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Writing your own patent application
by newB » Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:00 am
- newB
- White Belt
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- Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2007 9:35 pm
we all know it is very expensive to hire a lawyer to write up our patent application. so my questions are:
1. has anybody actually written there own application?
2. is it worth the money to hire a lawyer?
3. what are the biggest challenges you face when you write your own?
4. should i still have a lawyer on my team?
thank you
1. has anybody actually written there own application?
2. is it worth the money to hire a lawyer?
3. what are the biggest challenges you face when you write your own?
4. should i still have a lawyer on my team?
thank you
by CriterionD » Wed Jan 07, 2009 4:42 pm
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CriterionD - Blue Belt
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- Location: Tempe, AZ
Re: Writing your own patent application
by jrgallion » Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:12 pm
- jrgallion
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Hello NewB,
I wrote a phone book for inventor's. Inside the phone book you can find links to templates and reasonably priced services for creating provisional patents and so on.
Try:
www.patentlessons.com
www.freepatentsonline.com
www.dirtcheappatents.com
There are more patent search services and useful information in the free eBook,
www.inventorsphonebook.com
Dream Big,
Jason
FYI, I have spent over $10,000 on a patent for an electronic industrial diagnostic system. I had to do it to license the product to Honeywell. However, we started working out the agreement before the patent was filed, so I had confidence in the investment. Patent NO. 5,608,657
I wrote a phone book for inventor's. Inside the phone book you can find links to templates and reasonably priced services for creating provisional patents and so on.
Try:
www.patentlessons.com
www.freepatentsonline.com
www.dirtcheappatents.com
There are more patent search services and useful information in the free eBook,
www.inventorsphonebook.com
Dream Big,
Jason
FYI, I have spent over $10,000 on a patent for an electronic industrial diagnostic system. I had to do it to license the product to Honeywell. However, we started working out the agreement before the patent was filed, so I had confidence in the investment. Patent NO. 5,608,657
Re: Writing your own patent application
by apapage » Tue Jun 23, 2009 7:02 pm
- apapage
- Green Belt
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- Joined: Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:30 pm
- Location: NYC
If you have technical writing experience, you most certainly can write your own application. I would however suggest that you have an attorney look over the specification and the claims. This can save you money in the long run. For example, I just started working with an inventor that wrote his own application. The specification was really very good, but I (as a patent attorney) would have made modifications that would have made prosecution easier. For example, you should never refer to any technology in the background as prior art. If it isn't prior art you will not be able to argue in prosecution that it is not. The claims were also in poor shape which resulted in the inventor having a very hard (expensive) prosecution. Not knowing procedure can be costly as well. In this instance the inventor inadvertently abandoned the application twice. There should be plenty of solo practitioners out there (including me) that can work within your budget.
A Papageorgiou
http://www.patentlawforinventors.com
http://www.patentlawforinventors.com
Re: Writing your own patent application
by jackbnimble56 » Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:49 am
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jackbnimble56 - Brown Belt
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- Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:28 am
- Location: Massachusetts
I'm gonna throw my two cents worth in here with the understanding that this is all completely new to me.
I think if one is seeking a patent for the first time it may be best to do it through a patent attorney. Getting a patent for an invention can be a very critical step but it is only one of MANY critical steps along the rocky road from "idea" to "commercial product". I've been making the journey for months now operating on a shoestring budget and I can tell you that my patent expenses have made up at least 80% of my total development costs thus far. However, now that most of those costs are behind me, there are others waiting in the wings to consume their share of the cost structure (marketing, distribution, etc.) and it's entirely possible that eventually the patents costs could fall below 50% of the total. In my particular case the invention is so simple that I wanted to make sure I had the best patent protection possible. And because I came into the whole thing with zero experience it just seemed like the prudent thing to do.
Now having said that and having gone through the proof reading process multiple times, I'm fairly certain that if I ever need another patent I probably could write it myself. But I have many years of technical writing experience in highly regulated industries such as biotechnoloy, pharmaceuticals and medical devices all of which are under the authority of the FDA. Someone who has never done anything like that before might be getting themselves in a little deeper than they ever expected. For me at least, once written the entire document seemed pretty straight forward so if you've seen enough of them you could probably pull it off yourself. But I strongly agree with all the others who commented that if your are going to write yourself you should absolutely have it reviewed by an experienced patent attorney.
Jack
I think if one is seeking a patent for the first time it may be best to do it through a patent attorney. Getting a patent for an invention can be a very critical step but it is only one of MANY critical steps along the rocky road from "idea" to "commercial product". I've been making the journey for months now operating on a shoestring budget and I can tell you that my patent expenses have made up at least 80% of my total development costs thus far. However, now that most of those costs are behind me, there are others waiting in the wings to consume their share of the cost structure (marketing, distribution, etc.) and it's entirely possible that eventually the patents costs could fall below 50% of the total. In my particular case the invention is so simple that I wanted to make sure I had the best patent protection possible. And because I came into the whole thing with zero experience it just seemed like the prudent thing to do.
Now having said that and having gone through the proof reading process multiple times, I'm fairly certain that if I ever need another patent I probably could write it myself. But I have many years of technical writing experience in highly regulated industries such as biotechnoloy, pharmaceuticals and medical devices all of which are under the authority of the FDA. Someone who has never done anything like that before might be getting themselves in a little deeper than they ever expected. For me at least, once written the entire document seemed pretty straight forward so if you've seen enough of them you could probably pull it off yourself. But I strongly agree with all the others who commented that if your are going to write yourself you should absolutely have it reviewed by an experienced patent attorney.
Jack
Nimble Jack Enterprises - Innovative Solutions to Everyday Problems
To purchase the Magic Toob product visit: http://www.magictoob.com/
To purchase the Magic Toob product visit: http://www.magictoob.com/
Re: Writing your own patent application
by Helmet » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:30 pm
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Our patent was expensive and took quite a while to submit due to the fact that there were many similar ideas already patented.
I am extremely glad that we hired attorneys because I have always had the peace of mind that we would be able to enforce the patent if need be.
I know that I would not have that peace of mind if I wrote the patent myself. Our patent is complicated and only two out of eighteen claims were allowed, but fortunately, that was enough.
If you have the means, I would definitely recommend having a reputable patent attorney file your application. If you don't, by all means tackle it yourself. It is better than doing nothing at all!!
Good luck!
I am extremely glad that we hired attorneys because I have always had the peace of mind that we would be able to enforce the patent if need be.
I know that I would not have that peace of mind if I wrote the patent myself. Our patent is complicated and only two out of eighteen claims were allowed, but fortunately, that was enough.
If you have the means, I would definitely recommend having a reputable patent attorney file your application. If you don't, by all means tackle it yourself. It is better than doing nothing at all!!
Good luck!
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