What to do with an idea for an invention

Todd Epp

I won't rehash the excellent advice you've already received. Another good source of information is "Inventor's Guide to Successful Paten Applications" by Thomas E. DeForest. It is probably available at a bookstore near you and certainly through Amazon.com. Good luck!

Delbert...

I am a registered patent attorney. If you would like, I can send you an information letter I send out to prospective clients that answers most initial inquries. I have successfully prosecuted patents for foreign individuals. I receive information by E-mail, fax or snail mail from clients all over the country. Hope I can help you. You may see my home page http://www.xmission.com/~drpatty/

Joseph ...

You need a patent search to determine if your "invention" has already been patented and if not whether it IS patentable. Get ahold of a patent lawyer in your town or one in Arlington VA - where the US Patent & Trademark Office is located.I am NOT a patent lawyer but I know enough to tell you that is what you need to do.e-mail: jdreitler@ustrademarklawyer.com> web-site: http://www.ustrademarklawyer.com> _________________________________disclaimer_______________________> Statements contained herein should not be construed as either offering> legal advice or as establishing an attorney-client relationship.

Joseph ...

To lower costs, you might want to start a patent search on the Internet. Here are some web resources that might help:http://www.uspto.gov/http://patent.womplex.ibm.com/http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/patent.html Commence by a word search. Pick two or three words that describe your invention. See if you can obtain a list of related patents. Then review the patents for class and subclass and search within those categories once again with the Boolian word search. Please advise if I can be of assistance in your endeavors. Joseph TaddeoRegistered Patent Attorney

Gerry E...

You've asked a good question, but the answer is too large for the space of just a message on this system. In fact, there's a whole forum on CompuServe devoted to Ideas, Inventions & Innovations. It includes downloadable files that respond in detail to all aspects of your question, and an ongoing message board in which questions such as yours get answered by patent professionals (from the USA and other countries) and inventors. I happen to be the sysop ("system operator") for the section of that forum that covers intellectual property/legal matters (Section 3, when you get there). And you've asked your question at just the right time, because on 12/1/97 this section of the Forum went live on the 'Net, so that it is visible not only to CompuServe members but also to anyone with a Web Browser pointed to the following URL: http://forumsb.csi.com/glforums/default.asp?srv=Ideas (At least that's the URL that we've been told to use. I haven't had a chance to check it from a non-member's browser to be sure that it's really accessible.) There are several excellent references you can look at, but the granddaddy would be Patent It Yourself, by David Pressman (Nolo Press http://www.nolo.com). Many members of the Ideas forum on CompuServe have said that concern over having one's invention stolen is overblown. However, it is also true that one can lose the opportunity to obtain patent protection (in much of the world) by disclosing the invention prematurely unless one gets a confidentiality agreement from the recipient of the disclosure. To determine whether one's invention meets the legal tests for getting a patent, it is necessary to get a reasonable idea of what in that field is already known by the public. Because the US Constitution speaks of protecting the "useful arts," patent professionals (such as myself) have come to speak of this as the "prior art." One part of the "prior art" is issued patents. Another part of the prior art is published technical articles. One looks for the most pertinent subject matter and then considers whether the invention, as defined by a "claim" would be both new and non-obvious from the prior art.

Gerry E...

Further to my previous note: To obtain a form of confidentiality agreement that fits your needs, you should consult an attorney in your jurisdiction who customarily deals in the field of "intellectual property." When you have questions about the procedure for getting a patent, the one who can definitively answer them would be a registered patent practitioner, namely someone who has passed a test given by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A searchable roster of such practitioners is posted on the PTO's Web Site, http://www.uspto.gov If such a practitioner is also a lawyer, s/he is called a "patent attorney." Otherwise, s/he is called a "patent agent." Good luck with your invention project. If you've come up with something that helps people do more and more with less and less, we'll all benefit, and with the use of the appropriate legal tools, you should have the opportunity to be enriched.