[njtosd]

[quote=KIBU]You can read that NOLO book and try to do it yourself with the provisional application or more, but I find that it is a big waste of valuable time.

I think the most important question is to determine how marketable your idea really is and if you still find that it is very promising then proceed with the patent agent or attorney’s help.[/quote]

Speaking of marketability, another thing to take into account is the often overlooked value of a good federal trademark registration. Regardless of whether you seek and/or obtain a patent, a trademark can be a really valuable asset (think of the value of the COKE trademark). A utility patent lasts for 20 years from the date of filing the non-provisional application, but trademark registrations can remain in force FOREVER, if you maintain them properly. And trademark applications are very easy for the average person to file (although I would always recommend that you talk to an IP lawyer about it first – they can help you out in a bunch of ways, including doing a search to see if the mark you’re considering is already owned/used by someone else). Go to http://www.uspto.gov and look under the Trademarks heading if you want to look into this possibility. You can file online; the filing fee payable to the Trademark Office is about $300/class of goods (all goods and services fall into one of 45 International Classes, see http://www.oppedahl.com/trademarks/tmclasses.htm )

Also, if your invention involves computer code, you can also consider whether it might be a good idea to file an application for copyright registration (which can be done whether or not you file a patent application). I would definitely recommend talking to an IP lawyer about that, as the rules are somewhat complex, but the basic term of the copyright is the lifetime of the author plus 70 years (or 95-120 years for works of corporate authorship). FYI see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_copyright. And the fee to file a copyright application is about $35.

Finally, there are lots of programs out there that prepare people to take the Patent Bar (a lawyer who has passed this test is a patent attorney, others who pass become patent agents). If you have a technical background and an interest in learning how it’s done so that you don’t have to pay someone else to draft your applications, taking one of these courses might be worth it. There is no reason to actually sit for the exam unless you want to file and prosecute patent applications on someone else’s behalf. Any inventor can file/prosecute applications on their own inventions. FYI – All those who successfully pass the patent bar are given a registration number – if you want to confirm that someone is a registered attorney/agent you can look them up on the USPTO website.

Hope this helps.

[njtosd]

[quote=KIBU]You can read that NOLO book and try to do it yourself with the provisional application or more, but I find that it is a big waste of valuable time.

I think the most important question is to determine how marketable your idea really is and if you still find that it is very promising then proceed with the patent agent or attorney’s help.[/quote]

Speaking of marketability, another thing to take into account is the often overlooked value of a good federal trademark registration. Regardless of whether you seek and/or obtain a patent, a trademark can be a really valuable asset (think of the value of the COKE trademark). A utility patent lasts for 20 years from the date of filing the non-provisional application, but trademark registrations can remain in force FOREVER, if you maintain them properly. And trademark applications are very easy for the average person to file (although I would always recommend that you talk to an IP lawyer about it first – they can help you out in a bunch of ways, including doing a search to see if the mark you’re considering is already owned/used by someone else). Go to http://www.uspto.gov and look under the Trademarks heading if you want to look into this possibility. You can file online; the filing fee payable to the Trademark Office is about $300/class of goods (all goods and services fall into one of 45 International Classes, see http://www.oppedahl.com/trademarks/tmclasses.htm )

Also, if your invention involves computer code, you can also consider whether it might be a good idea to file an application for copyright registration (which can be done whether or not you file a patent application). I would definitely recommend talking to an IP lawyer about that, as the rules are somewhat complex, but the basic term of the copyright is the lifetime of the author plus 70 years (or 95-120 years for works of corporate authorship). FYI see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_copyright. And the fee to file a copyright application is about $35.

Finally, there are lots of programs out there that prepare people to take the Patent Bar (a lawyer who has passed this test is a patent attorney, others who pass become patent agents). If you have a technical background and an interest in learning how it’s done so that you don’t have to pay someone else to draft your applications, taking one of these courses might be worth it. There is no reason to actually sit for the exam unless you want to file and prosecute patent applications on someone else’s behalf. Any inventor can file/prosecute applications on their own inventions. FYI – All those who successfully pass the patent bar are given a registration number – if you want to confirm that someone is a registered attorney/agent you can look them up on the USPTO website.

Hope this helps.

