Information for Inventors about Patents
The first step toward protecting your invention should be preparation of a written description and sketches of the invention. You can use my Invention Disclosure form to prepare the description. Manufacture of a model or prototype is not necessary. The information that you disclose to me will be held in strictest confidence, as in any attorney-client relationship, and under the terms of a Confidentiality Agreement which is part of my Invention Disclosure form.
Completion of the Invention Disclosure form is important to establish and prove a date of conception of your invention. Proof of the date of conception can be very important and may determine who gets the patent for the invention if someone else is conceiving the same invention about the same time as you.
Another way to establish and prove a date of conception of your invention is to prepare and file a provisional patent application in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. My Invention Disclosure form can be used to provide information about your invention to enable me to prepare the provisional application.
Before disclosing your invention to others in a non-confidential manner, a patent application should be filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office so that someone else does not see your invention and file a patent application for it before you do. By first filing a U.S. patent application you will also keep available the option of later filing patent applications for your invention in many foreign countries, an option which would be lost if the U.S. patent application were filed after your invention had been disclosed to others in a non-confidential manner.
Before your patent is applied for, a thorough patentability search should be conducted in the U.S. and foreign patent records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine if your invention is patentable. The most complete patent records in the country are found in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and all my searches are performed there. It is very important that the search include foreign as well as U.S. patents. Foreign patents, like U.S. patents, can be used by the Patent Office to deny an U.S. patent to an inventor.
Some searchers advertise very inexpensive searches, but they often provide no opinion on patentability and typically only search U.S. patents. If foreign patents are not searched, important information relating to your invention may be missed. My search includes foreign patents, all U.S. patents and all published pending U.S. patent applications.
If the patentability search indicates that your invention should be patentable, I can then prepare a patent application that will be promptly filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office after you have reviewed and signed it. Once the application is filed, you will have a "patent pending".
After filing an U.S. patent application for your invention, I can assist you with information about prototypes, production, marketing and financial backing for your invention. I can also assist you in negotiating and preparing license, royalty, marketing and investment agreements. I can also obtain patent protection for your invention in foreign countries. I have associations with other patent attorneys around the world.
Be extremely wary of invention marketing companies. Many have very poor records of success for inventors and many have been targets of criminal and Federal Trade Commission investigations and prosecutions. Reputable marketing organizations will charge only a very modest fee, if any, to evaluate the marketability of an invention, and if they truly believe in the invention's marketing potential, they will offer further marketing help in exchange for only a percentage of future profits. Avoid organizations that charge large up-front fees to market your invention. Once they have your money, they have little incentive to promote your invention.
To obtain my Invention Disclosure form and for more free written information about protecting and patenting your invention, call 1-301-279-7577. You can also reach me by e-mail at .
For more information by mail, email daket@verizon.net or call 1-301-279-7577
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