[quote=BullBull]…. If you just want to get started, then you can file a provisional patent application. It doesn’t have all the formal requirements of a real application, but will last a year (after which you’ll have to abandon it or file a real application). You can write a provisional patent application yourself. The patent office has a how-to write-up. Within a year you should know if your idea has any commercial value. Make sure you do the search for prior art before spending too much time on an application.[/quote]
I wasn’t trying to respond to this comment in my earlier post (BullBull’s comment was posted while I was writing mine). The provisional patent system was put in place to put U.S. filers and foreign filers on equal footing for timing purposes. It was part of GATT.
