So, I saw an IP lawyer yesterday about starting the patent process on a little invention of mine. Nothing major yet, just a sit down consultation on where to take things next. Looks like a provisional patent is the way to go for the time being. I’m going to look into doing that part myself, and if I need help on the utility patent I’ll probably hit them up for their services.
In case you didn’t know, patents are crazy expensive to obtain. Well not crazy expensive, but much more than you would expect. For a utility patent I can expect to spend somewhere in the range of 10-20k depending on how picky the patent office chooses to be. If your invention is good, this is chump change, but if it’s a flop, it’s a lot to eat in expenses that will have no return.
Needless to say, I’m heavily intimidated by the whole process of bringing a product to market. Most of that is nervousness about being taken advantage of by people more familiar with the process. The rest is just simple inexperience with the idea of canvassing for investors, shopping around the product, and if necessary, looking for manufacturing partners. I need to read some books I think.
I’ve got a couple other ideas that will benefit from any experience gained here, and I should probably resign myself to a certain amount of being taken advantage of, or at least paying people to prevent it (not sure which is cheaper).
Nope, can’t talk about what the invention is. Apparently, if you talk about an invention in any depth before the patent process has begun, you loose the ability to patent it. I now have a better idea of why Apple is so secretive about product development.
My IP lawyer offered to drastically reduce fees in exchange for a percentage of revenue, which I was planning on pursuing anyway. This is a good sign as far as product viability goes.
I’ll keep you informed.