I have a invention- that is a need, but do not have the money to move foward- are there any companys that can help?
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Attorney Answers
4
Elizabeth Swanson ·
One should be aware that filing a provisional patent application that is not well drafted can cause trouble later - in some circumstances, it can be cited against the filer's own utility application as "prior art". For this reason and others, a provisional application is best drafted by a patent attorney.
Should filing a provisional not be an option for you, be aware that you have a time clock running as soon as the invention is disclosed. There is a "one year bar" that will foreclose any chance of filing a patent application, so be sure to file the application within one year of disclosing it to anyone else.
The patent laws were just changed in a major way: The U.S. is now a "first to file" country, not a "first to invent" country. That means that it is in your best interest to file asap if patent protection is really what you need.
One thing to consider, something to speak with a patent attorney about, is whether it makes sense for you, with your present circumstances, to try and get a patent at all. The process takes several years and typically over $10,000, at least. And that is only the beginning.
While an application is "patent pending," that is, after the application has been filed but before a patent issues, the inventor/owner has few avenues to stop others from making, selling, using or importing the patent application subject matter. Is it a better use of funds/energy to launch a marketing campaign, or to fashion trade secret protection around the invention? Can filing a trademark application and using that trademark create goodwill around sales of the invention?
Ultimately, patents are likely to be challenged by others if the invention is successful in the marketplace. Fighting infringement is one of the most expensive kinds of litigation, and so the cost of filing and obtaining a patent is only the beginning of the expense. Patent litigation often costs well in excess of $200,000 over a period of 2 - 3 years.
Venture capitalists have been known to back inventions, but it is typically for a large piece of the pie. If there are business networking opportunities available, they can provide relationships that lead to contacts to people willing to invest in inventions and patent applications.
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Ryan Connell DurhamPatent Application AttorneyDunkirk, MD ·
Sounds like you need some investors. But you will have to do a lot of legwork to find them, get in front of them, and pitch your idea. Your idea and path to market should be clearly defined and realistic. That said, it's likely to be somewhat of a long shot. It will probably take some serious money to develop and take your invention to market, which equals high risk for an investor.
In the meantime, you can file a provisional patent application relatively cheaply (best to talk to a patent attorney for help here) to at least establish that you have a patent pending at the PTO and stake your claim to the invention.
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Gerry Elman ·
You've probably seen ads for companies that promise to market your inventive technology to companies that would then produce and sell your proposed product. Many of them seek legitimately to provide a helpful service. However, numerous bad apples have given the entire field an unsavory reputation. Let the buyer beware! See http://www.inventnet.com/scam.html
It's too bad that the Borders bookstore chain has closed, because they were a decent source for books on the subject. Like .. From Patent to Profit by Bob DeMatteis, and How to License Your Million Dollar Idea by Harvey Reese, and The Inventors Desktop Companion by Richard C. Levy. But you can find them and others from online sources or some other bookstores that still have their bricks and mortar.
Do you want to build a legal fence around your invention, so someone would have to pay you to practice it? Then consider seeking a U.S. patent (and foreign patents if also appropriate). The process of patenting is stacked in favor of making the invention public and free to everyone ... to get real protection you'd need to jump through lots of legal hoops, and be lucky as well. A helpful guide to the process is David Pressman's book Patent It Yourself, which actually can help you work with a patent attorney, as well. The publisher of that book, Nolo Press of Berkeley, CA, has a family of publications that are also helpful.
And, yes, the patent laws of the U.S. are changing, though the publicly reported ballyhoo is a bit off-point. Pres. Obama signed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act on September 16th, and by law, as of September 26th, government fees involving patents increased by about 15%. A few other aspects of the law have come into effect, but major changes are in the future. And it isn't yet clear that the US Patent and Trademark Office will get to use the increased fees to facilitate the patent-examination process. Maybe the additional patent fee money will be diverted to the general treasury, in effect, a tax on those who seek to use the patent system of the U.S. Stay tuned on this subject. More news to come.
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Maurice Ross ·
Your question is "are there any companys that can help". My colleagues have provided you with sound advice. But beware of "companies" that offer to help persons in your situation for flat fees. Sadly, many of these companies are frauds.
I meet clients in your situation in a regular basis and my advice is always the same. You need to partner with an experienced intellectual property lawyer to develop a strategy for protecting and branding your intellectual property rights and, at the same time, minimizing the risk that if you develop your invention, it will be found to infringe patent and other IP rights owned by others. There simply is no substitute for building a solid intellectual property foundation---and unfortunately this costs real money. There are no short cuts here, and any lawyer or company who says they can do this for you for a couple of thousand dollars is misleading you. Developing and commercializing an invention takes real money, and unless you have budget to do this properly you will get nowhere.
Here is the good news, however. If you retain experienced IP counsel to lay the proper legal foundation, you may be able to attract investors to fund your project. Even in these difficult economic times, venture capital firms are hungry for solid investments in promising new products. But these investors will not throw their money away on a project where the legal foundation ahs not been properly drawn. This becomes a chicken and egg problem---you need funds to lay the propery legal foundation but you can't get the funds until the proper legal foundation is set. What is the solution? Try kickstarter.com, try obtaining investments from family and friends---but somehow you need to come up with the money to lay a legal foundation, protect your IP position, and develop a viable, professinal business plan. Don't give up merely because it is hard---find the right IP lawyer to partner with you and your dream can still come true.
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