How to patent your idea 5 tips to protect your idea

HOW TO PATENT IDEA 5 TIPS TO PROTECT YOUR IDEA 1 IS PATENTS PROTECT INVENTIONS? This is a question often asked and the answer is yes. Patents protect your invention and keep other people from profiting from it for a certain time period. A patent can be for an idea or process, but not both. Once you get a patent for your idea, no one else can sell or make products based on it without paying you for it. If someone does, you can sue them for patent infringement and win money from that. There are three types of patents: utility patents which for new inventions, design patents which protect new designs on objects and plant patents which cover asexually reproduced plants. WHO CAN PATENT AN IDEA? Ideally, you should patent an idea if you are the first person to invent it. If there were other people who invented something similar at about the same time as you. Then, they might be able to get patents before you and your invention cannot be patented until theirs expires. Patents usually last for 20 years and can be renewed after this for another 20 years. If someone else gets a patent before you, this doesn't mean your idea is bad or worthless - it just means that it's not very original and other people have developed the same ideas as you. You should still try to make money from your invention by finding a different way to design it. 3 WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO APPLY FOR A PATENT? Ideally, you should get a patent before trying to market your idea because if you have already marketed it, then someone might be able to take your idea after they saw or heard about it. This is called prior art and can stop things from being patented. Once you have filed for a patent, other people are not allowed to use your invention before the patent is approved unless you gave them permission to do it. If you want to sell your invention without a patent, then avoid displaying or demonstrating it in public. 4 HOW MUCH DOES A PATENT COST? A utility patent can cost up to $3,000. Design and plant patents are more expensive and they can range from $750 to $5,000. Filing for a provisional patent is cheaper than filing for a non-provisional patent because it costs around $130 instead of $400-$600. The most common type of patent is the non-provisional patent and this costs around$450-$600. The US Patent Office website has more information about how much patents cost depending on what country you are in. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER YOU'VE APPLIED FOR A PATENT? You will be sent an acknowledgement letter. This means that your application has been received and they are processing it. You should call if you haven't heard from them in three months to find out what's happening with your application. If you don't hear anything after nine months, then call. During this time period, the patent office might contact you about making changes to your patent or they might tell you that your idea is not original enough to be patented. After 12 months, the patent office will send their first report to you. VISIT WWw.ALBRIGHT-IP.CO.UK/PATENT-IDEA FOR MORE!