything to protect it from being stolen from a corrupt patent attorney or whomever.

I have been through it #6079112 first thing to do is a( patent search)this will let ya know if it already exist in the arechives

I have an invention that works GREAT! I"ve talked to a patent attorney, as well as people that have applied for patents, and one who has a patent. A few pro"s, way more con"s. For starters, you can not patent an "idea". Should you turn your idea into a tangible product, you can put a patent on all, or part of that product. Lets say you now have a patent on a product. Did you know it is NOT illegal for someone to copy, and make the same exact product, right down to details & colors. Because you have the patent, you have the legal right to go after who ever copied your product. And that battle starts out at about $250,000.00 on each front you battle. Should 10 people copy your product, you"re talking $2,500,000.00. The better your product sells, the more fronts you will be fighting.

I have an invention that works GREAT! I"ve talked to a patent attorney, as well as people that have applied for patents, and one who has a patent. A few pro"s, way more con"s. For starters, you can not patent an "idea". Should you turn your idea into a tangible product, you can put a patent on all, or part of that product. Lets say you now have a patent on a product. Did you know it is NOT illegal for someone to copy, and make the same exact product, right down to details & colors. Because you have the patent, you have the legal right to go after who ever copied your product. And that battle starts out at about $250,000.00 on each front you battle. Should 10 people copy your product, you"re talking $2,500,000.00. The better your product sells, the more fronts you will be fighting.

I dont practice in the area of Intellectual Property, although as an engineer I did study it way back in law school (the late professor Harold R Woodard) and considered its practice. That being said, an "idea" isnt something for which you can be granted any protection, youre going to have to reduce and refine it to a new and useful product or way of doing something with plans, drawing, specificatiosn etc. etc. MY BEST PROFESSIONAL LEGAL ADVICE is to have an initial preliminary consultation with an Attorney who is licensed (our Jurisdiction has seperate detailed requirements and qualifications) and qualified in the highly specialized area of Intellectual Property. Hey I"m NOT saying you couldnt do a patent search yourself because why go to all the work and expense if someone has beat you to the punch IM ONLY SAYING THIS IS A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED AREA OF THE LAW AND YOU SHOULD CONSULT TRAINED PROFESSIONALS, at least for a preliminary discussion. After all if you can come up with a new and useful product or way of doing something you may end up with big bucks so is it worth the risk to trust your brother in law or a neighbor for advice??

Id also advise you NOT to go to one of the places advertised on late night TV concerning "inventions" UNTIL YOU CONSULT WITH A TRAINED AND QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL

Best wishes I hope the best for you

John T Country Lawyer in Indiana but certainly NOT a Patent Attorney, so dont rely on my advice

I have a patent...After getting it, I found out someone else can make an improvement on it and use your work with theirs..Another thing is the "maintenance fee" you have to pay to keep your patent on record..After a certain date, you are to pay a one time fee to maintain your patent..It was back in the early 80's...No more patents for me..

I too have had several good ideas to be patented.
I hear of the stories of someone else use the same idea and just change some small detail, and will bring out the same product with a patent using your idea.

I am afraid of those places that advertise of looking for good ideas.

I guess also you need a working model of the product being considered for patent.

I know a guy invented a fishing worm pump. used to create an air bubble to keep worm off bottom. next thing he found them for sale in a sports shop made of plastic and a smaller bulb.

His Idea inspired me to use a hypodermic needle to do the same thing ,but with today's laws I'd get charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

First thing is to realize who would steel your patent. If your afraid a couple neighbors down the road might copy it then it's no big deal and if your afraid John Deere or someone else with deep pockets and hot shot lawyers will steel it then you don't have the money to defend it anyway so don't bother. Just go out and build and sell as many as you can without a patent until some big boy starts building it then move on to something else.

I have 2 patents that were awarded when I worked at a company in the past. The company had a patent attorney do the research, file for and have the patent awarded. I was presented a $1 dollar bill from the vice-president to compensate me for each of them. In my opinion, they were pretty worthless. The patent lifetime is I believe 17 years. They were not something that I considered noteworthy. One of them I was not even aware that the patent had been applied for.
At one time I was sent to a law office where we were trying to defend a patent. At this meeting, I found out that one of the previous engineers at our company had copied the competition. The competitor had documents that preceded our patent and therefore nullified it. It was an uncomfortable situation.

