Posted: 12/13/2010 4:11:20 PM EDT
| Educate me on the process of getting a patent. |
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Getting a patent = $ Defending a patent = $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ I figured that much. I don't know that it'll be as much of an issue as with some other things. Been in the industry since 1998 after growing up with it, and i've never even heard of the idea I have. It's nothing spectacular, but I think it could safe a few lives. I've looked for it for years, never found anything close. |
| You can file a "provisional patent" It provides you intellectual protection for one year and it isn't too expensive. Within the year you may convert the provisional patent into a "Utility Patent" Cost will depend on the patent attorney, lowest cost I've seen was ~7500.00 I was told once that a patent only provides you with the "right" to sue. |
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Go to http://www.freepatentsonline.com/ and search and search and search. Just because you haven't seen it for sale doesn't mean it isn't patented.
A patent is only worth what you can make off of the product. Or what someone else can make off of the product and pay you royalty. (usually 3-7% of the wholesale price of the product). Any advertisement or firm that "helps" people get their products patented is only out to get your money. They may have a success story or two but generally they make their money off people who dream about all the money they are gonna make. Provisional patent is the first step. A prototype or at least drawings are helpful. I have gotten provisionals filed for under 3K. Expect to spend at least 10K and up for the full patent. Once you get the patent there will be payments due to keep it that start low then ramp up. (to encourage people not capitalizing on the patents to drop them) |
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Invent something.
Prepare disclosure detailing what it is. Hire patent lawyer. File patent application. Wait 1-3 years. Haver patent application rejected. Pay lawyer more to battle with Patent Office. Get patent. Total cost: $5-10k. Better have a plan to make some money of the invention, or you are pissing money away. |
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As ARFCOM's resident Patent Nay-Sayer, I am contractually obligated to post this:
Don Lancaster's The Case Against Patents |
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As ARFCOM's resident Patent Nay-Sayer, I am contractually obligated to post this: Don Lancaster's The Case Against Patents The case for patents: Article I, Section 1, paragraph 8, the US Constitutions. "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" Now tell me about your case against firearms ownership. 
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As ARFCOM's resident Patent Nay-Sayer, I am contractually obligated to post this: Don Lancaster's The Case Against Patents The case for patents: Article I, Section 1, paragraph 8, the US Constitutions. "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;" Now tell me about your case against firearms ownership. Not sure if serious...
The author isn't saying that patents aren't a nice idea, he's saying that they're not at all useful in practice. If you read the link, it talks about the money needed to file a defensible patent. A friend who's getting a few patents said between $5k and $30k, depending on how complicated the idea is. And this patent doesn't mean people can't steal your idea, just that if they do, you can sue them. It then talks about the money needed to fight a patent lawsuit, if/when someone infringes your patent. Figure $50k to $100k. Now how much money will you need to have made off your idea to still come out ahead, after spending $53k to $130k on lawyers? You'd probably need at least that much in profit. Which equates to what, ten times that money in revenue? And this doesn't mean you'll win. Most likely, the company that steals your idea will just keep throwing lawyers at you until you run out of money or die of old age. I talked to the former VP of Mack Trucks last year. One of his patents has been the focus of a lawsuit that's been in and out of the courts for the last 17 years with no verdict, and he didn't expect one anytime soon. |
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Preparing and filing a non-provisional patent application can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 depending on the technology and complexity of the invention. That is just for filing the application.
The process of prosecuting the non-provisional patent application before the USPTO can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000+, depending on how close the invention is to the art. There is no guarantee that you will even be successful. If the USPTO determines that your invention and application satisfy all of the requirements of the Patent Act, your application will issue as a patent. You will then have to pay maintenance fees in the 4th, 8th, and 12th years of the term of your patent. A provisional application can be prepared for cheaper, but it will never be examined. It will expire after one-year. Before that time, you must file a non-provisional application claiming priority to it and go through the process above. Prices can be had cheaper, I guess, if you look around. |
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The author isn't saying that patents aren't a nice idea, he's saying that they're not at all useful in practice. Or at least not useful for the little guy. For a company like IBM that has deep pockets to hire lawyers - and may have billions of dollars riding on the outcome of a patent dispute - they can make sense. However, for an individual who has an idea that may generate just a few hundred thousand dollars over its entire lifetime, getting a patent - and defending it against infringers - is likely to be a huge waste of time, effort and money. |
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Invent something. Prepare disclosure detailing what it is. Hire patent lawyer. File patent application. Wait 1-3 years. Haver patent application rejected. Pay lawyer more to battle with Patent Office. Get patent. Total cost: $5-10k. Better have a plan to make some money of the invention, or you are pissing money away. It'll sell. I'm sure of that. |