You may be proud to have been rewarded a patent, this does NOT mean it has indeed value. You nor any party you engage will be able to sell your patent without doing extensive homework. If you look for a 3 rd party to assist you in selling, forcefully pitch your patent as a unique and powerful tool showing that a party or parties must use the patented invention with detailes proof. Do not expect IPEG, to take on an offer to sell on a no-cure-no-pay basis.
Selling your patent is costly both in terms of time and money. Be prepared for a counterattack when you approach a party to sell your patent: work on a thorough validity search and do not only rely on the novelty search the Patent Office did as a part of the application procedure. Further reading. Let us give you some thoughts before you enter into a sales pitch. IPEG does not sell individual patent families.
Conclusion To summarize: 1. You may be proud to have been rewarded a patent, this does NOT mean it has indeed value 2. For those new to the industry it is important to understand that on the road to a patent there are many mistakes that inventors can make unwittingly, some of which will ultimately make it impossible to obtain a patent. Prior to March 16, , you could engage in certain activities without jeopardizing your ability to obtain a patent in the United States, such as selling your invention.
It is true that there is still a very narrow grace period available and that the grace period lasts a maximum of 12 months. The grace period can and should be relied upon only in the event of a mistake or accident.
With that in mind, here is a list of the top 5 mistakes inventors make, followed by discussion of what you should do to move your project forward in an appropriate and responsible way. In the United States you have 12 months from the time the invention was first sold within which to file either a provisional patent application or a nonprovisional patent application. If you wait longer than 12 months then you have forever forfeited the right to obtain a patent in the US. Still, as mentioned above, in the new first to file era for U.
Even if you are aware of this rule and you do not sell or offer your invention for sale before you file a patent application there can still be traps that await you. For example, if you file a patent application that fails to adequately disclose your invention and then you start selling you may find out later that the application you filed did nothing to establish priority.
That could mean you need to start over fresh with a new application done properly. The trouble now is that you have been selling the invention thinking you were safe, but then learn that the application you initially filed was so defective that it was as if you filed nothing.
Public use of an invention can create the same problems as a sale or offer for sale. If you use an invention publicly you have 12 months from the first public use to apply for a patent.
If you miss this 12 month window you will not be able to obtain a patent on that which you used publicly. Of course, if you want foreign rights you need to apply first before you use the invention publicly because in many countries there is no grace period of any kind.
Remember also that the better advice is simply not to publicly use your invention before you file a patent application that adequately describes your invention. A provisional patent application is a great tool when it is used properly, and devastating when it is not use properly. A provisional application is extremely easy to file because all you have to do is complete a cover sheet and then attach a description of your invention.
There are no requirements that the description be in a particular format, and the truth is the Patent Office does not even look at the provisional application. This has lead to many non-lawyers and non-law firm vendors offering provisional patent application services for just a few hundred dollars.
Unfortunately for the unwitting inventor who uses a bargain basement, deep discount service provider, the law requires that a provisional patent application describe the invention with the same level of detail as is required of a nonprovisional patent application. Even worse, because you had a patent application pending you may have done things, such as using or selling your invention, as mentioned above.
This is a nightmare because if you filed a provisional application that was not specific enough and then used or sold your invention you have forever forfeited foreign rights, and the application you filed may not be able to be used later to support a filing date. Worse yet, a badly done provisional patent application could even conclusively prove that as of the time that you filed the application you did not have a completed invention.
Even worse, if you first start using or selling your invention and then you file a provisional patent application you may think you are safe. By the time you get around to filing a nonprovisional patent application it is now more than 12 months since your first use or offer for sale, which means you could be forever prevented from obtaining rights even in the United States.
The morale of the story is that a bad provisional patent application not only does not help you, but it could significantly and severly hurt you. I hear all the time from inventors who have done their own patent search and have found nothing similar to their invention. This is the first warning. If the product fizzles in the marketplace, so will your royalty checks.
Relationships with a licensee can go bad, thus costing you more legal fees and headaches. Before signing over licensing rights, research the potential licensee and contact inventors' organizations such as United Inventors Association. If you make and market your invention yourself, all the profits will go to your bank account.
However, those profits may be eaten up by legal and accounting fees, business start up costs, and headache medicine. Most inventors make lousy business folk. Unless your invention requires scant start up capital and you are well-versed in business bureaucracy, it is probably wiser to sell your patent or license usage rights.
Be professional with your marketing efforts. Prepare formal letters and nice looking brochures to showcase your invention. It also helps to have a prototype or at least a good drawing of the product. Make a list of manufacturers and potential users of your invention. The Thomas Register, available in libraries and online, has contact information for thousands of companies. The Yellow Pages and Internet are also good research tools.
When making contact with a firm, present yourself as a Product Developer, not an inventor. Request a face-to-face meeting with a Sales or Product Manager in the company. This option is only advisable once you have actually secured a patent.
Otherwise, you must ask the company to sign a non-disclosure agreement before discussing your idea. Buy space for new product announcements in trade publications and inventors' magazines to generate potential patent buyers. Attend trade or invention shows where you will encounter companies or individuals interested in your product. Several companies have sites on the Internet where inventors can advertise their patents for sale. Some sites are free while others charge a fee if the patent is sold.
Before posting your invention anywhere, check out the United Inventors Association website which has news on unscrupulous invention schemes. A contingent fee broker will market your invention to manufacturers and receive payment for services if the product is sold, typically in the form of a percentage of royalties or cut of the sale. Never pay a broker in advance for his services. Reputable agents will only charge you if they sell your invention. Beware of invention submission companies.
There are lists of inventors who have paid thousands of dollars to these companies and have nothing to show for it but an empty wallet and broken dreams. Many of these companies have been charged with fraud by Attorney General offices in various states and by the federal government.
Before using the services of any broker or company that offers to market your invention, check them out through the Better Business Bureau and United Inventors Association. With good research and a viable product, you just may be able to turn that patent into a moneymaker.
Contents 5 min read. Read more. How much does it cost to get a patent? The answer can be different depending on why you want a patent and what you're patenting.
Intellectual Property Basics.
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