Should I File a Patent Applicaiton
By: Frank Chen | Posted: 08th December 2010
Should I file a patent application online for my invention?
To all the inventors out there just like me. This is something that only you can decide for yourself. Don't let other inventors or a bunch of forums filled with bad advice tell you this or that. You have to decide if you invention is something you want to patent. I have filed many patents for my various inventions. While some were not worth the trouble or money, some of my patents most definitely were and I made a few modest bucks. In making your decision, let me offer a few words of advice.
A. Avoid those companies that say they will market your invention for you.
Those companies are just trying to get you to spend a few hundred bucks for nothing. They may send an e-mail to various third party companies and claim that those third parties are going nuts for your invention. Only you can know this for sure by doing your own market research to see if anyone is interested in your invention. Those companies might also send you some information on filing a patent. That's it. They charge you a bunch of money to do nothing. If you rely on one of those companies that claim they will turn your invention into a success, your invention will go nowhere.
Instead, I say do your research. Research the patenting procedures. Research the market prospects of your invention. If you feel you must, file a provisional application for a patent (which only costs a few hundred dollars with the review and supervision of a professional), instead of filing a full blown utility patent (which may cost you several thousand dollars before you even realize that the market stinks). Avoid those companies that say they will take care of your invention. They won't. You must patent your invention yourself. You must research the market yourself. Trust yourself and do it yourself. The process is not as overwhelming if you take it one step at a time.
B. Get Your Products Built
Just because you get a patent does not mean you will have a million companies lining up at your door to license your invention. It might happen. But it's probably not going to be that easy. Once you have secured a patent, either by filing a utility application or a provisional application, think about how you are going to let the public know about your wonderful patent pending product.
Think about it. It's not going to be that patent that anyone cares about. Only you and your competitors care about the patent. The buying public wants to see the product they need to use. It's the product without the competition that will make you money. You have to market your product to the public.
If it's something you can't build prototype of yourself, then you can consult a fabricator or small manufacturer to build your invention into a product. You must not worry about them or anybody stealing your ideas. There is nothing to steal. At this point you have secured your patent and your patent has disclosed your invention anyway. Besides, a lot of these prototype-building folks know the rules and know the serious trouble they can get into if they try to patent for themselves something that you already have a patent on. If you have filed a provisional application, you have one year to market your patent pending product to see if anyone is interested. If the market looks decent, you might then want to consider filing a utility patent application. So, trust the system and get out there.
C. Avoid cheap sites that make you fill out forms to file a provisional application
You need to have a professional look at your provisional application. If this is your first patent, you need to make sure that you know your provisional application is up to snuff. You can't know for sure without someone reviewing your invention description. Don't go to sites that have you file a patent application online by filling out blank forms for $150. What can you resonably expect to get out of that? If you plan to file a patent application online, which I recommend because it's cheaper and faster, you need to submit your information to a professional online patent service that provides a secure way for you to transmit your information for them review it.
To get out there and do your research, I suggest you look at sites like the USPTO uspto.gov or the WIPO www.wipo.int to better understand the big picture. You can get all the information you need from a patent firm about how to file a patent application at Patent UFO www.patentufo.com
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Tags: e mail, few words, third parties, bad advice, inventions, step at a time, nuts, patent application, third party companies, invention, worth the trouble, patents, several thousand dollars, words of advice, inventors