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I know it seems strange to ask this here in E.H., but we have so many knowledgeable members that I thought I'd give it a shot. Anyway, is anyone here familiar with how to patent/trademark an idea/invention? I looked up my idea on the U.S. Patent and Trademark website and it appears that no one else has come up with it yet, but sifting through all of the various steps and procedures was exhausting and not particularly helpful. Is there any easy way to just protect my idea until I can make a prototype and jump through all of the necessary hoops for trademarking? I'm pretty broke, so a patent lawyer is out of my ability.
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Re: Patents and trademarks
Wed, June 24, 2009 - 8:12 PMBest advise... keep your mouth absolutely shut until you have a prototype. Patent law has been made extremely complex by corporations to keep individuals from patenting ideas.
There is a patents for dummies. In general I have found various ones in that series helpful in a variety of situations
www.amazon.com/Patents-Co.../0764525514
And at 2.39 seems a sound investment
JSin
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Re: Patents and trademarks
Wed, June 24, 2009 - 10:40 PM
<Is there any easy way to just protect my idea until I can make a prototype and jump through all of the necessary hoops for trademarking? I'm pretty broke, so a patent lawyer is out of my ability. >
I would be buying that book!
If I recall.. there is two ways to deal with it.. patent, or "run". Run is when you get into the market so quickly and effectively that you seize the market before others do. This is especially a good idea if your idea has a limited life. To properly box an idea and lock others out of it can be really expensive because to do it properly, you need to act internationally and also patent variations on your original idea...
It really depends on the idea.. if it is a killer and you are broke.. I would be considering approaching a lawyer and trying to give him payment through a share or sales and then once protected find some venture capital. Some Countries have Bureaus for inventors which can help... I would make some investigations on that tack...probably first.. You also might find a local larger law first having seminars on this to attract clients.. that's where I got a basic understanding of this issue.. for free :)
And it is not just about getting the patents in place - it is about enforcing them - which are civil cases.... Even Global Orgaisations sometimes have trouble excluding others from using their Intellectual Property - the core idea of a patent.
But asking in tribes like this is not such a bad idea.. you never know who you might bump into..
The Trademark is a different thing. Two distinct questions here..
It is my (very basic) understanding you don't have to register a TM to establish rights to it....
Straight from wiki, where i was looking to see info on how it works in the States
"The two symbols associated with U.S. trademarks ™ (the trademark symbol) and ® (the registered trademark symbol) represent the status of a mark and accordingly its level of protection. While ™ can be used with any common law usage of a mark, ® may only be used by the owner of a mark following registration with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO or PTO) and designates such. The proper manner to display either symbol is immediately following the mark in superscript style."
For me.. I would buy the book as a starting point :)
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Re: Patents and trademarks
Thu, June 25, 2009 - 1:53 PMSeveral things to know about patents...
Only 2% of all patents received in the US are enforceable in court. This means that even though a company or person might have been granted a patent, when push comes to shove only 2% can be protected by a court decision. Yes, I know this might be hard to believe. Generally what can be shown is that a patent is nullified by an obscure claim in an already existing patent or that there was prior art - the defendant can show that the concept was already in use, or a facsimile was use by which an expert in the field could easily come up with the same or quite similar idea. Real 'pioneering patents' are rare. It is almost impossible to perform a definitive search, so what might seem to you to be a unique idea might not be.
Litigating a patent infringement suit averages over $200,000, so unless you have deep pockets, you're going to have an uphill battle.
It is quite common that once an idea has been received by the patent office - someone will start a dummy corporation and begin selling a product based on the idea. They will keep the assets of the corporation low. If the patent isn't granted then they will just keep on sucking whatever profits they can out of the idea, process, etc. If they are sued then they'll just declare bankruptcy.
One recommendation I might have would be to document your project well. Make good notes and take pictures. Date everything. When you do get something that is salable, sell a couple across state lines. This will not curtail your ability of later applying for a patent.
Good luck.
