I keep seeing ads for companies that help people develop inventions and get patents. Has anyone used these services, and were you really helped, or as I suspect, ripped off?
I’ve got an idea for a product that I’ve needed for decades, and so have many other people . . . but I’ve never seen that product actually produced. And since it’s constructed of molded plastic parts, I can’t simply produce a model of it.
I’ve heard those invention assistance companies are to be avoided. There are various inventors “clubs” and associations around the country, including NE Ohio, I’m sure. I’ve been to one here in FL and it’s a great place to find resources, get advice, network, etc. I would recommend starting there.
Spend a few bucks and go see a “real” patent attorney.
They will let you know the cost and time involved in getting all of the work completed.
It is VERY pricey and time-consuming to get a real patent.
Before doing so, at least do lots of research online to ensure there is nothing else like it on the market today - that would save you tons of time and money if you see your product (or a 99% similar product) already on the market.
I would say then - and only then - would I pay to at least consult with a real patent attorney and get the real info.
See if there’s an entrepeneur’s association of some kind in your area. If so, join the club and attend their meetings. You’ll find a lot of resources and advice for business startups of all sorts.
DMark’s advice is good, too. However, note that having a patent isn’t enough. It’s up to the patent holder to police the patent: there’s no “patent police force.” If someone violates your patent, you have to sue them (or at least, threaten to) and that’s not cheap. If the defendents think they have deeper pockets, they’ll be reluctant to settle out of court. I learned this from my father, who is a retired patent attorney.
Then, of course, appear on Shark Tank. 
I don’t have any experience with the invention-development companies, but I am an engineer who writes patents for a patent attorney so I do have some experience with the patent system.
I agree with Dmark. Start with the online patent search: Google has a good patent search. You can also do a formal patent search through a lawyer but it will cost you on the order of $1000 just for the search and report. Also, if your invention exists somewhere but is not currently patented, you can’t patent it. You can only patent inventions that are not currently publically known.
You don’t have to have made a model of the invention, but you do have to describe it well enough that someone else could make it with the proper equipment and skill.
Do you have access to one of the new 3D printers? If only to produce a scale model.
Yep, the ones that advertise are scams. They remind me of the fake casting agent scams.
This thing you have invented… are you in the industry? Or are you an outsider?
The vast majority of inventions are filed by people who are in the industry. And for good reason.
Get a copy of Patent it Yourself: http://www.amazon.com/Patent-It-Yourself-Step-Step/dp/1413317197.
It covers the basics of patent law and can help you decide whether getting a patent on your invention is worthwhile.
Remember that all a patent does is give you the ability to sue people who use your invention without your permission for 20 years. If your invention isn’t going to make any money for anyone, then there’s not much point in patenting it. 99% of patents are worth zero and never get developed as a product, never mind making a profit. You have to enforce your patent yourself by suing infringers, no one will do it for you.
And a little investigation on google patents could save you a lot of work if you discover your invention has already been patented. This is incredibly common, even if you’ve never seen anything like your invention for sale, it is possible that someone has already thought of it. And if there’s prior art on the invention, even if no one ever developed the idea or patented it, then your idea is not patentable.
Generally speaking, do new inventions have to be drastically different than existing patents in order to not run afoul of infringement? Suppose panache had an invention that was just sliiiightly different than an existing one. Would he win a lawsuit, or would the patent holder?
BTW, out of curiosity - is this something that needs to be strapped on?
I’m not in the industry, but I’m a long-term user. And so are many other people. But I’ve never seen a product that serves this exact purpose. There are many products that serve this generic purpose, but I’ve never seen one that has my additional feature. Sort of like when those self-cleaning litter boxes were first invented. And no, it doesn’t need to be strapped on (:D).
The invention needs to be non-obvious or the application will be denied and no patent would be issued. There wouldn’t be any law suit against some other patent holder. If anything he could appeal the patent examiner’s decision.
Non-obvious means that a person with ordinary skill in the art should not have known how to solve the problem the invention sets out to solve. It’s not black and white but one major factor the patent office will consider is examining the prior art and how the new patent differs from it.
Right. A patent must be useful, novel and non-obvious. If it’s just slightly different then it would not be novel, and if the change is obvious then it’s not patentable.
Note that you can patent a change to an invention even if the invention itself is patented. So if someone patents a wheeled cart, you might come up with the idea of a steering mechanism, and someone else might come up with the idea of brakes. But you can’t make a car with a steering wheel and brakes without violating the other patents, and neither can the other two guys. You all collectively own patents that when put together could make a decent product, but none of you have the right to build it.
This is what happened in the famous case of the sewing machine. Nobody could make a decent sewing machine because the patents for various critical improvements were owned by different people. It wasn’t until they all got together to form the Singer consortium that anyone could make a sewing machine that was worthwhile.
Novelty actually refers to the invention being new. The idea can’t have been known to the public before the patent application’s priority date. Being slightly different from prior art would be an issue of obviousness.
Go see a patent attorney. He/she will be able to tell you if your idea is substantially different enough to qualify for a patent, and will have the resources to help you find out if it’s commercially workable. Bear in mind that this is a highly specialized field of law, and you don’t want an attorney who dabbles in the area (not that there are many of those).
Except I’d really recommend, if this is just an idea that you’ve been mulling over for years rather than a potential business you want to start, to first get some books on patent law and read them, before you go to the trouble and expense of getting professional help.
If you really think that you have a potential moneymaker and you’ve read up on patents then seeing a professional patent agent/attorney before you incur other startup costs makes a lot of sense.
But it doesn’t seem that you’re at that stage. You’ve got an idea for a device, not a business plan. And ideas for devices aren’t worth anything, even if the idea is patentable.
If you want to get a patent be prepared to spend several thousand dollars and probably several years, and the most likely outcome is that you’ll spend the money and your patent will be denied. But even if you do engage a patent attorney, doing some reading will help prepare you for the sorts of documentation the patent attorney will need from you. The book I linked is only thirty bucks, and if you don’t want to spend that kind of money then you definitely should forget about patenting your invention.
Note that of course you can develop and manufacture and sell your invention even if it’s not patented or patentable, as long as it doesn’t infringe any existing patents.
Oh, and the USPTO website is incredibly useful, so start poking around there: Patents | USPTO
So what happens if a guy makes and sells a successful product for years and years, and then the patent owner wakes up from his coma and sues? Does he get damages, or would the first guy just have to cease and desist?
You can attempt to prove damages going back 6 years. Hope that the coma guy kept up his maintenance payments!
There are materials and techniques that allow you to mold plastic parts yourself, at home. The plastic may not be the type of plastic that you end up using in the final product but you can easily make a prototype that at least demonstrates the concept.
Also, pay close attention to Lemur866’s comments. There are a lot of folks who are pushing for changes in our patent system because it doesn’t work very well for the backyard inventor. Patents aren’t cheap. Also, there are no patent police. You have to discover on your own whether or not someone is infringing on your patent, and then you have to take them to court on your own nickel. If you end up fighting a big company, they can try to lawyer you to death by filing all kinds of things in court. It doesn’t really cost them much because they already have a lawyer on staff and he needs something to do with his time. A lot of little guys can’t afford the lawyer fees and give up at that point. I’m not saying that it is impossible for the little guy to win in court. Sometimes the little guy does win. I’m just warning you that it can be a long, uphill battle. Make sure you know what you are getting yourself into and all of the potential consequences before you head off down the patent path.