Trying to patent an invention

[BigNorseWolf]

Has anyone gone through this process? I have an idea i think could be really big but I don't have the cash to hire an attorney. There are some invention companies out there, but most of them seem built around making money taking your fees up front rather than co-investing in your idea.

[Conman the Bardbarian]

I haven't gone through the process, but I watch it every day. If you're just filing for a patent as an individual the fees are a lot cheaper now. Your best bet is to talk to a patent attorney and see if you can work something out. Of course you'll only want to patent something if you can sell it.

[Drejk]

I suppose that US Patent Bureau Site might be a good start.

EDIT: The diagram on the site I linked has lots of links to steps of the procedure including search engine for patent attorneys/agents.

[Orfamay Quest]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

Has anyone gone through this process?

I have.

Quote:

I have an idea i think could be really big but I don't have the cash to hire an attorney.

My advice is to get one anyway; patent law is a really arcane subject, the process of getting a patent is troublesome and arduous, and you're almost guaranteed to mess it up if you do it yourself.

Bearing in mind that I'm not a lawyer, and that nothing I say is legal advice,... a provisional patent only costs a couple of hundred bucks. This protects your idea for a year, after which you can upgrade to a full patent. But armed with this, you can line up partner funding or start manufacturing or whatever. Don't spend a dime more than you have to on anything else. If you can't make $10,000 (or whatever a patent costs) your first year of operation, the full patent may not be worth chasing anyway.