Hi Jon, There area number of threads about patent searching, but don’t think anyone here has created a step-by-step process and shared it here yet. Take a look at the following link for sites to search and how to search:

http://www.edisonnation.com/forums/patents/topi...

There is also a guy who performs patent searches and a attorney opinion about your idea for $250. I don’t remember his name, but was featured in the ID magazine a few issues back. Good luck.

Thanks, Dond. Wish I found that thread sooner, although I agree – there really isn’t a step-by-step process is there? I also dug around the I.D. website to no avail.

I’ve heard of people saving a lot of money by outsourcing legal advice and prototypes via sites like elance, but that still is only a piece of the puzzle. I need things in real layman’s terms, so perhaps I should clarify my intent:

I’m looking for some fellow Edisonians to help me build a general outline of both the licensing and patenting process – like a checklist – for DIY inventors who only want professional help when it’s absolutely necessary.

I’ve made sell sheets, contacted companies, signed NDAs, and occasionally had dialog about production, but one big roadblock I’ve found is that most companies will only show interest if your product is at the very least, “patent pending.” I want to file a provisional, but doing my own patent/prior art search never seems complete and I don’t want to “waste” the money hiring an attorney for an idea that’s already out there. Catch-22?

By the way, I’ve opened a Google Wave called, “Inventor’s Forum” for any Google geeks looking for an excuse to try it out.

Hi Jon,
This thread might help. if you have any quesstions there’s a lot of people here that can help, just post your question on the the thread you need help in.

http://www.edisonnation.com/forums/patents/topi...

Wow! That was just the kind of thread I was looking for! Thanks a lot Todd.

Jon, you can find a number of inventor friendly companies that don’t require a patent prior to submitting ideas to them.

http://www.edisonnation.com/forums/market-resea...

http://www.rogerbrown.net

Very cool links, guys. Sumobrain looks especially useful for collaboration. I also appreciate the list, Roger. I’ve gone over this list before and I can say it is quite the boon for inventors to find an NDA-offering company. Here is a question: if I mention to a company that I am working on filing a provisional patent, what are the possible pitfalls I can find? I want them to keep me in the loop with their thought process, but perhaps I want to get some expert feedback before committing to my original idea…