How to Get Paid on a Patent
Patents remain in place for 20 years to provide inventors exclusive rights to their intellectual discoveries. Patents allow intellectual property owners to determine when and how their creativity will be marketed, produced, used, sold, imported, and/or licensed to others. Patents give owners the opportunity to benefit from their own intellectual designs. Although patent fees are reduced by 50 percent for individuals and small businesses, a patent holder will likely pay the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a minimum of $4,000 in patent maintenance fees during those 20 years. Patents are not renewable, but can be extended under special circumstances.
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Instructions
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Patents: Getting Paid for Intellectual Property Rights
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First, you must invent something that is commercially viable and useful to society, something that will enhance work efficiency, or something that will make a difference in other people's lives. Your best inventions will likely come from your own area of expertise, and not from an area of expertise you are unfamiliar with.
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Register your invention with the USPTO. Hiring a patent attorney will be useful. While registration is not a prerequisite for getting paid on patents, and you do not have to register your invention to sell it, registration protects your exclusive right as the inventor to decide upon who is excluded from using your invention.
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Develop artwork or a scale model for your invention. Although no longer a requirement to register a patent, it will be useful when shopping for investors. Consult with your attorney on how to safely do this and review the Resources section of this article.
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Develop a strong business plan and commercial use for your product. The plan should include a good marketing program and a scale model or art so others can also conceptualize your vision.
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Analyze your target audience. What motivates the users of your invention to buy? Write up a dynamic proposal to present to potential investors. The proposal should include slide-show presentations (i.e., MS PowerPoint), financial forecasts, information on similar product designs and how those designs have performed in the marketplace.
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Scope out business entities that could benefit from licensing or purchasing your patent rights. Have non-disclosure and non-compete agreements ready for potential investors to sign before you show them your idea.
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Approach potential investors with confidence; have an idea of what you'd accept to license or sell your invention, and have your business cards in hand.
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Tips & Warnings
Keeping your licensing rights could net your more income than outright selling or assigning your invention.
Beware of unscrupulous invention submission companies.
This article is not to replace the advice of an attorney.
