How to Develop an Invention
The road from having an invention idea to receiving royalties from its sale is long and complex. You must prepare a detailed patent application, obtain international patent protection (involving significant expense), prepare marketing materials, sell your invention to manufacturers or distributors, and negotiate license agreements. This process must be undertaken with all deliberate speed, because patents are normally valid for only about 20 years after the date that the initial patent application is filed.
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Things You'll Need
- Patent specifications and claims
- Invention prototype
- Marketing materials
Instructions
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Reduce your invention to specifics. Make drawings and create specifications in such detail that a prototype can be manufactured.
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Draft legal claims establishing that your invention is novel, useful, and unique. There three terms have specific legal meanings and care must be taken when drafting these claims. In layman's terms, novel means that no one has ever invented it before, useful means it can be used for a specific practical purpose, and unique means that a creative leap was required to advance from prior technology to the technology upon which your invention is based.
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Submit an application for a preliminary patent examination under the Patent Cooperation Treaty with the International Bureau (located in Geneva, Switzerland) or one of its Receiving Offices nearest you, using your specifications, drawings, and legal claims. An international examination of existing technology will be conducted to determine if your invention is truly novel, and a preliminary opinion will be issued a to whether or not your invention is patentable.
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Apply for patent protection with the patent offices of each nation in which you desire protection. If your patent is granted, protection will be extended retroactive to the date that you filed your application with the International Bureau,as long as that nation is a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (most nations are).
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Develop extensive marketing materials. These should include a prototype of your invention (if practical) as well as a multimedia presentation showing how your invention is the best solution to an identified market need.
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Search trade associations, trade portals, manufacturers directories, and other sources for potential licensees. You should consider approaching both manufacturers and distributors. Consider using a reputable invention promotion company, a company that specializes in helping inventors bring their inventions to market.
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Present your invention idea to interested companies (you need not wait until your patent application is approved). Negotiate and draft non-exclusive licensing agreements entitling these companies to market and sell your invention in exchange for royalties. Licensing agreements may be drafted to take effect on the day that your patent application receives final approval.
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Tips & Warnings
There are two points in the foregoing process when you absolutely must avail yourself of the assistance of an attorney - when developing legal clams for your invention, and when drafting a license agreement.
If you fail to submit an international patent application before submitting a patent application to an individual country, the clock will begin to run as soon as the first country accepts your patent application. You will have a set period of time (typically 12-18 months, depending on the country), in which to file a patent application in every other country in which you desire patent protection. If you miss the deadline, you will never be able to obtain patent protection in that country.
