I did….still waiting an answer from my last one. I will try again. Truly appreciate your responses to my other ones though. :)

Jerry you can email me at rbrown@rogerbrown.net Do not send me any ideas unless we sign a NDA first.

I am sooo loving this discussion! Thanks Dave and Roger. I can see now how different paths developed based on individual viewpoints.

Hi Roger!

What must I do to talk with you about some of my ideas?

Velcro Straps for shoes!!!!!!!!! Man! I just thought of that one! LOL :) JK!

Dave, I have disagree with the order in which you are stating an Inventor should proceed. You say they should file for the PPA because it gives them a year to get set up and approach companies. Then once they have the PPA they can go to Google.com/patents to discover if their idea is out there.
I would say they need to do the google.com/patents search first. Also look online, in catalogs, in stores that would carry that type of product. They need to do this research BEFORE they spend money on a PPA. I get products for review by many Inventors that have spent a lot of money, swear there is nothing out there like their idea, only to find out there are a number of products just like theirs on the market.
Here are just a few of the products I get told don’t exist. How many are you already aware of just by reading their description and don’t even have to look online? They could have saved $125 and more by taking two days and REALLY search for their idea to see if it exists. I don’t think two days of research would make or break them if the product truly does not exist before filing a PPA.

Toothbrush with toothpaste in handle

Stroller with baby changing table built in

Fragrance sheet for your home vents or you stick on the blade of your ceiling fan

Automatic cat litter box

Car seat for child that detaches and is used as a baby carrier

Velcro straps for holding shoes closed instead of laces

baby bib with pouch at the bottom to catch spilled food.

Knife holding butcher block with built-in knife sharpener

Toaster that holds 6 slices of bread at one time or a toaster that will toast bread and a bagel

Looking at those items described, how hard and long do you think you would have to look to see that they already exist? Instead the Inventors paid $125 for a PPA that is useless to them. How many of those payments would you make before realizing it might be more effective to to some research first?

On the topic of needing a PPA you stated “The main reason a provisional patent application, PPA, is of value is it gives you 1 year to get your ducks in a row and with your PPA in hand you can claim Patent Pending and be recognized as a “viable entity”, if you will, when you approach any company. This means that no real company would entertain working with your inventive idea without some kind of Intellectual Property protection.”

While I will agree that some companies will only look at patented ideas, there are plenty of companies that will look at your idea without a patent or even a PPA. I have licensed 9 products using only a NDA and a sell sheet. No PPA, No patent. They didn’t steal my idea. They paid me the same going rate of 5% on royalties as they would if I had approached them with a patent or PPA. Inventors need to look at their particular situation, do their research and decide what they feel is going to work best for them. I prefer to not spend my money on things I don’t need.

Carole

The USPTO charges $125 when you file a Provisional Patent Application. However, if the USPTO gets its acto together there should be a micro entity of $62.50 for individual inventors… Don’t hold your breath.. It could take a few more years…

A provisional patent is well described below but what you NEED to know is most attorneys will advise AGAINST them mainly because they can not derive any billable hours given that there are no Office Actions to be had to generate the enormous fees they charge. Another common reason

My suggestion is to look at the second video on this blog post for the top 10 reasons to file a Provisional Patent application. filepatentapplications.com/blog/ Then if that clicks your clock take a look at the provisional patent video course here provisionalpatentvideo.com/ to see if this resonates with you.

The main reason a provisional patent application, PPA, is of value is it gives you 1 year to get your ducks in a row and with your PPA in hand you can claim Patent Pending and be recognized as a “viable entity”, if you will, when you approach any company. This means that no real company would entertain working with your inventive idea without some kind of Intellectual Property protection. With your PPA you can then have the company you work with file the non-provisional patent in manner that most suits them to secure the inventive idea.

Then, if you read the posts by Roger Brown you can discover if your inventive idea is already out there by playing around with Google’s Patent Search. Let’s say you have an invention that is an improvement on a retractable dog leash. Start here and then edit the “Search” term and read all of the patents that use those keywords..
Dang.. they do not let me have links.. Go to Google and then hit the More button and select Patents…
google.com/patents

Enjoy!

Dave Korpi

Getting over being paranoid and having realistic expectations is a big hurdle for most Inventors.

LOL! I love the cat/dog analogy. You hit the nail on the head for me. I see EN as giving me the ability to get the kind of professional help to develop my idea into something that is patent ready and marketable. Yet, I think that I speak for many newbies that it takes a great deal of trust to bring yourself to the point of letting others look at your ‘baby’. The beauty of your answer, aside from its succinct truth, is that it is affirming for the newbie to trust their unpatented invention to the EN process (can’t say that with any other company! :-) even and especially during the extensive search and possibly redevelopment phases to bring the cat into a full puppy. Lacking the ability to negotiate the patent waters alone, it feels comforting to know that I can submit my best ideas as uncomplicated by previous processes. Awesome insight, Roger.

