Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Can I Get a Patent?

By Ken Buckler

I hear that getting a patent is really expensive and takes a long time. This statement is heard a lot and just isnt true. Depending on the type of patent you get.

ANYONE can get a provisional patent on their invention and then SELL it for cash and/or royalties. You sell it to someone else that has the resources to fund the regular patent application - which is very expensive, and requires a lawyer. Essentially, you let someone else pay for developing your idea: someone who can afford it.

Selling your rights to the provisional patent is the simplest way for an inventor to get into the game initially. If done for enough money or enough times, this sets the inventor up to be able to fund other patents for even more returns on invested money.

Lets go over EXACTLY what a provisional patent is. When you correctly fill in the forms necessary, you send them in with $110 to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) - they recommend using Postal Money Orders. You will get a receipt for your provisional patent from them, assuming you filled in all required forms and did it correctly. ALL of the forms are available at www.uspto.gov for download. However YOU have to figure out which forms are the correct ones to use! Almost anyone can figure this out, given enough time and patience.

The words, Patent Pending, may be used on your invention once you receive the receipt from USPTO. At this point, you have patent law protecting you from theft by anyone who you choose to negotiate with for patent rights. Make sure you talk to several interested parties and, hopefully, you can get them bidding against one another.

You have one year to solidify an agreement with someone. This person or company will then take your provisional patent and use it as the basis for filing the REAL patent application -- complete with lawyers, patent searches and everything else that is needed to get your invention to market. You sit back and watch, and collect fees and royalties.

There are several ways to get the all-important provisional patent: 1. Pay someone else outright to file for the provisional patent in your name. 2. Use one of the various online services to fill in some detail forms and pay them to do the filing for you. 3. Use one of the Do-It-Yourself kits that are available for purchase. Try to find one that can be used over and over. Thats the best deal.

Obviously, you have to decide how much work you want to put into the clerical side. Too much time and effort spent will obviously keep you from being inventive on other projects that you no doubt have in mind. Search the internet for provisional patent kit or provisional patent application kit or patent pending kit to see your options. Youll be glad you did.

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