How do i patent an idea for a toy?

You first convert your idea into an invention. Ideas cannot be patented. Then you fully describe your invention and give the description to a patent attorney for more advice. They may do a preliminary search to determine if your idea is clearly "not new", meaning not patentable. You can file a provisional application for $125, reserving your rights for up to a year. It will cost about $10,000 to have a "full" patent drafted and prosecuted by a patent attorney, which typically takes two to three years. In the meanwhile, you should secretly shop your invention around to potential investors, noting that you have "patent pending" because of your provisional. Maybe someone will invest and pay for the patent application. If you do NOT keep your provisional secret, someone can simply start manufacturing your invention with impunity and flood the market with their own product and there is nothing you can do until your patent is issued several years later. That is, unless you can prove some misappropriation like the inventors of Facebook did.

Ship your idead to yourself in an envelope without opening it. That way, if you ever need to sue, you have an unopened envelope with your idea, and a date to prove that you had it first.

Ship your idead to yourself in an envelope without opening it. That way, if you ever need to sue, you have an unopened envelope with your idea, and a date to prove that you had it first.