- (Q) Why Patent an Invention?
(A) Patents provide an EXCLUSIVE 17 year "legal" monopoly on the manufacture of inventions in exchange for then placing the "secrets" of the invention into the "public domain". This ultimately is what makes inventing (financially) worthwhile. While patents can ONLY be issued to the individual inventor (or collaborating inventors), the licensing rights to inventions can be sold, based on the grant of a patent.
(Q) What Services can Invention Concepts provide?
(A)- Creating inventions to fit your specific needs.
- Assistance in making an invention "work"
- Help in getting your invention to prototype, patented, and manufactured state.
- Consulting services specifically geared toward solving technical problems with patentable inventions.
- Perfecting, reduction to practice, manufacturing, or selling your ideas.
- Advice and assistance in patenting your own inventions.
(Q) Must an inventor build a working prototype?
(A) The patent office gives "priority" to the inventor who first "reduces the invention to practice". This can be done by proof of building a prototype, or by documentation that drawings were produced, that could be used by any competent workman in the field to produce a prototype. But these can be debated. The technical drawings filed with a patent application are the ULTIMATE proof of an inventor’s "priority" in developing an idea into a patentable "Invention".
(Q) Can I purchase patent rights to an "un-patented" invention from Invention Concepts ?
(A) Yes, and no. Only the original (individual) inventor can patent the invention. But every day contracts are written to buy patent rights (when granted) in exchange for (the inventor) applying for the patent and granting of exclusive rights to manufacture.
(Q) What is the "poor man’s patent"?
(A) This is a method of proving priority of first conceiving of an idea by mailing to one’s self (by registered mail) descriptions and drawings of the inventions. But the patent office itself really prefers a sewn bound journal (similar to a college theme book), with consecutively numbered pages. Then each day (or periodically) one or two individuals should read, witness, sign, and date the pages. It is also important to be able to collect proof (by journal entries, dated photos of prototypes, and witnessed drawings) of "reduction to practice". This entails some real progress towards making the original crude idea into a practical invention.
(Q) What is the "provisional patent"?
A provisional application for patent allows filing without a formal patent claim, oath or declaration, or any information disclosure (prior art) statement. It provides the means to establish an early effective filing date in a non-provisional patent application filed under 35 U.S.C. §111(a). It also allows the term "Patent Pending" to be applied.
A provisional application for patent (provisional application) has a pendency lasting 12 months from the date the provisional application is filed. The 12-month pendency period cannot be extended. Therefore, an applicant who files a provisional application must file a corresponding non-provisional application for patent (non-provisional application) during the 12-month pendency period of the provisional application in order to benefit from the earlier filing of the provisional application. The corresponding non-provisional application must contain or be amended to contain a specific reference to the provisional application.
(Q) Can an invention be manufactured before the patent is issued (which typically takes about two years?
(A) Yes, as soon as you file a patent application (which can be done in days), you are legally entitled to stamp or print "Patent Pending" on a product, which serves as legal notice that you can sue them for anything they make by "infringing" on your patent, the day it is issued.
(Q) I thought monopolies were illegal?
(A) Patent law establishes the only REAL MONOPOLY that is not strictly regulated by the government. A patent (or patent license to manufacture) is literally a license to make all the money you possibly can in a 17-year period (or actually ~19 years, including the "Patent Pending" time period.) A "basic" patent on a product that "takes off" commercially can sometimes allow significantly higher profit margins than if there was heavy commercial competition.
(Q) What is the difference between "engineering" and "Inventing"?
(A) Engineering entails design that is not strikingly technically novel or unique. If it is obvious to one skilled in the trade, or merely an extension of existing practice in the field, or even an application borrowed from another field, it is engineering, not covered under patent law. Invention Concepts specializes in solving technical problems with inventions that can be patented.
(Q) What is a "Patent Search", and how do I do one?
(A) A patent search allows one to see, one by one, if any or all of the technical "
claims" in a proposed patent application are valid. Each "claim" is literally claiming that some detail of the invention is unique, and therefore patentable. A patent search "checks out" if anyone else has ever claimed the same idea or detail. You can use our link to the U.S. Patent Office to do a search yourself, online. That database extends back to 1976. If it seems like the invention is truly promising, and no "infringement" exist on an existing patent, then it is often worthwhile to hire a "patent search firm" to do a more complete search of the older documents at the Patent Office itself. Or, some people patenting their own inventions, merely file the patent and let the Patent Office worry about that detail.
(Q) Is it practical to file for a patent myself, without a patent attorney?
(A) Yes, particularly if you are fairly literate in legal language and fairly competent in technical drawings (on a Cad System). Invention Concepts may be able to help you here follow the link Making it work: by Invention Concepts. We have many useful tips, examples, and rules on how to make the claims and how to complete the drawing. (The patent office is particularly picky about the drawings. Sometimes it helps to make the drawing, and then have a draftsman "touch them up".)
(Q) What is the difference between a "general patent" and a "design patent"?
(A) A general patent would cover a new brake caliper system for an automobile wheel. A design patent might cover the pattern stamped into the hubcap. Design patents protect unique "artwork" and "appearance" rendered to a product, and might help prevent a competitor from stealing your logo or grill design. General patents cover the nuts and bolts mechanics of a machine or device, the technical details that cause it to function differently than any other device on the market. Design patents (much like copyrights) are incredibly easy to obtain. Specific claims in a general patent are more often turned down than accepted.
(Q) What if I want to buy patent rights (from Invention Concepts, or anyone else)?
(A) The term "patent rights" is not technically correct. The correct term is either "exclusive right to make or "non-exclusive right to manufacture" a patented product. This is usually referred to as "licensing of patent rights". Ordinary contract law pertains. Typically, the inventor is required to participate in the patenting process (if not yet patented). The licensee typically pays for patenting costs (if not yet patented), pays some negotiated initial payment, and some sort of "royalty payment" for each unit manufactured. There are no such things as "standard" or "customary" fees, since the value of each patent and each unit manufactured varies so widely.
(Q) Does Invention Concepts provide an invention consulting service?
(A) Yes, but of a very specialized sort. If you have a technical problem, there are hundreds of engineering firms that will provide engineering solutions. Invention Concepts specifically seeks to solve a problem or produce a new product with a concept that is patentable. This includes "breaking" the patents of competitors, providing ways of "working around" someone else’s patents, gaining a monopoly by possessing a "basic patent", and providing "breakthrough patents" that start entirely new industries. Please, see "Invention Consulting Service" for more information.
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