Inventor Do's and Don'ts
Do keep clear dated notes and drawings of your inventions.
Do document and date any prototypes and results that you obtain.
Do file for patent protection sooner rather than later. Your official USPTO filing date is key to protecting your intellectual property.
Do have a signed non-disclosure agreement in place before discussing your invention with a third party.
Don't publish a written description of your invention until you understand how that will affect your patent rights.
Don't publicly use your invention until you understand how that will affect your patent rights.
Don't offer to sell your invention until you understand how that will affect your patent rights.
Do engage a patent law professional if you are unsure as to how to proceed with protecting your invention. USPTO rules are extensive, rigid and complex. Mistakes can cost you time, money, and even your patent.
Protect Your Ideas
Did you know that even if you are the first to invent patentable subject matter, and the first to file for a patent on that subject matter, that you may have already lost your patent rights through your own actions. Here are activities to watch out for:
In the US:
If your invention was offered for sale or was in public use more than one year before you applied for a patent in the US, you are prohibited from obtaining a patent. If your invention was described in a printed publication in the either the US or a foreign country more than one year before you applied for a patent in the US, you are prohibited from obtaining a patent.
Outside the US:
Be aware that actions on your part affect patent rights abroad differently. In Europe, for example, if the substance of your invention is divulged to the public by means of a written description, oral presentation, public demonstration, or any other means, before you apply for a European patent, you are prohibited from obtaining a patent.
Not Sure Yet?
You want to see whether your invention has commercial appeal, but if you discuss it with anyone, you run the risk they will steal your great idea. A provisional patent might be just what you need.
We have found that the provisional patent application is often misunderstood. The first thing to understand is that you have exactly one year from the date of filing a provisional patent application to follow up with a non-provisional application. If you do nothing to follow up the provisional application it will not mature into a patent.
The Importance of Dates to the Patent Office
In the United States, the first person to invent something is the person who is entitled to the patent, provided they did not abandon the idea along the way. Typically the first to invent is also the first to the patent office with a patent application, however, this is not always the case. When two different inventors assert that they were the first to invent then the patent office must investigate the priority date of each inventor to determine who invented first. Only the first to invent is entitled to the patent.
We strongly encourage potential inventors to keep dated notes and drawings in bound notebooks that not only document their ideas, but also document prototypes and results obtained. We also strongly encourage potential inventors to periodically have their notebooks read, dated, and signed by trusted persons who understand the matter contained therein. These actions will put you in a stronger position with your invention should anyone challenge your priority date.
In many countries other than the United States the first person to file for a patent on an invention is the only person entitled to the patent. So you may be the first to invent, but if you are not the first to file you may experience great disappointment!