Invention Submission/Patent Applications

[TaylorD]

Anyone know anything about this process? I have searched on google and elsewhere and all I get are companies that claim to help you and warnings about said companies. Does anyone know how to go about the process, the approximate costs involved, etc? (Do you need a patent lawyer, etc.)

Id be most interested in hearing anyone who has been through the process before, but I welcome input from google jockeys also.

 

http://www.uspto.gov

It costs $770 for a basic filing, and the USPTO website says something about a $910 fee due at 3.5 years for maintenance.

Is is really that hard to find information yourself? The fees are right there on the official website.

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: jumpr
http://www.uspto.gov

It costs $770 for a basic filing, and the USPTO website says something about a $910 fee due at 3.5 years for maintenance.

Is is really that hard to find information yourself? The fees are right there on the official website.

Don't you still need a patent lawyer or agent?

There are a lot of specifics & "language" that are required to submit a patent.

 

[TaylorD]

Originally posted by: jumpr
http://www.uspto.gov It costs $770 for a basic filing, and the USPTO website says something about a $910 fee due at 3.5 years for maintenance. Is is really that hard to find information yourself? The fees are right there on the official website.

I knew a google jockey (its a term of endearment) would show up...

I have seen the site. I am more interested if there are additional costs (ie lawyers) and hearing from people who have actually gone through the process.

 

[TaylorD]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: jumpr http://www.uspto.gov It costs $770 for a basic filing, and the USPTO website says something about a $910 fee due at 3.5 years for maintenance. Is is really that hard to find information yourself? The fees are right there on the official website.

Don't you still need a patent lawyer or agent? There are a lot of specifics & "language" that are required to submit a patent.

Thanks... you seem to understand what I am looking for here.

 

[sohcrates]

Originally posted by: jumpr
http://www.uspto.gov

It costs $770 for a basic filing, and the USPTO website says something about a $910 fee due at 3.5 years for maintenance.

Is is really that hard to find information yourself? The fees are right there on the official website.

those costs are merely the app costs. you would only pay those only if you were filing yourself. but unless you have a law degree, i would advise you to hire an attorney or do one of those patent submission companies. i would be wary of those companies though cause they usually take a cut of any money you make off licensing your patent.

neither way is cheap. a good patent lawyer is expensive.

 

[sohcrates]

woops. double post. sorry

 

[CanOWorms]

Originally posted by: TaylorD

Originally posted by: CanOWorms

Originally posted by: jumpr http://www.uspto.gov It costs $770 for a basic filing, and the USPTO website says something about a $910 fee due at 3.5 years for maintenance. Is is really that hard to find information yourself? The fees are right there on the official website.

Don't you still need a patent lawyer or agent? There are a lot of specifics & "language" that are required to submit a patent.

Thanks... you seem to understand what I am looking for here.

I'm not a lawyer and I have never submitted a patent. But I took an intellectual property course once (I'm an engineer) that was taught by a high-level patent attorney for IBM and a professor with many patents. From what I remember, it costs a lot. Also, something like 95% of patents are rejected on the first filing. You then have to negotiate your claims with the patent examiner. All that costs more money I think. The USPTO is self-funding, so that's why it's pretty routine to reject patents at first. You also have to pay for the upkeep of your patent, I think.

Don't take everything I say too seriously... it might be out of date now or something Good luck.

 

[TaylorD]

Originally posted by: CanOWorms
I'm not a lawyer and I have never submitted a patent. But I took an intellectual property course once (I'm an engineer) that was taught by a high-level patent attorney for IBM and a professor with many patents. From what I remember, it costs a lot. Also, something like 95% of patents are rejected on the first filing. You then have to negotiate your claims with the patent examiner. All that costs more money I think. The USPTO is self-funding, so that's why it's pretty routine to reject patents at first. You also have to pay for the upkeep of your patent, I think.

Don't take everything I say too seriously... it might be out of date now or something Good luck.

Thanks for replying. Theres no way I can afford to do this right now this is more of an inquisitory post

 

[Hooobi]

You're usually better off using a patent attorney. There's really no cheap way to do it.

One thing that will help you save some money is to agree on a budget up front with your attorney, typically to cover all work involved in filing, usually not including the PTO fees. If you are filing as an individual, you should qualify for "small entity" status and pay only half the filing fee mentioned above.

Typically it will take 12-18 mo after filing to get a first response from the PTO, usually involving the rejection of one or more claims (not necessarily a bad thing). Responding to this and other communications will usually cost a bit (around $500-2500/per) so you can once again agree to a budget.

Usually it will take 2-3 years between filing and issuance.

Best of luck.