Thinking about making somethi9ng top secret

[beastofablaze]

Ok... heres the deal... My dad and I have tons of ideas on patents for all kinds of things but I'm not too sure on what I should do to get it patented.

I have access everything I need at my work, welders, cold saws, torches, etc and my boss will let me use itwhen nobody is there. What do I do? Do I need to make a working prototype or not? A few of these are for trucks and, IMO, damn good ideas that would make wheeling alot easier for some people. Also I have a few ideas about hp that no one has tried yet.

Any ideas?

 

[Muddytazz]

check the federal patent laws...I do believe that you have to sell so many of said item to have a patent.

 

[afroman006]

Ane be careful if using equipment at your work because if it turns out profitable the company might turn around and sue you for a portion of the proceeds, since you used their resources.

 

[mofugly13]

All you need is an idea, yep, you can patent an IDEA! You don't even need a prototype. There are kits that help you patent your own stuff, you can get them in the back of popular mechanics. Or, hire a patent lawyer, who will searh existing patents, and help you through the patent process. You will pay, though.

 

[willyswanter]

Go on the American Inventor tv show

 

[Stomper]

Also, don't sell anything until you have at least "patent pending". Or it is an existing product and is not patentable(is that a word)

 

[fireplug]

http://www.uspto.gov/ for USA, http://patents1.ic.gc.ca/intro-e.html for Canada.

I looked into this a long while ago. Fairly easy process. The patent part is easy the production part is the challenge, as you will see when checking out the data base. There are a ton of patents sitting waiting. That is someone has patented the idea, and is waiting for someone to pay them for the rights. The idea (again going from memory) must be unique as determined by the patent office, and I believe can only sit dormant for so long before being open to availability, the same goes I believe for a patented product in production?

 

[Blue85]

Here are the difficulties for getting a patent:

1) The idea has to be shown to be unique. This is very difficult without reviewing a lot of material from the same field. You can wait for the patent office to do this, but by the time they get back to you with something similar, it may be too late for you to benefit from it. You can use a patent attorney, but of course that adds cost.

2) The invention has to be described in terms that would enable someone else proficient in the field to duplicate the invention. This could be hard if you don't have formal education in the area.

3) You have to define the invention in terms that set it apart from anything similar. This can be legal-ese to the point where the inventor doesn't recognize the invention any more.

You do have to describe an actual implementation. You can't patent the idea of "cold fusion" for example, unless you can show a way that it might actually be done. In fact, if someone has already invented something similar, it may be solely the implementation that is patentable.

 

[cbbr]

Yep, that's a pretty good run down. I hate to say it, but if you're serious, call patent attorney and spend a few $$ to get it right. Also, if you use your bosses shop, he may actually have some rights to your stuff.

 

[blazinzuk]

If you truly think you have something you can patent draw it explain it on a peice of paper. It is better if it is a technical drawing and send it in a certified letter to yourself and get going on getting the lawyer, the certified letter is to prove you had the idea some time ago and the lawyer is because it will take too long to get it patented on your own. But first do alot of research cause it sucks hiring a lawyer to tell you someone else has already patented it.

 

[beastofablaze]

Well thanks for the rundown... that helps alot.

A couple of my ideas are more or less improvements on other invention but there are a few that could very easily get big quick.

even if they don't get big why the hell not... it won't cost me much if anything to make some prototypes... kinda the same thinking that goes through peoples heads when they buy a lottery ticket.