how to patent an invention without a lawyer

In fact, federal law requires patent examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

(USPTO) to help individual inventors who apply for patents without a lawyer's help. To obtain a patent, you must first ensure that your invention actually qualifies for a patent and second, fill out the patent application.

Full Answer

How to file a patent without a lawyer?

Mar 30, 2000 · The decision to handle his own patents was an economic one; paying a lawyer $5,000 for each patent Stewart wanted to pursue would have meant legal bills exceeding $100,000. Stewart says he didn't ...

How to protect your invention without a patent?

Can I sell an idea without a patent?

How do I get a patent for my invention?

Mar 01, 2018 · In order to be granted a patent, not only must your invention itself be new and nonobvious, but the application must meet certain legal requirements (for example, it must disclose the invention in enough detail for someone in the field to reproduce it) and follow procedural requirements, such as detailed instructions on preparing drawings.

Can you do a patent search without a lawyer?

How much does it cost to patent an idea yourself?

How can I patent my invention for free?

Can you file patent as an individual?

What is the cheapest way to get a patent?

What is a poor man's patent?

Does my invention qualify for a patent?

What are the 3 types of patents?

Can you patent an idea without a prototype?

How do I patent myself idea?

How can I get a patent fast?

How do you protect an idea?

Keep A Careful Record of Your Invention

Record every step of the invention process in a notebook. Describe and diagram every aspect and every modification of the invention, including how...

Make Sure Your Invention Qualifies For Patent Protection

You cannot get a patent just on an idea. You must show how your invention works and your invention must be new. This means it must be different in...

Assess The Commercial Potential of Your Invention

Applying for a patent is a business decision. Even without a patent attorney or the use of professionally prepared patent drawings, it costs approx...

Do A Thorough Patent Search

To make sure your invention is new, you need to search all the earlier developments in your field. This involves searching U.S. (and sometimes fore...

Prepare and File An Application With The USPTO

When you file with the USPTO, you can either file a full-blown regular patent application (RPA) or a provisional patent application (PPA).Provision...

How to write a patent application?

Broadly put, there are four main tasks involved in drafting a patent application: 1 Describing your invention's background, including why your invention is different from other relevant inventions and deserves a patent. 2 Illustrating your invention through drawings, flowcharts, or diagrams (many inventors assign this task to graphic artists, though you can do it yourself with a self-help resource). 3 Describing your invention's physical structure (if any) and how it works. 4 Describing exactly what aspects of your invention you wish to patent (the patent claims).

Do patent attorneys do searches?

Most patent attorneys hire professional searchers to carry out patent searches for their clients, and you may want to do this, too. But if you are a serious inventor, sooner or later you'll want to learn how to search the patent database. Patent search centers on the Internet make this easier than ever.

What inventions did John Stewart make?

Among his patented inventions: hydraulic exercise equipment, a sidewalk lifter (to repair uneven sidewalks), an electric shaver, and a volleyball net adjuster.

Did Carol Randall get a patent?

Describing herself as "a housewife with a head full of ideas," Carol Randall says she had a great experience getting a patent herself. She received a patent for ear clips, which keep ears from being burned by hot combs or the chemicals in hair relaxers. Randall's experience with the Patent Office was very positive.

Who was John Jacoby?

John Jacoby of Huntingdon Valley, Pa. John Jacoby realized he was wasting his money on a patent lawyer after he gave the lawyer some legal information. The lawyer put the same information in a letter back to him -- and sent a bill for it. So he decided to save himself some money and struck out on his own.

Can you get a patent based on an idea?

You cannot get a patent just based on an idea. You must show how your invention works. In addition, your invention must be new (or "novel" in the parlance of patent lawyers). This means it must be different in some important way from all previous inventions in that field.

Do inventors need patent examiners?

Countless inventors have successfully navigated the patent system on their own. In fact, federal law requires patent examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to help individual inventors who apply for patents without a lawyer's help.

Did Carol Randall get a patent?

She received a patent for ear clips, which keep ears from being burned by hot combs or the chemicals in hair relaxers.

How to make an invention?

