ForumsLegal and Insurance

Tomorrow, I am meeting with a patent attorney, and he will use his professional opinion and tell me weather my invention is pantentable or not. It need not be a completely working prototype at this point, but if you already have a provisional patent, then you have 12 months to file for a real patent.

Filing a patent is more of an art, so I'm told. You do not want to file a description that is too narrow or too broad. Using an attorney is probably a good idea. For a simple idea, you should expect to spend anywhere from $7000 - $10,000 for attorney fees and patent expenses. If you go to 1 attorney, and he/she does not think it's patentable, then get a second opinion. Counsoltations should be free.

If you are looking for an investor, then definatley have them sign a NDA prior to telling them or showing them your idea. You might want to look within your family for the financing. You can offer them a % of the rights on the patent if you idea is patented.

I plan on doing my own marketing. I will approach big business that already are in the industry of my idea, and present them my invention after the patent is pending. This way, if they like it, I can sell the patent or give them rights to use patent for royalties.

My uncle did all of his own work. And his 20 years are now over. He spent many of the years making a variety of prototypes. He never marketed it to existing companies until his patent was almost up. Instead, he was trying to have a brand name for himself and get the product on shelves at walmart, etc. When he finally went to sell the idea outright or for royalties, after 19 years of owning the patent, a company liked the idea, but they waited till his patent expired and produced and sold his idea on their own. 20 years is alot of time to be exclusive, but if you really need to use that time in the beginning to get your idea on the market, so that you will profit from it.