UPDATED: May 21, 2011

So you have an idea and want to file a patent application? There are a number of things that you need to know about the invention and patent process that can help you focus your efforts and know what obstacles lay in front of you. This page and this website consist of free, detailed and trustworthy information to help inventors. Our goal is to educate you, make you a knowledgeable consumer and to save you from those unscrupulous invention promotion companies who would tell you that you can patent an idea. You cannot patent an idea, but there are ways to move from idea to patent in an appropriate manner. These and other things are explained throughout our website.

Below are inventor help links to patent and invention related information throughout our website. While I really belief that inventors should read all of the pages throughout IPWatchdog.com (after all, I wrote these articles), I have gone through IPWatchdog.com and created several “reading assignments,” which will hopefully be more manageable, and which will help get you started. I recommend you do them in this order (i.e., starting with Reading Assignment 1), but if you find something that you just need to know then by all means jump ahead.

If you feel you need the assistance of a patent attorney I can help. I have been helping independent inventors and start-up companies since 1998. Please fill out my contact form and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Good luck and enjoy!

Reading Assignment 1
Getting Started on the Invention-Patent Path

• Protecting Ideas
• How to move from idea to patent?
• Starting the Patent Process on a Limited Budget
• Getting Started for New Inventors
• Don’t Get A Patent? Plainly Ridiculous!
• The Top 5 Things Inventors Do Wrong
  

Reading Assignment 2
Moving Forward with Your Invention

• About the Invention Process
• Keeping an Invention Notebook
• Invention Promotion Companies
• Patent Searching 101
• When Do a Patent Search?
• Inventor Pitfalls: What is the Patentable Feature?
• Confidentiality Agreements

Reading Assignment 3
Basic Patent Law

• Basic US Patent Law
• Patentability Requirements
• Design Patents
• Provisional Patent Applications
• Non-provisional Patent Applications
• What is Prior Art?
• There is No Prior Art for my Invention

Reading Assignment 4
Patent Applications

• About the Patent Process
• Cost of Obtaining a Patent
• Applying for a Patent
• Patent Drawings
• Tips and Tricks for Describing an Invention in a Patent Application
• Learning from the Animal Toy Patent

Reading Assignment 5
Making Money with your Invention

• How to Know if You Have a Licensable Product
• Invention Marketing
• Drafting Licensing Agreements
• To License or to Manufacture, That is the Question
• Converting Your Invention into Dollars