Last week I came up with an idea that might keep me from working ever again. I've searched through the US patent database (www.uspto.gov) and didn't find any patents on my particular idea so I'm going to try to put this together.

I'm going to build a functioning prototype to prove out my design and the efficacy of my product, get the drawings and process descriptions together, and write everything up in lawyer lingo to present to a patent office. I really don't want to pay several thousand dollars for this, but it's looking like I'm going to have to.


Has anyone gone through this process before? Any tips? Any input is appreciated.

 

No idea... sorry dude! but good luck with that and let us know how it goes!

 

First write your idea down on paper and mail it to yourself.Certified if you can.When you receive do not open it and put it in a safe.This is a time stamped proof of your invention.It'll cost about $10k last time I heard.Research patent lawyers for advice

 

Do all the drawings then mail them to yourself. It works, the post mark is considered vaild when talking about when an idea was conceived. This allows you time to get money squared away to get a real patent. You'll want extra copies of your drawings and leave the ones mailed to yourself sealed so that there is no question the drawings and date are legit.

edit: ^^^beat me to it.

 

haha, how do they know what's in the sealed envelopes though? just curious.

 

They don't, but if the envelope is open you could put anything in it and the date is pointless. If it's sealed with a post mark then you can be certain that whatever is in there has been there since at least the post marked date. Its only to be opened to prove your claim.

 

McGov's and MYD WGN: that's exactly the kind of input I've been looking for. Thank you. I'm going to get this mailed to myself sometime this week.

On another note, I just opened a fortune cookie after lunch and it reads "a financial investment will yield returns beyond your wildest hopes." Not bad, eh?

It's time to build some prototypes and make some Solidworks drawings with detailed notes.

Keep that input coming. I am thankful beyond words.

 

How legit is this time stamping of my idea though? That doesn't seem like something that could hold up in court. What can I refute with that? Conception of the idea and the patent of an idea are two completely separate things and this doesn't seem like something that can hold up in court. I'm going to follow through with it still, but I'm not banking on this acting as a lock on my idea.

 

It's time stamped by the federal government.USPS

 

I understand that shows proof of conception of the idea, but it's not a patent that will hold up in court. If someone else patents it before I do and I try to say I had the idea before they did, my case is pretty much dead right? I just don't see this as a full protection of my idea.