It's the BEST book on product licensing for the independent inventor!
It covers everything you need to know about marketing, licensing, and selling your invention.
Read more >>

Write your own utility patent with this easy to use patent writing software. Do-It-Yourself patent software helps write the patent claims for you.

It's the BEST book on product licensing for the independent inventor!
It covers everything you need to know about marketing, licensing, and selling your invention.
Read more >>

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice of any sort.
I am an inventor not a lawyer.

It is very important that you educate yourself about the entire inventing process, read books, network with other inventors and stay informed.

Watch out for invention promote.phprs and specially for those that advertise on TV - 99% of them are fraudulent.

For more free help subscribe to our InventNET Forum (The Inventors Meeting Place) a email-based discussion group where inventors get qualified answers to their inventing/patenting related questions.
Such subjects as developing an idea, getting a patent, selling or licensing an invention and the problems encountered in the process are likely to be discussed.

Don't forget to check the General Patenting Information list from PTO. It has all subjects linked to the U.S. PTO, for a more accurate answer.

If you have an idea that you think is original and has a huge market potential follow this simple steps:

1. Get paper and pencil and write everything down, make sketches, calculations, everything necessary to convince you that the invention works.
2. Next explore the market place for similar products. If is a consumer product that will be sold in stores, go to these stores and look for similar products talk to store managers, for an industrial product search through The Thomas Register or Harris InfoSource and find manufacturers or distributors of that product, contact them and ask for product specifications and price. You may also go to them and get their input about the real needs or performance your product must address.
3. Compare your invention with what you find out there, in terms of novelty, usefulness, productivity, market appeal, price, ease of manufacturing, etc. Find out if there is a real need for your invention and that your invention is fulfilling this need complete. Go out and talk to the future users of your invention and find out their opinion about the need and what they want to see in a new product.
4. If your invention is better than the products you found on the market and has a good market potential, you would want to patent it. If your invention doesn't have any or limited commercial potential drop it. Remember that marketing the new product will take 90% of your resources.
   
   *** Only 2% of all patented inventions reach the market, because the inventors don't rigorously evaluate their invention before spending money on patenting and product development.***

   A patent search is the first step in obtaining a patent. The patent attorney bases his patentability opinion on the patent search. If someone else has patented an invention that is similar to yours or, as the patent examiners say, anticipates your invention, then you are not entitled to patent protection.

   Before spending your money, make sure that your invention is novel by doing a preliminary search on the Internet or at a library. To do your own preliminary patent search you need to find the proper Classification for your invention. Preliminary search can be done free on the Internet at US PTO website. You may also consider the Patent & Trademark Depository Libraries situated in all major US cities. Just check the list and get a location near you. At PTDL you will do a more accurate search, but it will take a lot of time. The librarian will help you with the searching steps. You may find a previous patent showing a similar (if not exact) invention.

   For more information on patent search read this Patent Search Tutorial task

   It is important to have a professional patent search and patentability opinion done to make sure that you don't spend thousands of dollars on the patent application preparation and fees only to be later rejected by the Patent Office. A professional patent search is about $250-$800 including the patentability opinion. Our members and visitors can get a patent search for only $240. The search is conducted by PSI at the USPTO search room.
5. To patent an invention it takes besides technical knowledge two things - time and money.
   The PTO fees are about $350 for the application and $650 for issuing the patent . And it takes anywhere from 12 months to 2 years to get a patent.
6. If you have the necessary funds, go to a registered patent attorney or patent agents and make a deal. They charge around $2,500-$6,000 depending on the amount of work.
   Find a patent attorney or patent agent that don't charge for the initial visit and will charge you a flat fee to do the work. Use only PTO registered patent attorneys or patent agents and ask them about their expertise, it may be in chemical, mechanical or electronics field etc. No patent attorney or agent is specialized in all fields. Build and test a small-scale prototype as soon as possible. It will prove to you and later to others that it works. Keep clear and complete records of your invention.
7. If you don't have enough money for a patent attorney or patent agent, but enough to cover the fees, patent it yourself. To patent your invention yourself is not impossible, but is not easy.
   You have to spend a lot of time studying the process of patent application drafting, technical drawing and claim writing.

   * NEW! You can file your Patent Application on line... details here. *