I have an idea for an item that would probably be used in the law enforcement field. Now, I don’t know if this item already exists but I doubt it. Is there a website or does someone know about how a person can go about to discover if this “item” or “idea” is patented already? Can you patent an “idea?” Do you need a drawing to patent an object or is a discription good enough? Do you need to actually build a prototype?
I live in Canada, but I would like to patent it in both the US and here (and possibly others). Is the patent process “easier” if you have a patent issued for your item in another country?
Lastly, any idea on the costs involved to file and register a patent?
Most people hire a patent attorney to handle all the legal stuff required for a patent. I think that costs around $2000 at least. You can do it without a lawyer to save money but it takes more work.
Building a prototype is a good idea but it may not be required. Drawings are a much better way of describing something so that’s the route most people take. From what I have seen you can use hand drawings as long as they are good enough with enough detail to show what the items does.
The patent office website is http://www.uspto.gov/ that site can probably answer most of your questions.
Are you looking to patent this for commercial purposes? If so, you may want to think this out a bit. Rarely (almost never) do people make money by thinking up something cool, then patenting it, then the checks start rolling in.
Usually people make money by thinking up something cool, and either building it or convincing someone else to build it, delivering their help along the way (as an employee or as an advisor and shareholder). The patent is just an aside, to add value to the company that’s building the item. It’s typically never enforced. It’s really more of demonstration of intellectual property to someone evaluating the company, to buy the company for example.
Even if you patent it, and someone else builds it, it’s generally way too expensive to take the infringer to court to make it worth it. Generally, when large companies get into patent battles, they each whip out whatever patents in their portfolio are relevant to whatever’s in dispute (there’s rarely only one), and they literaly start trading off patents like baseball cards until one has a stronger hand (so to speak).
If you want business advice on your idea, I’m happy to, knowing a bit about what you have in mind.
If you want to go ahead with the patent process, I can give you a lot of advice about how it’s done in terms of what you need to think about and document (which is the real work). Where you go, what forms to fill out, I dunno; I’ve always had the luxury of patent attorneys to do that. Generally they get big bucks though. kpm’s figure of $2k is pretty low in my experience. That may be true for someone to just file the paperwork. But to do the whole analysis of what you’ve got and build it to be as valuable as possible, I’ve typically seen closer to $30k. per patent. ouch.
Don’t let what I’m saying disuade you; if you have a great idea, by all means make something of it. Everybody’s got a great idea that stopped there. It’s a rare person that actually puts the idea into motion.
Here’s some advice from a former US Patent Examiner:
What the books won’t tell you is this:
a) You don’t need a lawyer, but IT IS IN YOUR BEST INTEREST!
UNless you understand the filing process, how to word a rebuttal to overcome a rejected patent, etc., etc…you better find someone who speaks the legal-eze fluently! A lawyer will help you define your invention in specific terms called “claims”. This IS the crux of your patent. All the rest is window dressing. This is very important to understand! If you don’t CLAIM it in the claims, then it is NOT a part of your invention…even if you made mention of it elsewhere in the text of the patent! Be very careful! Also, a lawyer knows the tricks to structing claims to get the most coverage (protection) for your invention! And, patent attorneys will know how to defend your case from rejection by the patent examiner all the way to the courts, if necessary.
b) Patents cost mucho, mucho $$$$! There are up-front fees and costs…and maintenance fees to uphold your patent for the life of the patent. There may also be late fees, if you miss a deadline, and fees to bring a patent out of abandonment status…should your application be considered “abandoned”. (There is a whole schedule of fees laid out at www.uspto.gov)
c) Most people holding patents do not strike it rich. In fact, many spend all their money in the courts defending their patents!
My advice? Make sure your idea is really, really worth the all the money, time, blood, sweat, and tears you’ll sink into the process! And, do your homework! Know what has been done before and be prepared to explain how your invention is novel over all that is known in that area. Also, just combining a little bit of this and that (like a radio + casette player = radio/casette player) is simply not enough. This is called “obviousness”, and like novelity, you must prove how your invention (as you described in the claims) is non-obvious.
You can get a disclosure document number from the US patent office for 10 bucks. It’s not a patent but it’s proof that you had that idea at the date you had it. They hold your notes/drawings for two years and issue you a document #. Thats probably enough protection if you want to license your idea out.
I am a US patent lawyer. If you’d like to talk, my email address is in my profile. Barring that, I’m not your lawyer and you’re not my client - the following is just general-interest stuff.
The disclosure document program is pretty useless and I believe it is being phased out.
Some countries (and I have no idea if Canada is one of them) require your first filing to be in your home country so they can determine if there are national security issues that should prevent you from filing abroad.
We typically end up charging $8,000-$15,000 to file a patent application, depending on complexity.