Inventors?

[alissaroot]

My dad has a pretty good idea for an invention, and I'm trying to figure out how the whole patent process works for independent inventors. He actually has a whole notebook full of them, but he says when he looked into getting patents for any of them it was just too expensive. I've been browsing around the U.S. Patent site trying to figure out how this works, but I'm a bit overwhelmed. United States Patent and Trademark Office

Has anyone here ever applied for a patent? How does it work?

How much does it cost?

Any advice would be appreciated!

[15%Luck]

Back when I invented the internet it was free...

[TMW2010]

My dad has a pretty good idea for an invention, and I'm trying to figure out how the whole patent process works for independent inventors. He actually has a whole notebook full of them, but he says when he looked into getting patents for any of them it was just too expensive. I've been browsing around the U.S. Patent site trying to figure out how this works, but I'm a bit overwhelmed. United States Patent and Trademark Office

Has anyone here ever applied for a patent? How does it work?

How much does it cost?

Any advice would be appreciated!

First off, I would avoid the companies out there that offer to get your invention patented for you. There's a bunch of commercials running in my area about companies that will do this for you, but it seems like a devils' bargain to me.

It looks like your father can file as a 'Small entity' and pay $75 for the patent fee (as opposed to $150 for a larger company entity like HP or IBM.)

Here's a pretty straightforward link about the process and what you need to do and how to do it. My browser blocked some popups from it, so you may want to have a popup blocker running before you go there.

Good luck!
-T

[taylor]

OMG, " a whole notebook full of them" your father's not playing around. If he needs investors maybe you should apply to the show "Shark Tank". Here's the link if you want to check out a few episodes.

Hulu - Search

[categ]

Back when I invented the internet it was free...

haha! we are all so grateful to you!

[alissaroot]

First off, I would avoid the companies out there that offer to get your invention patented for you. There's a bunch of commercials running in my area about companies that will do this for you, but it seems like a devils' bargain to me.

It looks like your father can file as a 'Small entity' and pay $75 for the patent fee (as opposed to $150 for a larger company entity like HP or IBM.)

Here's a pretty straightforward link about the process and what you need to do and how to do it. My browser blocked some popups from it, so you may want to have a popup blocker running before you go there.

Good luck!
-T

I agree about the companies that supposedly help you get a patent. This is what he did fifteen years back or so, but he said the fine print basically gave that company ownership of the patent, so it wasn't worth doing.

Thank you so much for that link! It is much more straightforward than the patent office's site. It is exactly what I was looking for!

[alissaroot]

OMG, " a whole notebook full of them" your father's not playing around. If he needs investors maybe you should apply to the show "Shark Tank". Here's the link if you want to check out a few episodes.

Hulu - Search

Yes, I don't understand many of them. I swear, if he'd been given the right opportunity and circumstances, he'd of been a great engineer. Some of them are really simple but clever things that seem like they should already exist, like a backpack tackle box with a cooler in it for bait or drinks, or a beeper for the television's remote control. like the page feature on cordless phones for when you lose the remote. Maybe I shouldn't be giving away his ideas!

Thanks for the Hulu link. We do not watch television in my home, so I never knew about this program! I will definitely check it out.

[taylor]

Yes, I don't understand many of them. I swear, if he'd been given the right opportunity and circumstances, he'd of been a great engineer. Some of them are really simple but clever things that seem like they should already exist, like a backpack tackle box with a cooler in it for bait or drinks, or a beeper for the television's remote control. like the page feature on cordless phones for when you lose the remote. Maybe I shouldn't be giving away his ideas!

Thanks for the Hulu link. We do not watch television in my home, so I never knew about this program! I will definitely check it out.

Oh man, I can't wait to get to the lab and start on these ideas. Just kidding:roflol: . I could be wrong but I think you actually need to develop the product which it sounds like your father could do, the written idea is not that important. But just to be on the safe side maybe you should keep these potential family treasures to yourself . Shark Tank is one of my favorite shows and you'll see that regular people come up with simple yet genius ideas.

[DegreeMadness]

You could always prepare a "poor man's patent". It can provide limited protection in the short term. Take your father's notebook and mail it to yourself via certified mail and do not open the package. Of course you will need to make copies of all the patents you want to pursue prior to sealing the original book.

[scorched]

I don't want to discourage you, but here are some things I have learned over the years.
This is not legal advise, just things to consider.

While, I have never been awarded a patent, several companies I worked at, filed for some of the teams I participated on.
We were required to carry a laboratory notebook with us at all times. Each page had to be dated and witnessed by a co-worker and documented by the legal office regularly.
The reason is, patents are not awarded on who files first, but who thought of it first.
So a date stamped and witnessed notebook is usually required to survive in a court battle.
This changed in recent years, but may still apply in some cases.
Read this for changes:
First Inventor to File


Your father may have trouble proving the ideas without dates and witnesses, and you saying he had the notebook for years won't be good enough.
But again with the new changes there is hope.
But if there is any time lapse it also can invalidate the idea, as it can be considered abandoning the idea.
If he thought of an idea in the 80's and did nothing with it until now, most likely would take an army of lawyers to prove he didn't desert the idea.

Some things to read on notebooks:
How to Keep a Laboratory Notebook | Lab Notebook Guidelines | SNCO.com
Lab notebook practices to protect your IP : Rice University Office of Research - Office of Technology Transfer
OTL - For Inventors - Resources - Suggestions for Keeping Laboratory Notebooks