Re: I NEED PATENT ADVICE

More | Report Post

On 3/11/03, KR wrote:
> I've got a great new product idea but haven't a clue where
> to start. Any help would be most appreciated.
>
> Many Thanks!

KR-
I've been a patent attorney for over 17 years. I work for a
corporation, so I'm not allowed to, nor am I trying to,
solicit your business.

I gather from your post that you are interested in exploiting
the idea you came up with. If that's correct, you have two
options: try and exploit the idea yourself or sell/license
the idea to someone else and let them exploit it. If the
former, you might need to disclose the idea to bankers or
others to get the money you would need to start the
business. If the latter, you would need to disclose the idea
to potential manufacturers.

Before you disclose the idea to either group (or anyone else
for that matter) you need to understand that you can lose
your ability to protect the idea if you disclose the idea
without either (1) having a secrecy agreement with the other
party to the discussion which requires them to keep your
discussion confidential or (2) having a patent application
for your idea on file somewhere in the world.

In my experience, many companies refuse to sign secrecy
agreements in situations like yours. Thus, your best course
of action is to file a patent application on your idea before
making any attempts to find an outlet to get your idea to the
marketplace. Once the application is on file, you can
approach potential partners or suitors with confidence that
your idea is protected.

You could prepare and file the patent application yourself,
but I would not recommend it. Rather, you really should
contact a licensed patent professional for assistance. You
should be able to find one in your area. Depending on how
complex the patent application would need to be, what person
you pick, applicable rates in your area, etc. you could spend
anywhere from $2,000 - 15,000 (or more) to get a patent
application on file. You could reduce the costs
significantly by filing what is known as a "provisional
application" (which might cost you several hundred to maybe
as much as $1,000). A patent professional can explain the
differences (and pros and cons) to you in detail.

In addition, you can ususally save costs by having a patent
agent prepare and file the application as opposed to a patent
attorney. Either one is qualified to represent you before
the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
However, if you need assitance with license or sale
agreements, or other contracts or transactional documents,
you will need to consult an attorney as the patent agent will
not be qualified to provide those services. epending on what
you see as your immediate and long term legal needs, you
might decide its best to pick a patent attorney (versus an
agent) right from the start.

I hope the above was of some benefit and good luck!

Joe

Re: I NEED PATENT ADVICE, 5/25/03, by Hardy Parkerson, Atty..

Intellectual Property Law Chatboard

LATEST POSTS | BY TOPICS | SUBMIT A POST