1. Keep a Written Record of Your Invention. Record every step of the invention process in a notebook. Describe and diagram every aspect and every modification of the invention, including how you initially envisioned the idea for it. Depending on the invention, you might also want to build and test a prototype.

How much does it cost to file a PPA?

All that is required to file a PPA is a fee ($65 for micro-entities, $130 for small entities, $260 for large companies); a detailed description of the invention, telling how to make and use it; and an informal drawing. Then, you must file an RPA within a year of filing the PPA.

What is an RPA?

Regular patent application (RPA): Filing an RPA, or regular patent application, starts the examination process at the USPTO, which is necessary for getting the actual patent. To learn what's involved in preparing a regular application, see Understanding Patent Applications.

How long do you have to patent an invention?

Legally speaking, you have one year from the first date of printed publication, first offer for sale or first public demonstration of the invention. However, ideally, you should file the patent application before you start any of these marketing activities.

How long do patents last?

Patents only last for 20 years from the filing date of the patent application. If your invention is better protected with a trade secret, you should not get a patent. In this way, trade secrets can help you to avoid the high cost of patent protection altogether. Read my article on whether you can get a patent on [32 different things] .

Is a recipe a trade secret?

For example, even though a recipe is protectable with a patent, a recipe may be better protected as a trade secret. Coca-cola protects its formula or recipe for its drink as a trade secret. Trade secret protection for certain recipes is better than patent protection because trade secret protection can last a lifetime.

Why is trade secret protection better than patent protection?

Trade secret protection for certain recipes is better than patent protection because trade secret protection can last a lifetime. Patents only last for 20 years from the filing date of the patent application. If your invention is better protected with a trade secret, you should not get a patent. In this way, trade secrets can help you to avoid ...

How long does a trade secret last?

Trade secret protects secret information. As such, at most, trade secret protection only lasts until you start to market your invention. Once you start to market the invention, the invention is out in the open. Trade secret protection ceases to exist for your invention.

Is a trade secret a trade secret?

The law states that if you treat the information as your trade secret, then it is your trade secret. On the other hand, if you don’t treat it like a trade secret, then it isn’t a trade secret. It sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy which it is.

Why do we need patent protection?

To bolster the protection, you would need patent protection to protect yourself against those that might independently derive the idea. And, patent protection protects you against those that hear your idea and try to file an improvement patent application based on what you just told them.

Can you sell a patent?

You can outright sell the patent itself. The benefit of selling the patent is that you have quick cash and you don’t have any responsibility later on if and when litigation occurs. The downside is that the sales price is all that you will make on the deal.

What happens if someone steals your idea?

If it even looks like they stole your idea or invention, then they might have a lawsuit on their hands. Because most ideas are not worthwhile, you are required to make your disclosure on a non-confidential basis. You have to protect it with a patent or trademark.

Can you ask a potential buyer to sign a nondisclosure agreement?

Even if you have a patent-pending status, you can always ask the potential buyer to sign a nondisclosure agreement before you share your idea with them. By doing so, you can have both 1) contractual rights via the nondisclosure agreement and 2) a priority date with the patent application.

What is an NDA?

An NDA is an invitation to a lawsuit. Nondisclosure agreements require them to keep things secret. If it even looks like they stole your idea or invention, then they might have a lawsuit on their hands. Because most ideas are not worthwhile, you are required to make your disclosure on a non-confidential basis.

Can Ideas Be Protected or Patented?

It’s important to know, “Can I patent an idea without a prototype?” Patents protect innovations and copyright protects expression, but both do not protect concepts. The concept is the primary step, but you won't get intellectual property protection, and exclusive rights will not be issued to you without a tangible or visible form of a concept.

Copyright

If you have a story idea instead of an invention, you should consider copyright for protection. Simply begin drafting or building your work. A copyright is automatic and instant when the original document is produced.

Kinds of Patents

The design patent or utility patent are both options in getting a patent for your invention. If your invention has a unique visual appearance,then you should get a design patent .Whenever you can, it is best to get both utility and design patent. Just recently, the U.S.

File a Patent Application Withouta Prototype

A prophetic patent is one that predicts the future instead of reporting the past. You don’t need to submit an example of the working device to the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office. This is called enablement by the U.S. Patent Office (35 USC 112).