How to Protect Your Inventions with Patents

Do you think you have invented a better way to do something? Before you quit your day job, you might want to consider getting a patent. A patent is the best legal protection for an inventor.

A patent is the right, given by the federal government to make, use, and sell an invention. If your invention is a machine, process, or item used in manufacturing, your patent is good for 17 years. However, if your invention is an ornamental design for furniture, jewelry, or the like, you are entitled to exclusive rights for up to 14 years. Once you obtain a patent, anyone who wants to use your invention must get your permission and pay you a fee. Otherwise, you can sue in court and win damages, money, for any losses you suffer.

To qualify for a patent, your invention must be original and useful. If you have merely improved upon an existing item or known principal in an obvious way, you have no right to a patent.

Although you can apply for a patent without the help of a lawyer an experienced patent attorney will help it go more smoothly. Before you apply for a patent, you or your attorney must view information compiled by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Washington D.C. 20231, to learn if any similar or identical invention has already been patented. If none exists, you should quickly file your application. If your brainstorm is already patented or was discussed in an American or foreign application within a given time frame, it is considered ineligible.

Your application must include a detailed account of what your invention does and how it works. This is called the specifications. It must also explain how it was built --- claims. You may have to submit drawings or models. You must sign an oath that you are the original inventor and submit the designated check or money order, to the Commissioner of Patents at the address mentioned.