Patents Free Articles - Page 2 of 10
Lisa Parmley
Getting Your Patent Application Facts Straight
Even if you choose to use a patent agent or attorney to help you protect your invention, you will still have some work to do. After all, it's your invention. And they need you to communicate the in's and out's of it as best you can. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
Checking Credentials Before Hiring Anyone to Help You Patent Your Invention
Many businesses make more than a decent living helping inventors just like you make money from their inventions. From filing a patent to licensing and marketing your invention, someone is around every corner offering assistance. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
Types of Patents Granted by the USPTO
Inventions may qualify for a utility, a design or a plant patent as set out by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This article attempts to provide you with an overview on each of these patent types. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
The In's and Out's of Gaining a Patent
Please note that there is more to gaining a patent than just filing an application and waiting. It is possible that this is all you will have to do, but unlikely. Once a patent application is sent in to the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), it will be assigned to a patent examiner. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
Patents and Fees: An Overview
Gaining a patent on your invention can be an expensive undertaking. From beginning to end, here are the basic fees you will need to be prepared to pay. Please realize that many others may crop up depending on how complex the prosecution becomes for your patent. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
Short Guide to Patent Protection and Patentability
What can be protected? Determining what qualifies as a patentable invention is a highly difficult and complicated task. Patent laws state that "Anything under the sun that was invented by man qualifies as patentable". Simple enough, but if you notice, there are hundreds of pages full of exceptions and details on the idea of patentability following this phrase. Scores of appeals and patent court cases have arisen due to questions regarding patentability because it still hasn't, and probably never will be entirely pinned down. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
The Inventor's Dilemma
So you've done your homework (or are planning on being diligent about it at least). And you've decided to definitely forge ahead and gain a patent on your invention. So now what? Well, first of all, be warned that patenting your invention will cost you several thousand dollars. The fee varies widely; you will ultimately need to receive an estimate from the professional you choose. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
Detailed Patent Search Tutorial
You can get a reasonable patent search for a few hundred dollars. An in-depth comprehensive search will cost more (around a $1,000). But before you spend any money at all applying for a patent, reducing your invention to practice, or building an expensive prototype, you can start searching around all on your own. [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
So You've Invented Something, Now What?
So you've invented the next big thing (or at least something that may solve a problem for a select group of people)? Now what? [Read More]
Lisa Parmley
The Beginnings of a Quality Patent Search
Hopefully you realize that before you do much of anything, you need to look at the marketability of your invention. Remember, you don't want to do anything until you have a good feel for whether or not you can actually make some money from your invention. Of course, you can't ever determine with 100% accuracy if you will make money or how much, but you can gain an idea by looking at other products available in the marketplace. [Read More]