I NEED SOME HELP PLEASE READ.

[SMOKEHOUSE ROB]

I am looking for anybody that has filed a patent on there own, i dont know how to start , i went to the us patent website and after reading for a few minutes  i am so lost, my god so much muble jumble it was worst then a tax book, if you can help stear me in the right direction i would love to talk to you. also i want to add i dont want to spend a bunch of $ LOL. Thanks

[Oldman]

Rob,

I've been looking into something and I can tell you that you will need a good lawyer. Next, give thought to doing a copyright in BROAD terms as well.
Good Luck!

Olds

[iceman]

Rob; Oldman is right about the lawyer thing. It took me over a year for the patent search to get done and documented and then I was able to apply for it. All said and done I was out almost 10 G's and over two years of bulls__t with the lawyers. Be careful, just because you have the patent doesn't mean a whole lot anymore. Anybody can copy it and make a slight improvement then there's nothing to stop them from marketing the (new and improved) version once they get the modification patent. Good luck! Sometimes you wonder if it's all worth it. The little guy really has to fight hard to get ahead anymore.[xx(]

[Kummok]

A little twist on the advice given so far.....I contacted a patent attorney and he advised AGAINST using his counsel for my invention at that time. He advised that, for "novice" inventors with the limited market at which my product was aimed, I was better off getting going on sales without a patent and try to capture the market. To prove his point, he told me to expect $10k-$20k investment using legal counsel and that minor "tweaking" to my invention could allow someone else to obtain their own patent, then I'd have to spend thou$and$ more to defend my patent rights. Don't know if he was just having a "not another newbie inventor" day or not, but I followed his advice, got my invention off to an earlier start, formed a corporation with a wonderful partner, captured the market with a product in the $3000 range, bought out my partner, was profitable, and ending up selling the CA corporation, all over a 10 year period and all WITHOUT a patent!

This was just my own experience. Perhaps I was lucky, perhaps this is the "norm"....couldn't tell you, with confidence, anything other than this was just my own experience with this one product.

I have another patent endeavor going on right now that, due to the broader market of this one, (in the $2-$5 per item range, aimed at the Home Depot/builder/carpenter market), I believe that a patent is more appropriate. I am pursuing a patent this time but again, WITHOUT an attorney. There's several "Google-able" groups of "volunteer" groups of patent seekers that love helping newbies get their first patent. I haven't used any of these groups...just heard about them. I've found the USPO website to be very helpful with its patent search capabilities, however it IS time-consuming. I can't imagine doing this if I wasn't retired! Now that I'm back home, I'll be checking things out in this regard, so keep in touch off forum and I'll let you know if I find any big "patent help discoveries"!

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

[SMOKEHOUSE ROB]

thanks guys, i think the first thing i can do to see if it is worth doing is file a provisional patent ,
here is some cut and paste stuff i read. man i love copy and paste. LOL

 A provisional patent gets you a patent pending number and allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied from the date of filing.

·      A provisional patent protects your invention for One year from filing date
It gives you real, legal protection for One year allowing you to see if your invention is worth the cost of a full Utility Patent before you spend the money. (usually between $3,000-$15,000)
Kummok i am going to email you a link to a page you might find helpful.

[Arcs_n_Sparks]

Depending upon the nature of the invention, you may be able to use copyright to protect your intellectual property. This is especially true if it involves software or a particular artistic expression.

Arcs_n_Sparks