How to patent an idea

First thing you have to check is the patentability of your idea:

- As you cannot patent anything that is already widely known you should verify if the detailed information about your idea is not already available to public through printed, electronic or other means. As well, you cannot patent any product that has been sold for over a year by you or by someone else.
- Remember, in order to be patentable, your idea must be useful!

• It can either solve a known problem or contribute to the improvement of an existing solution.
  
• It can be something that performs differently from an existing invention.
  
• It can describe a clearly different use of something.
  
• It can describe a different design
  
• It should not be anything apparent that an expert on that field would consider obvious or would be able to deduce with ease.
  
• It cannot be a law of nature or natural phenomenon.
  

Briefly saying, you should consider the novelty, the invention value and the use of your idea.

Second important step is to describe and document your invention with maximum detail. You have to take in mind, that in the United States the priority to patent an idea belongs to the person who was first in "putting a date" to his/ her invention by presenting the detailed invention information at Notary Public, while in European Union the priority belongs to a person who first applied for a patent for the same invention. If you wish to patent your idea in any other part of the world, you will have to check the legislation on the matter. Remind, that for some kinds of patents, except for draws and description, it is required to present a prototype of the invention in question.

Before actually filling a patent application, you need to make a profound research in order to find out if your idea has not been patented before. Of course, you should begin with a simple Internet search which is for free and easy to perform. If you don't find any clear on-line evidence of the existence of an invention that is very similar to yours, you should proceed to deeper search using tools like databases of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, European Patent Office, Japan Patent Office etc. However, it could be still not enough as many of such bases contain just the inventions patented during relatively recent period of time. To perform a really profound patent search, the best thing is to hire a qualified patent attorney. It will help you to prevent many possible patent infringement issues. If you cannot afford that kind of service or simply prefer to patent it yourself you should consider reading some specialized literature. But be sure your idea is worthy of patenting. If the marketing potential of your idea is not enough high as to compensate you for all the money and efforts invested, don't patent it!

If, finally, you decide to patent your idea, you need to find out which patent type should you apply for. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issues 5 types of patents:

• Utility Patent (also known as patent for an invention) - Issued for the invention of a new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or a new and useful improvement thereof. It is valid up to twenty years and it is the most common patent type.
  
• Design Patent- Issued for a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture. It is valid for fourteen years.
  
• Plant Patent- Issued for a new and distinct invented or discovered asexually reproduced plant including cultivated sports, mutants, hybrids, and newly found seedlings, other than a tuber propagated plant or a plant found in an uncultivated state. It is valid up to twenty years.
  
• Reissue Patent- Issued to correct an error in an already issued utility, design, or plant patent.
  
• Defensive Publication (DEF) - Issued instead of a regular utility, design, or plant patent, it offers limited protection and prevents others from patenting a protected invention, design, or plant.
  

When you are ready to present your patent application, be aware that some patents are subject to a number of fees. Be sure to check it out before you apply. There is often a possibility of fee reduction for small businesses and independent inventors.
To protect your idea in different countries you need to apply for a patent in each country, however there exist international agreements that facilitate this process to a certain degree.
In the United States you have an option to apply for a so-called provisional patent. It is another kind of limited protection that can be very handy as it has very low fee and permits you to disclose your idea before really patenting it and better investigate the marketing potential of your idea. However, if you do not want to loose the intellectual property rights for your invention, you should apply for a normal non-provisional patent within a year after applying for a provisional one.
The actual application process for any kind of patent can be performed by you personally or by a registered attorney or agent (recommended). For more information, visit my How to Patent an Idea blog.