Do It Yourself Patents

For those who cannot afford to dish out thousandssign as well.
of dollars for a patent lawyer, do it yourself patents2. Make sure your invention qualifies for patent
can be a great alternative. Do it yourself patents canprotection. In do it yourself patents you need to
be done if you are up to the challenge. It is notshow that your invention is new, non-obvious and
impossible although the biggest drawback on do ituseful.
yourself patents is that you are not afforded the3. Assess the commercial potential of your invention.
luxury of having professional advice.Before you spend the time and money to file a
There are some of the advantages of do it yourselfpatent application, you need to research the market
patents that you cannot overlook though. Do ityou hope to enter.
yourself patents could certainly save you money.4. Do a thorough patent search. To make sure your
Also, doing it yourself enables you to learn severalinvention is new, you need to search all the earlier
skills most especially in research. When yo register adevelopments in your field. This involves searching
patent yourself the first and most basic step is toU.S. (patents, as well as other publications like
make sure that your invention qualifies for a patentscientific and technical journals, to find related
or what you call patentable. Also, to qualify with yourinventions.
patents application you need to describe all aspects5. Prepare and file an application with the USPTO. This
of your invention. Some steps on do it yourselfstep on do it yourself patents lets you have a choice
patents are easy, others are more difficult.when you file with the USPTO. You can file a
As with all new endeavors, you will succeed by trialfull-blown regular patent application (RPA) or you can
and error. But by taking the process of doing itfile a provisional patent application (PPA) on the
yourself patents one step at a time, you can acquireinvention. Filing a PPA allows you to claim patent
a patent later on.pending status for the invention but involves only a
The following are the basic steps you need to dosmall fraction of the work and cost of a regular
when applying for a patent:patent application. All that is required to file a PPA is a
1. Keep a careful record of your invention. Whenfee of $80 ($160 for large companies), a detailed
doing your patent yourself it is important to keep adescription of the invention, telling how to make and
record of the invention process in a notebook. Signuse it, and an informal drawing.
and date each entry and have two reliable witnesses