[njtosd]

[quote=UCGal][quote=njtosd]I am a registered patent attorney – although I am not currently working (well, I’m a stay at home mom – people differ on whether that counts as work). [/quote]

For the record – as a mom who chooses to work outside the home because being a SAHM is too hard for me – you work!!!! I don’t have the temperament or skill set to be a successful SAHM. I have total admiration for those that do it well.[/quote]

I have admiration for those who do it well, too. I’m probably not one of them (especially if you take into account the numerous opinions of my kids). Seriously, though, I am probably going back to work at least part time some time in the next year. I’m a little concerned about it – I don’t tend to switch gears quickly, which has led my husband to call me dos girl. But I need a bit more mental challenge than arguing with my kids over whether perusing the Lego magazine satisfies their homework reading requirement.

[njtosd]

[quote=UCGal][quote=njtosd]I am a registered patent attorney – although I am not currently working (well, I’m a stay at home mom – people differ on whether that counts as work). [/quote]

For the record – as a mom who chooses to work outside the home because being a SAHM is too hard for me – you work!!!! I don’t have the temperament or skill set to be a successful SAHM. I have total admiration for those that do it well.[/quote]

I have admiration for those who do it well, too. I’m probably not one of them (especially if you take into account the numerous opinions of my kids). Seriously, though, I am probably going back to work at least part time some time in the next year. I’m a little concerned about it – I don’t tend to switch gears quickly, which has led my husband to call me dos girl. But I need a bit more mental challenge than arguing with my kids over whether perusing the Lego magazine satisfies their homework reading requirement.

[njtosd]

[quote=UCGal][quote=njtosd]I am a registered patent attorney – although I am not currently working (well, I’m a stay at home mom – people differ on whether that counts as work). [/quote]

For the record – as a mom who chooses to work outside the home because being a SAHM is too hard for me – you work!!!! I don’t have the temperament or skill set to be a successful SAHM. I have total admiration for those that do it well.[/quote]

I have admiration for those who do it well, too. I’m probably not one of them (especially if you take into account the numerous opinions of my kids). Seriously, though, I am probably going back to work at least part time some time in the next year. I’m a little concerned about it – I don’t tend to switch gears quickly, which has led my husband to call me dos girl. But I need a bit more mental challenge than arguing with my kids over whether perusing the Lego magazine satisfies their homework reading requirement.

[njtosd]

[quote=UCGal][quote=njtosd]I am a registered patent attorney – although I am not currently working (well, I’m a stay at home mom – people differ on whether that counts as work). [/quote]

For the record – as a mom who chooses to work outside the home because being a SAHM is too hard for me – you work!!!! I don’t have the temperament or skill set to be a successful SAHM. I have total admiration for those that do it well.[/quote]

I have admiration for those who do it well, too. I’m probably not one of them (especially if you take into account the numerous opinions of my kids). Seriously, though, I am probably going back to work at least part time some time in the next year. I’m a little concerned about it – I don’t tend to switch gears quickly, which has led my husband to call me dos girl. But I need a bit more mental challenge than arguing with my kids over whether perusing the Lego magazine satisfies their homework reading requirement.

[njtosd]

[quote=UCGal][quote=njtosd]I am a registered patent attorney – although I am not currently working (well, I’m a stay at home mom – people differ on whether that counts as work). [/quote]

For the record – as a mom who chooses to work outside the home because being a SAHM is too hard for me – you work!!!! I don’t have the temperament or skill set to be a successful SAHM. I have total admiration for those that do it well.[/quote]

I have admiration for those who do it well, too. I’m probably not one of them (especially if you take into account the numerous opinions of my kids). Seriously, though, I am probably going back to work at least part time some time in the next year. I’m a little concerned about it – I don’t tend to switch gears quickly, which has led my husband to call me dos girl. But I need a bit more mental challenge than arguing with my kids over whether perusing the Lego magazine satisfies their homework reading requirement.

[njtosd]

[quote=Trojan4Life]I was looking at the Legal Zoom site to form the corporation and saw that they also provide a lot of the patent services described in previous posts. Your thoughts on their product?[/quote]

I haven’t looked at Legal Zoom, but I can tell you this: drafting a good patent application is really hard. And I’m not saying that to be self serving – I did primarily litigation/licensing. One of the biggest hurdles is that it requires both scientific/logical reasoning and good writing ability. I would always recommend going and talking to an IP lawyer to make sure (among other things) that you don’t miss any important dates (if you miss a date you can lose all rights in your invention, and there is no way to fix it). Then, if you have the time and choose to do it yourself, I would read Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting. The claims are the starting point of the application. Another good resource is Chisum on Patents (a multi-volume treatise).

