In order to protect an idea it must mature into an invention first. What this means, in a nutshell, is that you need to be able to explain to others how to make and use the invention so that they could replicate the invention after simply reading your description of the invention in a patent application. You do not need to have a prototype, but if you do not have a prototype you will still need to be able to describe it with detail and provide sketches showing your inventive contribution. If you do not have the ability to illustrate your invention you can obtain patent drawings from a patent illustrator for quite cheap. In fact, having quality patent drawings is the single best and most economical way to broaden and expand any patent application.

If you are stuck at the idea stage of the invention process you are not ready to file a patent application, and also you do not want to run out and start telling people or submitting your idea to companies. Most companies do not accept the submission of ideas, because ideas are not legally protected and, as such, are free to be taken by others. If you do tell a company your idea and then later they develop the same idea this leads to people believing, sometimes rightly so, that their ideas may have been stolen. Most companies, however, have extensive research and development going on all the time, so it is just as likely that your idea overlapped with something they were already working on. For this reason, reputable companies will not accept idea submissions, but rather accept submissions only of inventions that have a patent application pending. Companies that will listen to your ideas alone (i.e., without a patent pending or issued) should not be trusted. There is no way to protect an idea absent a confidentiality agreement, and without such an agreement your ideas are legally free to be stolen.

So what to do? You can tell others about your idea in search of help, but only do this with a signed confidentiality agreement, which is simply a contract between two or more parties where the subject of the agreement is a promise that information conveyed will be maintained in secrecy.

Confidentiality agreements, which can also be referred to as non-disclosure agreements or NDAs, can be mutual agreements, where both parties are obligated to maintain secrecy, or they can be unilateral agreements, where only the receiving party becomes obligated to maintain secrecy. The former type of agreement is useful when both parties will be conveying confidential information, such as for inventor groups. The later type of agreement is useful when only one party is turning over confidential information, perhaps to a potential investor. For more information on Confidentiality Agreements, including free samples that you can download and use, go to IPWatchdog Confidentiality Agreements.

Next, you might be able to locate some college students or graduate students who would be interested in working with you on your project. If you have a nearby university consider posting a notice on the bulletin board of the engineering school (probably requires college permission), or contacting the school directly to see if they might be willing to circulate your request for you. Many schools are more than happy to help their students find real world experience, particularly if you are willing to pay something for the student to work on your project. Indeed, finding college students to work for little or nothing is not so difficult, and in fact if you are willing to pay you might be surprised that you are able to draw from the top of the class. Remember, college students are poor, and graduate students have been in that state of poor for some time. They need the experience, resume fluff and some money to hold them over between student loan distributions, and their skills are very up to date. Of course, have them sign at least a simple confidentiality agreement.

You can also reach out to friends and family. You might be surprised what they can tell you and what directions they can point you in. I have worked on a number of inventions in the past, and have a few pending inventions that I am working on currently. A trusted friend who is analytical, creative or mechanically inclined can be a great source. Of course, you should still get some kind of written confidentiality agreement. This is not because you are afraid your friend or family member will steal the idea, but because once you start telling people about your inventions your right to keep the invention as a trade secret is completely lost unless you have such a confidentiality agreement. Furthermore, you might lose the right to ultimately apply for a patent. Some kind of agreement, even a watered down agreement that is non-threatening is key. For a non-threatening agreement try something like this: Simple Confidentiality Agreement. This agreement shouldn’t threaten anyone. It simply explains the importance under the patent and trade secret laws that your invention remain a secret.

Another idea is to join a local inventors group. These groups are all over the country and provide members a way to bounce ideas of each other. You can learn where to go to get reliable help and steps to follow in your invention pursuit. Some of these groups also have an online presence. I know of a number of them that have active communities on Yahoo Groups. They are truly a great resource for new and experienced inventors alike. Active groups will even meet in the real world and will frequently have guest speakers to address common issues. Many times these speakers are either patent attorneys in the area or successful inventors.

You can also learn a lot about how to do things by searching for and reading related patents. This is a great way to see what else is being done in the area of your invention. For information on how to conduct your own patent search online see Patent Searching 101. Once you have something that starts to look like an invention you should consider filing a patent.

If you need assistance preparing and filing a patent application we can help you.  The founder of IPWatchdog.com, Gene Quinn, is a senior partner in White + Quinn, P.C., which is a patent law firm located just outside Washington, DC. The firm is uniquely created and structured for administering legal work provided through a system called The Invent + Patent System.™ This system works through a web enabled inventor/attorney collaboration to create high quality patent applications at a substantially lower cost than other patent attorneys or law firms. Efficiency is achieved by the inventor, following a prior art search and preparation of drawings, submitting answers to a questionnaire.  The submitted information is subjected to several iterative reviews between the inventor and a former USPTO patent examiner.  These reviews result in the creation of a first draft of a patent application, which is turned over to a patent attorney or agent for further polishing, augmentation and claim drafting.  The finished product is a patent application which is suitable for filing at the United States Patent Office, either as a provisional patent application, nonprovisional patent application or an English language International Application filed pursuant to the requirements of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

For more information about using White & Quinn to file a nonprovisional patent application please see Patent Applications by White & Quinn.

If you simply want to do this on your own without any assistance you should at the very least obtain a copy of Patent It Yourself.   While this book is not perfect, and no book can teach you everything that it is a good resource, and for the price (which usually is around $35 to $45) you will definitely get an excellent value for what you receive. 

Good luck!