DuckSouth.com

Has anyone on here ever applied for a patent and how did you go about doing so? I know there are all these patent agencies you see adds for but I really don't know if they are trustworthy. I'm sure I will eventually need a patent lawyer in the final process, but is there preliminary paper work for the patent application I can fill out without needing a lawyer first? Any info would be appreciated.

http://www.uspto.gov/

Have you looked here?

First you have to file for (and receive) a "patent pending". This is good for 1 year. During this year, you will have to file the full patent paperwork. There is a pretty extensive review / revise process. Typically it takes 3-4 years before you actually receive the patent.

We are using a patent attorney for our project. We will have about $ 5-6K in fees by the time we receive our patent. Ours is a mechanical patent (not technology).

Thats about all I know, hope that helps.

Contact the patent attorney now.....not later.

Best advice I can give you..............if you can not afford to defend the patent, then you are wasting your time. Big companies will steal it and market it and try you every way they can. And even after you win the suit they (big companies) usually are just told to quit selling the item, and if they do sell to pay you a royalty.

Now there are some legit companies that will work with you....and contact you to sell your item.......so it not all bad, just wanted to give you the negative aspect.

DUCKAHOLIC wrote:Contact the patent attorney now.....not later.

Best advice I can give you..............if you can not afford to defend the patent, then you are wasting your time. Big companies will steal it and market it and try you every way they can. And even after you win the suit they (big companies) usually are just told to quit selling the item, and if they do sell to pay you a royalty.

Now there are some legit companies that will work with you....and contact you to sell your item.......so it not all bad, just wanted to give you the negative aspect.

I know of a certain "well known" outdoor product company that budgeted money for fees associated with manufacturing things that they didn't have patents on. It was just worth it for them to pay the fees / fines etc.

I agree, not sure alot of patents are good unless you're ready to defend them. But I will say, if you have a product that you are trying to "license" to large companies, you usually won't even be considered unless you have a patent in place.

I am not sure about the whole process. Our corporate lawyers handle it for us. What I do know.......

If you haven't already done it, the first thing you need to do is an invention disclosure. Just a brief summary and/or sketch of your design. It needs to be dated and signed by you and a witness. It could be a form you type up or a sketch and signature on a bar napkin. It doesnt matter as long as you have some proof that you came up with the idea.

The United States is a "first to invent" country. If someone else catches wind of your idea and beats you to the patent office, you are covered by this disclosure. However, I have heard rumors from our R & D department that the gov't is looking to change the rules to "first to patent" like the rest of the world. If that is the case, it is a race to the patent line no matter who had the idea first....

So I guess another question I have is if I did have all documentation showing and proving that I came up with the idea and detailed drawings and a prototype (I'm a mechanical engineer so I can do all of the drawings and such) would I be pissing into the wind if I tried to sell the idea to a large company withput having patent rights? Basically have them sign all documentation that this was my idea and I am selling this idea for x amount of money to the company. I guess the big hesitation about that is showing the product then them deny me and a month later they have this product on the shelf. Obviously I don't have the money or the facility to mass produce the item therefore I will need to get it into a manufactures hands one way or another but can I do that safely with out a patent and only having my proof and documentation of being the creator?

I'm sorry deeks but somebody is already making one of those cow silhouettes.
Seriously though, I've been pondering the same questions. I have a few things I think would be good, practical items.

DuckTruck wrote:

DUCKAHOLIC wrote:Contact the patent attorney now.....not later.

Best advice I can give you..............if you can not afford to defend the patent, then you are wasting your time. Big companies will steal it and market it and try you every way they can. And even after you win the suit they (big companies) usually are just told to quit selling the item, and if they do sell to pay you a royalty.

Now there are some legit companies that will work with you....and contact you to sell your item.......so it not all bad, just wanted to give you the negative aspect.

I know of a certain "well known" outdoor product company that budgeted money for fees associated with manufacturing things that they didn't have patents on. It was just worth it for them to pay the fees / fines etc.

I agree, not sure alot of patents are good unless you're ready to defend them. But I will say, if you have a product that you are trying to "license" to large companies, you usually won't even be considered unless you have a patent in place.

You can make and sell products without having a patent and there is no fine. The patent just protects you from having your product copied by some else. And just because you have a patent doesn't mean that someone else can't make a slight change to your design and apply for a new patent. More than likely they are being fined for infringing on someone else's patent.

kb7722 wrote: You can make and sell products without having a patent and there is no fine. The patent just protects you from having your product copied by some else. And just because you have a patent doesn't mean that someone else can't make a slight change to your design and apply for a new patent. More than likely they are being fined for infringing on someone else's patent.

I believe he was implying that they launch a product knowing that they are infringing on an existing patent and money is budgeted for the resulting fees/lawsuit.

deeksdown,

The first step is consulting a GOOD, and I mean REALLY GOOD, patent attorney. There are a ton of pitfalls if the patent isn't handled right from start to finish. You might also consider doing a quick search of the US Patent Office website to make sure there's not something similar already out there. You'll be amazed how many patents there are for products and ideas that have never seen the light of day in production.

On your second question, without a patent you really have no protection if you show your idea to a company and they decide to run with it and cut you out. Some will and some won't, and there's no way to know what they'll do until the deal is done. On the other hand, it has to be a very marketable product to be worth the investment in a patent, and most items in the outdoor industry aren't worthy of a patent. The numbers just don't add up. Of course I'm just assuming it's an outdoor item.

I can give y'all the name and number of one of the biggest patent lawyers in the country. He worked in DC in the Patent office and was then hired by one of the biggest patent law firms in the country. He's worked there now for 10-15 years. He lives in Nashville but comes down here all the time b/c he and his wife grew up here. If you're real interested let me know and I'll give you his information. He goes all over to medical schools doing patents on medical devices, but does it all.