how to apply for a patent? anyone? (1 Viewer)

[Mike SJ]

I know this could be in the after hours section but I have an idea that I think might revolutionalize speakers, but i am pretty clueless on how to apply for the patent. Ive seen discussion on XBL2 and split gap and a bunch of other new technology and wanted to know how they went about getting the patent app. Ive read some from the official patent office site and I guess I have to have a reasonable presentation drawn up but I wanted to know what else I had to do and the like... anyone? such as, do I need detailed calculations or just mainly the concept and idea...

my goal is to sell the patent to a speaker company after I get it, cause I definately dont have the $ for R&D, and Im not a speake company myself.


or perhaps just someone to explain the process

 

[ThomasW]

http://www.uspto.gov/web/patents/howtopat.htm

 

[dave alan]

The guidelines for formatting a provisional patent and/or patent application are very strictly adhered to.

I submit that it should be done through a competent Patent Attorney.

I learned by reading similar patents and studying the format that way, then wrote it up myself and took that to my patent/trademark atty to format it formally and see to the procedures from there.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[dave alan]

The guidelines for formatting a provisional patent and/or patent application are very strictly adhered to.

I submit that it should be done through a competent Patent Attorney.

I learned by reading similar patents and studyiong the format that way, then wrote it up myself and took that to my patent/trademark atty to format it formally and see to the procedures from there.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Mark Fitzsimmons]

Why don't you tell us this revolutionary idea in detail and we'll help you get that patent.

j/k, good luck.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Thomas' link will get you there. You CAN do the application on your own. I wrote two, one rather detailed, because it was for an electonic item - an electronic "book" using memory modules and an LCD screen so you could read books of all kinds on it. I envisioned college bookstores the size of an office cube, etc. We then hired a patent attorney who submitted it and the patent office came back with several questions. Our small group didn't have the money for further R&D and attorney fees, so we dropped it. A year late, Sony announced their "Electronic Book":frowning: It was an interesting experience.
As they say: "go for it"!

 

[Rich_P]

I can certainly attest to them being very strict about their rules. My brother is a patent examiner for the USPTO. He examines only Biomedical patents - like implants and medical devices. But he tells me a lot about how he rejects patents with the most basic devices out there. It all depends on how you word your claims. He told me that he had a patent in front of him for some sort of complex blood separation device, but one of the claims of the device ended up being rejected by citing a coffee maker. Thus the whole patent had to be revised. It's not cheap to submit patents, and if you don't know what you're doing it could take forever to get it just right. I have to agree that getting a competent attorney is really more cost / time effective than it may initially seem.

 

[Paul Stiles]

The patent attorney, after first taking your money, will do a patent search to see if somone else has already patented your idea, or one substantially similar, or if your idea is a logical progression of another patented idea or something in the public domain.

You can always do a "web search" on your idea to see if someone else has already posted information on your idea. Sort of like a preliminary patent search.

Paul

 

[Rich_P]

Paul doestn't seem to have a high opinion of patent attorneys... hehehe. Good point though - if you're not sure if someone else has already patented your idea / invention you might want to check that first on your own. When you actually go to draw up your patent, however, i suggest you get an attorney. If you'd rather give it a try yourself, i'm guessing there are plenty of resources out there that can at least get you started. The thing that i want to reiterate is that it's not just your invention as a whole they'll be looking at. If you specify certain claims that can be refuted by other patents, you may be looking at a rejection. The attorney would also have a better idea of how to word your claims such that someone else can't just rip you off and specify things differently. I realize all that is terribly vague, but i think you probably get the idea.

 

[Chad Anson]

Just a friendly bit of non-legal advice -- if your end game is to sell the patent to a speaker company, be prepared for a steep uphill battle. Most companies will not be very, if at all, receptive.

If you're set on doing it, then hire a patent attorney -- check around for a small firm or solo practitioner for better rates. I submit that, as a general rule, even if you are able to get your patent issued without the assistance of a patent attorney/agent, it will be all but worthless when it comes time to enforce or license it. There are a lot of pitfalls in patent drafting, especially in the claims section, that can absolutely kill the worth of a patent.

Finally, understand that there is currently between an 18-month to 3-year backlog in most technology groups in the patent office.

Good luck!

 

[JohnA]

I applied for a technology patent in the USA and was awarded it after two years. The European patent took an additional six months.

This was using my companies full time patent attorney.

There are a few things that where stressed to me.

If you present the technology prior to filing for a provisional patent, you potentially loose your rights to it.

If you sell, give or otherwise distribute your idea prior to provisional patent filing, you potentially loose your rights to it.

If you ship said technology to europe as product, prototype or samples for market testing, you potentially loose your rights to it - first one to file is granted the patent.

-

 

[Mike SJ]

Dang, well Dan's Parthenon was what I was thinking about.....

ha I wish I could think up things as beastly as that