Should You Patent Your Invention Is It Worth the Cost and the Wait

1. ShouldYou Patent Your Invention? IsItWorth theCost andthe Wait?

2. TheU.S. Patentand TrademarkOffice (USPTO) receivedmorethan 767,000 patentapplicationsin 2014. Ofthose, only 200,000 patentsweregranted. This meansthatmorethan 80% of applicationsarerejectedfor onereasonoranother. If you'rethinkingabout patentinganinvention, there aresomeimportantthingsto considerbeforefilingyour applicationwiththeUSPTO.

3. Whatispatenting? A patent is a legal document that gives inventors the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention for a limited time period. If you're planning to commercialise your invention, then you should consider applying for a patent. You may not need a patent if you're only planning to make and use an invention for your own personal use.What's more, some industries and professions have trademark laws that prevent competitors from infringing on protected trademarks. There's a lot going on with patent applications that result in a lot of rejections. Here are some of the issues that can bog down patent applications. The timing of when you file your application can affect the outcome of your application. If you try to patent an idea that you're already working on or publish your application too close to when you think your competitor will launch their own invention, you could find yourself fighting a legal battle before you ever get your application heard.

4. Howmuchdoesitcostto patentaninvention? You can patent an invention without spending a lot of money, but you do have to pay the government a filing fee. The fee to file a utility patent is $330. However, if you file online, the filing fee is reduced to $250. You may even qualify for a small- entity discount that will lower the fee to $200.I prefer filing online since it saves me a few bucks, but you have to pay the entire filing fee, regardless of how much you order. When Is It Inadvisable to Patent an Webspam Concept? In my opinion, it is impermissible to patent a concept that hasn't been formally proven to exist. This includes virtually everything that the United States Patent Office considers to be spam. This includes spam that involves: Unknowingly occurring or unlikely to occur Arbitrary or illegal methods Pending before a court that have not issued a judgment Attempting to game any standard algorithm for spam detection (e.g. the Panda algorithm) Targeting specific countries for SEO spam (e.g. what if you target Japanese customers? You're infringing on Japan's intellectual property!) Exploiting founded-off-the-wall business concepts (whether they have any merit or not)

5. Howlongdoes ittaketogeta patent? The time it takes to get a patent varies by what country you’re in and whether you’re working with an agent or not. In the US, the average time it takes to get a patent is about 20 months.The number of granted patents varies by country. The United States Patent and Trademark Office reports the following statistics on granted patents

6. Canyougeta provisionalpatent? To get a provisional patent, you need to file a patent application with the US Patent Office. The application is called a Provisional Patent Application (PPA) and it’s a lot easier to get than a regular patent.Here are some of the advantages of requesting a PPA application: Faster than a standard application process. Faster than sending in a written application. Can be filed online. For most businesses, it's a lot easier to get a PPA than a patent. There are two Basic Assumptions required for a PPA application (and you cannot skip these two assumptions in order to get a PPA): The claimed invention must be new, and The claimed invention must be novel. By claiming the claimed invention, you’re ahead of a lot of people who haven’t filed a patent application. For example, over 3,400 people filed patent applications in 2013. If you can claim your invention, you’ll be ahead of them in patent infringement claims. For know more visit: www.albright-ip.co.uk/patent-invention