But bear in mind the following quote from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Topliff v. Topliff (1892):

The specification and claims of a patent, particularly if the invention be at all complicated, constitute one of the most difficult legal instruments to draw with accuracy, and in view of the fact that valuable inventions are often placed in the hands of inexperienced persons to prepare such specifications and claims, it is no matter of surprise that the latter frequently fail to describe with requisite certainty the exact invention of the patentee, and err either in claiming that which the patentee had not in fact invented, or in omitting some element which was a valuable or essential part of his actual invention.

…

You’ll see this quote around a lot when it comes to patent drafting, and I think it is a true today as it was 120 years ago. But again, since I am not your attorney you really need to go find an IP lawyer to talk to. Most will sit down with you for a half hour or so free of charge.

[njtosd]

[quote=Trojan4Life]I was looking at the Legal Zoom site to form the corporation and saw that they also provide a lot of the patent services described in previous posts. Your thoughts on their product?[/quote]

I haven’t looked at Legal Zoom, but I can tell you this: drafting a good patent application is really hard. And I’m not saying that to be self serving – I did primarily litigation/licensing. One of the biggest hurdles is that it requires both scientific/logical reasoning and good writing ability. I would always recommend going and talking to an IP lawyer to make sure (among other things) that you don’t miss any important dates (if you miss a date you can lose all rights in your invention, and there is no way to fix it). Then, if you have the time and choose to do it yourself, I would read Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting. The claims are the starting point of the application. Another good resource is Chisum on Patents (a multi-volume treatise).

But bear in mind the following quote from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Topliff v. Topliff (1892):

The specification and claims of a patent, particularly if the invention be at all complicated, constitute one of the most difficult legal instruments to draw with accuracy, and in view of the fact that valuable inventions are often placed in the hands of inexperienced persons to prepare such specifications and claims, it is no matter of surprise that the latter frequently fail to describe with requisite certainty the exact invention of the patentee, and err either in claiming that which the patentee had not in fact invented, or in omitting some element which was a valuable or essential part of his actual invention.

…

You’ll see this quote around a lot when it comes to patent drafting, and I think it is a true today as it was 120 years ago. But again, since I am not your attorney you really need to go find an IP lawyer to talk to. Most will sit down with you for a half hour or so free of charge.

[njtosd]

[quote=Trojan4Life]I was looking at the Legal Zoom site to form the corporation and saw that they also provide a lot of the patent services described in previous posts. Your thoughts on their product?[/quote]

I haven’t looked at Legal Zoom, but I can tell you this: drafting a good patent application is really hard. And I’m not saying that to be self serving – I did primarily litigation/licensing. One of the biggest hurdles is that it requires both scientific/logical reasoning and good writing ability. I would always recommend going and talking to an IP lawyer to make sure (among other things) that you don’t miss any important dates (if you miss a date you can lose all rights in your invention, and there is no way to fix it). Then, if you have the time and choose to do it yourself, I would read Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting. The claims are the starting point of the application. Another good resource is Chisum on Patents (a multi-volume treatise).

But bear in mind the following quote from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Topliff v. Topliff (1892):

The specification and claims of a patent, particularly if the invention be at all complicated, constitute one of the most difficult legal instruments to draw with accuracy, and in view of the fact that valuable inventions are often placed in the hands of inexperienced persons to prepare such specifications and claims, it is no matter of surprise that the latter frequently fail to describe with requisite certainty the exact invention of the patentee, and err either in claiming that which the patentee had not in fact invented, or in omitting some element which was a valuable or essential part of his actual invention.

…

You’ll see this quote around a lot when it comes to patent drafting, and I think it is a true today as it was 120 years ago. But again, since I am not your attorney you really need to go find an IP lawyer to talk to. Most will sit down with you for a half hour or so free of charge.