Glad you are finding the info useful. As I have said before Inventors need to remember a patent is a tool and not a automatic ticket to riches. Don’t pin all your hopes on a patent when you haven’t done any research to see if your product is marketable. Inventors need to stop running towards a patent when they don’t even know if a patent is beneficial or they are far enough along in the development of the product to warrant the filing of a PPA or patent.
There is a situation I call “What started out a cat ends up a dog.” If you look at the evolution of a number of products what you first started out developing changes as you find bugs in it, see more ergonomic ways to design it, see that what you thought would take 12 parts to make can be done in 5. These all factor into the final product. When you rush to file a patent and you file for the cat but the final product is the dog your patent does not cover the Dog because it was written to cover the Cat.
Go to my website page http://www.rogerbrown.net/help/ and look at the sell sheet for the Toss and Score and then look at the Power Pitch Horseshoes below it. What I turned into the company and what we decided on the final design are totally different. If I had patented the Toss and Score I would have had to turn right around and file another patent for the Power Pitch Horseshoes because the first patent would not cover the final product. That is why I caution Inventors about rushing out to spend money before you know what you are spending your money on.

Roger to the rescue! Thanks again for helping us all understand the process!

Thanks Roger, I’ll check it out. I haven’t seen the other posts either and will check them out.

Thanks Roger….now I got to get some good reading done! :)

Hi Jeff,

I primarily work on all my own projects. I will partner with a company or other Inventor if it seems like a good fit. I don’t use a PPA or patent. I use a sell sheet and a NDA when I approach companies. If you look at my website on this page http://www.rogerbrown.net/inventing/ you can see the products I have licensed. I have two new kitchen products scheduled for release at the Chicago Housewares trade show in 2012.
The companies I license the product to pays for the patent. I receive royalty checks quarterly. So my only investment is my time, some materials if needed for a prototype, postage, phone calls, and some incedentails.

I don’t know if you have seen these articles. They will give you a good idea of what I do. I hope that helps.

How to Submit Ideas to Companies Think Before You Send
http://www.inventorsdigest.com/archives/6674

12- Step Program Sealing a Licensing Deal for Under $100
http://www.inventorsdigest.com/archives/5042

Licensing Vs Manufacturing
http://www.inventorsdigest.com/archives/2927

How to Land A Royal(ty) Flush
http://www.inventorsdigest.com/archives/7241

I’ve been reading a lot of your posts Roger and I think it’s great that you spend so much of your time sharing your thoughts and opinions on these topics. I was wondering something if you don’t mind sharing. Do you work with EN at all or do you just license your own inventions? It seems in one of your posts that you said you haven’t spent more than $100 on each of the inventions you were talking about. Does that mean you don’t have any patent protection on the things your trying to license? Sorry, so many questions. Just very curious.

Also, do you license other people’s inventions?

Thanks again Roger,

Jeff

Please read these three threads to give you some ideas on what you need to do before spending money on a patent or PPA.

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

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

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

I looked into writing my own claims, but the verbiage is so specific as to how you want to write them and how you make it so others can’t, that I just wouldn’t risk it. I’ve seen $400 for a patent search with a lawyer, but that’s about it. Waiting for some other responses on price too. Would like to hear how others have done it and what it’s cost them and who they’ve used.

We did a simulpost. The absolute lowest cost for a PPA is $125 but you have to do it all yourself. Its not that hard. The Nolo book “Patent it Yourself” has a section where they walk you through the process.

Yeah I’d like to know what the best prices people have found for filing a PPA, and what’s the best deal they’ve found on a good patent search. Trademark is more the look of something where the patent is the utility of it…what it does. I think if you have a novel invention, that it would be best to get a PPA. So there’s one I have that I think is pretty good and want to protect it a bit myself before submitting it.

I an not an attorney but will say

The cost to file a Provisional Patent is $125 if you do it yourself and assuming you are a ‘small business entity’ (If they’re charging $169 I wonder how much value they’re really adding.)

A patent and trademark are greatly different. A patent is essentially protection for the manufacture and sale of a device or process. I.E. if you get a patent for the next great mousetrap anyone who manufactures and sells it without your permission can be sued.

A trademark is protection for a name, sign, or other indicator. If you had a trademark “WonderTrap” on your mousetrap, and someone else started using that name for a different product, they would be infringing on your trademark, but not your patent. 3M Company (formerly Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) has a trademark on the plaid pattern used on products like “Scoth Tape”and also has a trademark on the name “Scotch”.

That said, I doubt having a patent or trademark makes it more complicated for an EN submission; if anything it puts them in a stronger and more favorable position when approaching prospective licensees.

Again, that is an amateur’s answer.