Good theory ,but in order to sell an Item it's better to have it manufactured from a marketing standpoint.

The hours in labor and fabrication wouldn't be profitable if you were to sell 3 items Vs 3,000,000.

If an Idea isn't worth the cost to produce in large quantities, for molds,dies , or what ever it takes to produce. Then forget ever getting it patented

When I worked for an auto supplier back in the mid-90s the engineer I worked for designed a high-flow PWM valve. PWM stands for pulse-width-modulation. This was to be used for a transmission valve application. I made the valve in the machine shop, a co-worker tested the valve and the engineer designed the valve. I received a check for $150 from the company for the submission of the patent. (all I got was $150 which was better then nothing.)

Do your research on line to see if your product exists.

Do you want to mass produce this product and become a rich guy? (good luck) The Chinese will steal your idea and make it for pennys on the dollar.

Welllll.....
I came up with the idea of the McSurfnTurf, a burger patty and fish patty on the same sammich. I thought it was a natural after the McRib.....
no word from Ronald McDonald yet, but if you ever see it on a menu you know I thought of it first.
Also...the Reeses Pot Pie. No royalties on that one yet either.

JD:

A patent is, in effect, a contract between the inventor and the government. The inventor agrees to fully disclose his invention to the public (the published patent) while the government in exchange gives to the inventor a legal right to prevent others from practicing his invention for a limited period of time absent a license.

Note: The burden of enforcement is on the inventor and this can be VERY expensive. Litigation is where the real money is made by patent law firms.

You cannot patent abstract ideas, laws of nature or physical phenomena. You can patent processes, machines, manufactures and compositions of matter if they are useful (no prepetual motion machines) novel and non obvious.

In theory, one can prosecute ones own patent application but, as John T. has already told you, patent law is a HIGHLY specialized area of law, and I would certainly not recommend doing so especially if you believe that your inventnion has significant market value.

There are many procedural requirements that an applicant must follow in order to be granted a patent. The process can be time consuming and expensive but the real expense begins after the patent is granted if it has significant market value.

As an inventor, you must make a judgment call regarding the perceived value of your invention. If you believe that your invention has significant market value you should contact a patent attorney promptly. Do not use the invention mills advertised on TV and the internet.

Do not talk about your invention to others, do not show it to anyone and do not even offer to sell it. Once you do so the clock starts to tick and a patent will most likely be barred unless you file your application (a potentionally time consuming process) within one year.

Dean, who no longer practices patent law and who is NOT offering legal advice.

I helped in a patent legal fight once. Best you can do is try to get a share of their profits and/or enjoin them from selling it. It becomes a battle between the expert engineers which costs a small fortune. Too easy to lose so no contingency fees. You have to be well endowed to enforce your patent. Bottom line is once the accountants have watered down their profits, your percentage of them (you don't get them all) won't be worth it.

Of course there is a big difference between inventing an anti-gravity device and some machineable part to modify and make a hitch work better. Someone will just re-engineer it anyway.

You can do patent searches online. You can get the stuff to file it yourself as well.

The key is in the marketing. Why spend $10,000 for a patent for some hitch modification that no one will buy or pay you a royalty on. Makes for a fun academic project for students but the fun and academic portion will be all its worth end the end.

Without giving it away, call and see if any manufacturers are interested. Most likely you can't get in the front door without spilling beans even with a confidentiality agreement. Just as well file your own paperwork first.

About everything I see at the store can be improved on or I see something else I wish walmart sold. But me marketing it is a totally different deal. Could search through patents and look for things to improve on which is what the big companies do. You file something and they will improve on your improvement.

I can't stand those McRibs. They're nothing like honest to goodness ribs.

A Reeses Pot Pie sounds like something my kids would be interested in.

Christopher

Some of the advice is good, but not all. McRibs sometimes aren't so bad.

Repeats of what others have said...

Patents just say you have the right to take them to court.

Figure $750,000 retainer to get started if the IP is very complicated at all.

People with money can beat you up in court. It is easily manipulated.

Nobody will want your idea until it is making money. And then you will be attacked from all sides.

There are people at large companies whos job is to watch patents go by and see what is useful for stealing.

PWMs? They were old hat by the 90s, but patents are strange things. The exact same thing can be patented under different regimes. Claims are a tricky thing, and in recent years the patent system has been overrun with crap.

Prior art is the topic of importance.

Ideas are a dime a dozen.