How do you patent ideas?

Patent or exclusive rights for my Ideas

• I would like to know the following? 1. I have ideas related to software/hardware/e-commerce, which when I discuss with my friends are likeable, but I am not heading in the right direction, as the development cost is high or implementation cost is high? Is there any Govt. agency/Organization that helps in protecting my exclusive rights for those ideas, after I discuss my ideas with them? 2. Is there any authentic website/organization which can help me implement those ideas? 3. How can anyone patent an idea instead of the product? 4. Are there any organizations which build and implement ideas of others and then give due credit to the designer? I have discussed few ideas with my mentor, and he guided me to approach the company, but when I approached the company which can implement it, they asked me to build a prototype for them, which is not feasible, and I am worried that they might implement it on their own without giving due credit to me, as I have discussed my idea with them. Looking forward to your answers. Please be precise in your answer, and be very specific.

• Answer:

  Given your desire to avoid involving an attorney at this time, the best step you could take would be to file a provisional patent application on your own. This would give you up to 12 months to pursue developing and marketing your invention before you would need to spend significant amounts of money on a patent attorney/patent agent and patent application fees. Both patent attorneys and patent agents are qualified to file patent applications on your behalf with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Patent agents typically cost less, but they are unable to litigate, nor can they handle trademark issues. The provisional patent application does not require you to have the formal drawings required of a non-provisional application, and also does not require claims, which are constructed in specialized legal language and are difficult for non-experts to construct successfully. To begin the process, I would first advise you to visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office at www.USPTO.gov and search the existing patent database to see how unique your idea truly is. If there is something already out there that is virtually identical, a patent may be difficult to obtain or may be of minimal commercial value. The prior art patents are grouped by classification, so you would want to identify which classifications are likely to apply to your invention, and then check out the prior art in those areas. Fulltext searching for relevant keywords can be done for patents published after 1976. The least expensive way for you to begin protecting your invention would be to file a Disclosure Document. However, it is a much less strong form of protection than a provisional patent application. "A provisional application is retained by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for at least 21 years and may be converted to a non-provisional application, but a Disclosure Document is only retained in the USPTO for a period of two years. A Disclosure Document is NOT a patent application, and the date of its receipt in the USPTO will not become the effective filing date of any patent application subsequently filed. However, the date of the Disclosure Document's receipt provides evidence of a date of conception if it is referenced in a related patent application. The Disclosure Document brochure is at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/disdo.html. A provisional application provides the means to establish an earlier effective filing date for a patent application and permits the term "Patent Pending" to be applied in connection with the invention. A foreign application may claim priority to a provisional application, but a disclosure document may not be relied upon for priority. Information on provisional applications is at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm. Upon request, the USPTO will send Disclosure Document and Provisional Patent Application brochures including forms. For additional information, you may contact the USPTO Contact Center (UCC) and request to be transferred to the Inventors Assistance Center (IAC). IAC representatives are available Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time." "What is the difference between a disclosure document and a provisional application?" United States Patent and Trademark Office http://www.uspto.gov/main/faq/ In addition to law firms and patent agencies that only provide standard patent application assistance, various firms exist that purport to help you market and license your invention. "Invention development companies are private and public research companies that help inventors develop, patent, and promote their ideas so they can be commercially licensed or sold. While many of these organizations are legitimate, some are not." "DO NOT disclose your invention to a developer over the phone before first signing a confidentiality agreement. You could forfeit valuable patent rights." "Can you give me some information on companies that can help with my invention?" United States Patent and Trademark Office http://www.uspto.gov/main/faq/ One place to start investigating invention promotion firms, if you decide to go that route, is http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/data.htm#LicensePromotion "Published Complaints" United States Patent and Trademark Office. Another source of possible aid in developing your invention is your state government. "In nearly all states there are state planning and development agencies or departments of commerce and industry to assist inventors . If you do not know the names and addresses of your state organizations, you may obtain this information by writing to the governor of your state or by accessing the Small Business Administration Web site at http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov." "How do I get help marketing my invention?" United States Patent and Trademark Office http://www.uspto.gov/main/faq/ Importantly, you should not make any additional disclosures of your invention to anyone without having them signing nondisclosure agreement. Preferably, you should wait until you have filed a provisional patent application so that you can label all of the materials associated with your invention as Patent Pending. You cannot sue anyone for violating your patent until you have actually had a patent issued, but the Patent Pending notice would allow you to collect additional damages if your suit was successful. You do not have to have actually made your invention. As long as you can describe how it would work, and that description is credible, you can pursue obtaining a patent on it. You can also patent business processes and methods for doing things, although this has become more difficult because of recent controversies in this area. There is a lot of very useful information on the United States Patent and Trademark Office web site that I encourage you to read so that you will understand the process and are in the best position to make a decision regarding how to proceed with protecting your invention. There is no easy way to go about licensing your invention. Identifying companies that would potentially be interested, contacting them, and actively trying to sell them on your invention is by far the best approach. I hope the above information is helpful to you as you develop your invention. Sincerely, Wonko