I have a pretty good idea for a new invention. Part of it, I can actually build, the other parts are just ideas on how to do something. How do I go about getting a patent and making sure somebody doesnt have this idea already?

1/15/2008 4:11:45 PM

http://www.google.com/patents?hl=en

Patents are expensive. It better be a good idea.

1/15/2008 4:17:16 PM

http://www.amazon.com/Patent-Yourself-David-Pressman/dp/0873375637

Get the newest version of Patent it Yourself (it is updated yearly) and do work.
or
Pay a patent lawyer about $10k.

[Edited on January 15, 2008 at 4:20 PM. Reason : s]

1/15/2008 4:18:19 PM

As someone who just went through this, I would advise you to try and go it alone. I did all of the research and writeup myself, and then contacted a local patent attorney prior to submission to the USPTO. In the end, it cost me over $7k for this jerkoff to basically cut and paste my report into his company's form letter. I'd advise you to spend time on the USPTO site, get used to reading the applications and prepare to write yours in a similar manner. There's plenty of instruction on how to do things on their site, and I'd completely suggest you going in that direction. The first thing you need to do, however, is do a pretty thorough search on similar ideas. My attorney told me that somewhere around 95% of all applications are rejected on first pass. Best of luck.

1/15/2008 5:17:40 PM

^ The book I posted is supposed to be pretty thorough according to the reviews I read. It is probably easier than trying to use the patent office website. It also has all the forms which are also available from the patent office website as well.

1/15/2008 5:30:48 PM

you dont need a patent.

at bare minimum you are looking at around 2500 bucks to get one, if its makes it through on the first pass.

if you REALLY think its that good of a concept, file a disclosure with intent to file. that buys you a year for a few bucks. then you can shop the idea around.

even without knowing what it is, I can almost guarantee you that either:

a) its already been patented and the patent has expired
or
b) its already been patented
or
c) its got no market value

1/16/2008 3:36:28 AM

b/c Noen knows a lot about everything

1/16/2008 9:19:06 AM

It is utterly ridiculous how expensive it is to patent something. I would think that they would make it fairly cheap to encourage innovation. I wonder how many good ideas went down the drain because someone didn't have the money to get it patented.

Does anyone know why it is so expensive?

1/16/2008 10:08:57 AM

because you're paying for the highest level of protection on your ideas and it keeps joe schmoe from patenting every little thing in the world

1/16/2008 10:11:36 AM

Quote :

"patent.......to encourage innovation."

haha, intellectual property rights haven't really been about encouraging creative innovation for decades

they've devolved into a tool used to limit competition for and over-protect the "property" of huge corporations


^
suggesting that patents should have a prohibitive cost to prevent frivolous patent applications is ridiculous

and you can't patent "every little thing in the world" anyway; there are logical and sensible rules of merit

(you can't patent the concept of a circle, etc.)

Quote :

"I wonder how many good ideas went down the drain because someone didn't have the money to get it patented."

not down the drain, but into the hands of the fascist corporate oligopoly

Quote :

"or b) its already been patented"

you might wonder, "If my super idea has already been patented, why don't I see it?"

you see, the fascist oligopoly will buy patents that threaten their interests, then just "sit on them", never to be seen




[Edited on January 16, 2008 at 11:39 AM. Reason : ]

1/16/2008 11:37:06 AM

Quote :

"It is utterly ridiculous how expensive it is to patent something. I would think that they would make it fairly cheap to encourage innovation. I wonder how many good ideas went down the drain because someone didn't have the money to get it patented. Does anyone know why it is so expensive?"

I'm sure the costs of running the patent office are not cheap. There is a reason patent lawyers can charge $300 per hour (or so I've heard.) If I remember correctly they will assign a person to help you research and develop your patent application as well. I'm sure the administrative people in the patent office are not minimum wage workers.

I don't think it is overly expensive. If it were cheaper it would turn into a fiasco not unlike domain name registration where people buy them on a whim and it is very difficult for people with a legitimate use to get a proper domain name.

1/16/2008 12:47:08 PM