HOW TO START

Get the book, "Patent-It-Yourself" by David Pressman and published by Nolo Press. It's an excellent book that's clearly written to answer almost any imaginable question you might have about patents.

Give me a call. I don't charge for phone consultations. I work out of my home, so I'm available almost anytime between 8 AM and 8 PM Central Time, Monday - Saturday.

You can also do your own cursory patent search for free at the U. S. Patent Office website, www.uspto.gov/patft/. To see the drawings, however, you'll first need to download a free TIFF reader, which the Patent Office makes available through a hyperlink on their website.

Miscellaneous Tips:

• Avoid invention submission companies - check out the Scam Buster Machine
• Making a working prototype before filing a patent application is recommended but not required.
• Patent search is recommended but not required.
• You can lose your opportunity to get a patent if you do any of the following more than one year prior to filing a patent application
  1. sell or even just offer to sell your invention
  2. use your invention in public
  3. publish info about your invention

Patent Attorney vs. Patent Agent

Patent agents are engineers or scientists who have passed the patent bar exam, and their work is limited to representing inventors before the U. S. Patent & Trademark Office. Patent agents write patent applications, file them with the Patent Office, and prosecute the case until the application is allowed and issues as a patent. Preparing and prosecuting patent applications is what patent agents do.

Patent attorneys, on the other hand, can do everything a patent agent does plus a lot more because they also have a law degree. Patent attorneys can represent you in court in an infringement suit (or any other suit), draft licensing agreements, handle copyright and trademark issues, provide infringement opinions, and they can even prepare your will. A patent attorney can be considered as a, "one-stop shop."

If a patent attorney and a patent agent are preparing or prosecuting a patent application, there's no difference, except perhaps, the price they charge.