has anyone ever gone through the invention process?

[ScottyB]

there are some brainy dudes here in MM so i wanted to go ahead and ask -- i have been developing an idea for a product for about the past 3 months. i'm really excited about it but i have absolutely no idea how to approach the development of this kind of thing and i'm very skeptical about taking it to someone for counseling considering how easy it would be for my dumb ass to let my idea get stolen.

has anyone dealt with this type of process or could share any information or experiences? how did you start? who did you go to? anything to definitely NOT do? did you have to finance your venture in a certain way?

so far i have researched IPwatchdog.com as much as possible and tried to get involved with an inventor's guild here it atlanta (which didn't work out like i hoped).

[WRXtranceformed]

My buddy is going through the patenting process for an idea he has, I can ask him about it. From the little he told me, you're going to want to get a patent attorney, who will research the idea for you, make sure nobody else has done it or has done something similar enough to it, then you actually go to the US Patent Office in DC and get the paperwork done if it's legit. That's the short version from what he told me, I'm sure there are a TON of other small things along the way. I can tell you that it is NOT cheap to go through the process... as they say, it takes money to make money. But if you go through the proper channels of an attorney you shouldn't have to worry about your idea being stolen.

[ScottyB]

awesome, thanks. thats the info i'm looking for.

from what i had read it did seem like an expensive thing initially. but it seems like it could really be worth it to invest in some security for an idea that you could come back to later and develop further.

[Goodspeed]

Good luck, I've always been interested in the same kind of process and I think in this day and age, to be able to invent something wholly new is remarkable. Just don't end up like this poor bastard.....

So what is your idea? I know you don't want to give it away, so if you'd like to share perhaps you could be obscure about the means and just reveal the ends. Maybe replace sexbot with ED-209 and black-hole-generator with Doomsday machine in your description, for example.

[CaptainHenreh]

Lee is on a good start.

Find a good, reputable patent lawyer, and go from there. Honestly, that will be the hardest part of the process.

Alternately, you could look for an academic partner, since patent processes seem streamlined for that kind of thing.

[ScottyB]

So what is your idea? I know you don't want to give it away, so if you'd like to share perhaps you could be obscure about the means and just reveal the ends.

ha, i don't think it will ever be as cool as bulletball -- the olympic sport for the 21st century.

its basically a copolymer axial-rotational multifunctional thermo-insolationary torque transferring membrane for DIY'ers. and no, that doesn't mean it's a condom or a sexbot. :lol:

[Apoc]

from what i had read it did seem like an expensive thing initially. but it seems like it could really be worth it to invest in some security for an idea that you could come back to later and develop further.

A guy I work with has like a dozen patents (really smart dude) for intellectual property (read: software and processes). Here's the conversation I had with him. Take it for what you will.

Me: you have a few patents, right?
Him: yep
Him: well, technically the companies I worked for "have" them
Me: what's the process on getting a patent for an individual, just hire a patent attorney?
Him: or you can self-submit if you're feeling up to it (the patent system was created so individuals could protect their own ideas). Otherwise there are also companies that will take care of doing the filings for you
Him: be warned though, going the lawyer route can get expensive - I know that several of the ones I filed through work cost over $50k in lawyer fees going back and forth with the PTO
Me: anything to prevent someone from just submitting without research?
Him: not really but the reviewer in the PTO will be more likely to kick it back requiring a re-filing
Him: Working with the attorneys usually involves making the scope as broad as possible (after researching prior art and other patents it may be based on) and then it will inevitably need refining to narrow the scope after the examiner gets to it in 4-5 years
Me: 4-5 years? seriously?
Him: yep
Me: damn
Him: maybe 3-4 years before they first get to it but I'm getting issued patents now that I filed for in 2002

[CaptainHenreh]

That's why so much shit is "Patent Pending". lol

[ScottyB]

Alternately, you could look for an academic partner, since patent processes seem streamlined for that kind of thing.

i agree about the patent lawyer. that's part of the reason i have tried to get in touch with other local intentor-type people. i'd like to find out who are the "good" ones to go to....

as for academic partners - thats a good idea. i'll look into it, i'll have to find out a good way to approach someone about it though

[HAULN-SS]

are you trying to patent something physical, or some brainworks?

[ScottyB]

A guy I work with has like a dozen patents (really smart dude) for intellectual property (read: software and processes). Here's the conversation I had with him. Take it for what you will.

thanks, that is good info. i have heard that timeline described like that before....4-5 years. my biggest hurdle right now is money, with a house purchase coming up in a year or two.

i have been doing alot of looking into companies that file for you but i'm still trying to find out more. i'm just not confident i could do it right and would waste a ton of time.


also, i should have become a patent lawyer. they make bank.

are you trying to patent something physical, or some brainworks?

physical -- which makes things interesting because i don't know hardly anything about manufacturing processes.

maybe i can just take the idea to a company that can make it and just get a royalty off of it.