How to Protect Invention Ideas Inexpensively
Plato claimed that necessity was the mother of invention. Inventions that fulfill a perceived necessity of society can make inventors millions of dollars in profit. however, there's more to the business of inventing than just creating an idea. You must protect your ideas. While patent attorneys are frequently useful for this purpose, they are also expensive. You can protect your intellectual property yourself and save on the cost of an attorney.
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Instructions
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Write a logbook, which is a detailed and dated journal citing your idea, when it was created and the entire development process of the concept. The journal should have everything involved in the contemplation and creation of your idea and not contain anything not related to this purpose. Different invention ideas require their own individual logbooks. These can be used later as a proof of concept and design if you must ever prove that you are the creator in court.
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Create a working prototype for your invention if at all possible. Patents are useful in protecting intellectual property, but ideas themselves cannot be patented. You need an actual physical embodiment of your idea if you wish to see protection from the patent office.
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File for a patent with the United State Patent and Trademark Office. You will need to fill out the application and pay any applicable filing fees. If approved, the patent will give you permission to prohibit other parties from creating, distributing or profiting from your invention in the United States without your expressed permission.
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Avoid discussing your idea with anyone unless you have an approved patent and you have a non-disclosure agreement with the other party. A non-disclosure agreement is simply a legal document guaranteeing that the other person cannot discuss your idea with anyone unless you provide him signed permission to do so.
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Send a cease-and-desist letter to anyone who is trying to market or distribute your idea without your permission if you are the rightful patent owner. Cease-and-desist letters are worthless unless you have legitimate legal ownership over the disputed invention and even then, they can be ignored. However, cease-and-desist letters are easy to draft and if they are heeded, they can save you significant costs in court fees by avoiding a legal problem before it starts.
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