[njtosd]

[quote=Trojan4Life]I was looking at the Legal Zoom site to form the corporation and saw that they also provide a lot of the patent services described in previous posts. Your thoughts on their product?[/quote]

I haven’t looked at Legal Zoom, but I can tell you this: drafting a good patent application is really hard. And I’m not saying that to be self serving – I did primarily litigation/licensing. One of the biggest hurdles is that it requires both scientific/logical reasoning and good writing ability. I would always recommend going and talking to an IP lawyer to make sure (among other things) that you don’t miss any important dates (if you miss a date you can lose all rights in your invention, and there is no way to fix it). Then, if you have the time and choose to do it yourself, I would read Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting. The claims are the starting point of the application. Another good resource is Chisum on Patents (a multi-volume treatise).

But bear in mind the following quote from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Topliff v. Topliff (1892):

The specification and claims of a patent, particularly if the invention be at all complicated, constitute one of the most difficult legal instruments to draw with accuracy, and in view of the fact that valuable inventions are often placed in the hands of inexperienced persons to prepare such specifications and claims, it is no matter of surprise that the latter frequently fail to describe with requisite certainty the exact invention of the patentee, and err either in claiming that which the patentee had not in fact invented, or in omitting some element which was a valuable or essential part of his actual invention.

…

You’ll see this quote around a lot when it comes to patent drafting, and I think it is a true today as it was 120 years ago. But again, since I am not your attorney you really need to go find an IP lawyer to talk to. Most will sit down with you for a half hour or so free of charge.

[njtosd]

[quote=Trojan4Life]I was looking at the Legal Zoom site to form the corporation and saw that they also provide a lot of the patent services described in previous posts. Your thoughts on their product?[/quote]

I haven’t looked at Legal Zoom, but I can tell you this: drafting a good patent application is really hard. And I’m not saying that to be self serving – I did primarily litigation/licensing. One of the biggest hurdles is that it requires both scientific/logical reasoning and good writing ability. I would always recommend going and talking to an IP lawyer to make sure (among other things) that you don’t miss any important dates (if you miss a date you can lose all rights in your invention, and there is no way to fix it). Then, if you have the time and choose to do it yourself, I would read Landis on Mechanics of Patent Claim Drafting. The claims are the starting point of the application. Another good resource is Chisum on Patents (a multi-volume treatise).

But bear in mind the following quote from the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Topliff v. Topliff (1892):

The specification and claims of a patent, particularly if the invention be at all complicated, constitute one of the most difficult legal instruments to draw with accuracy, and in view of the fact that valuable inventions are often placed in the hands of inexperienced persons to prepare such specifications and claims, it is no matter of surprise that the latter frequently fail to describe with requisite certainty the exact invention of the patentee, and err either in claiming that which the patentee had not in fact invented, or in omitting some element which was a valuable or essential part of his actual invention.

…

You’ll see this quote around a lot when it comes to patent drafting, and I think it is a true today as it was 120 years ago. But again, since I am not your attorney you really need to go find an IP lawyer to talk to. Most will sit down with you for a half hour or so free of charge.

[njtosd]

[quote=sdrealtor] . . . Even though you cant predict something perfectly you can make an assessment on the outcome post mortum.[/quote]

But that’s why they came up with the phrases Monday morning quarterback, 2-/20 hindsight, etc. You can make an assessment, but you have to keep in mind the concept of statistical significance. Everyone is entitled to their own (subjective) opinion. But to say that someone else got it wrong (objectively) you need to know how accurately the best estimator can predict.

[njtosd]

[quote=sdrealtor] . . . Even though you cant predict something perfectly you can make an assessment on the outcome post mortum.[/quote]

But that’s why they came up with the phrases Monday morning quarterback, 2-/20 hindsight, etc. You can make an assessment, but you have to keep in mind the concept of statistical significance. Everyone is entitled to their own (subjective) opinion. But to say that someone else got it wrong (objectively) you need to know how accurately the best estimator can predict.

[njtosd]

[quote=sdrealtor] . . . Even though you cant predict something perfectly you can make an assessment on the outcome post mortum.[/quote]

But that’s why they came up with the phrases Monday morning quarterback, 2-/20 hindsight, etc. You can make an assessment, but you have to keep in mind the concept of statistical significance. Everyone is entitled to their own (subjective) opinion. But to say that someone else got it wrong (objectively) you need to know how accurately the best estimator can predict.

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