Trademarks - I happen to be a big believer in trademarks. As always, consult a patent attorney before making your final decision. In my opinion, it's usually best to wait until the product is manufacture-ready before taking that step. Filing a full utility or design patent too early in the process can be a waste of money as the product will likely evolve over time which will render the patent invalid. This will give you a “Patent Pending” status for 12 months while you explore the commercial viability of the product. You can file a “Provisional Patent” with the USPTO for $70 - $280, depending on the size of your company. The good news is that you don’t have to decide that now. However, if your goal is instead to license your idea to a company, then a patent is likely very important. In most cases that money would be better spent building product awareness and market share. The truth is, a patent is only as a good as your ability to defend it. Additionally it's important to know that roughly 75% of patent infringement cases rule in favor of the accused infringer. And in fact, spending money on a patent can often be a waste of money for small business owners as they are usually not financially equipped to defend the patent if their product should get knocked off. If your goal is to commercialize the product yourself, you may not need a patent at all. When deciding whether to file a patent, it’s important to determine what your goal is. So just because you don't have a patent, doesn't mean you should abandon your idea. But fear not, only a small percentage of products in the marketplace are patented. Sadly, the thought of spending $5,000 to $10,000 to secure a patent scares most would-be inventors away. Provisional Patent – To patent or not to patent is an ongoing debate in the world of inventing. Down the road, as things progress you may want to have an attorney do a more thorough search, but in the initial stages, doing your own search can save you a lot of money. You can also go directly to the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office). I find Google Patents and Free Patents Online to be the most simple platforms to navigate. With the resources available today, you can do this preliminary patent search yourself at no cost. One way to do this is to hire a Patent Attorney-they will typically charge between $800 and $3000 to do the search for you. Product and Patent Search – One of the most important first steps you should take when considering bringing an invention idea to market is to do a preliminary patent search to ensure the invention does not already exist and/or that your idea does not infringe on an existing patent. There's nothing I enjoy more than helping a fellow inventor! I have six tried and true money saving tips that I'm always happy to share, as I find that they offer a great way to explore the world of inventing without breaking the bank. As an inventor who has brought 30+ products to market via home shopping, ecommerce and big box retail, I’m often asked how to get a product idea off the ground without having to spend a lot of money.
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