There are essentially three types of patent applications that can be filed. These are:

— Non-provisional Patent Application

— Design Patent Application

— Plant Patent Application

Each type of patent confers to the patent owner “the right to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling” the invention in the United States or importing the invention into the United States. It is important to note, however, that patents do not protect ideas, but rather protect inventions and methods that exhibit patentable subject matter.

You can also file what is called a provisional patent application. Unlike the other patent applications mentioned above, this application will not actual mature into an issued patent, but rather acts as an economical way to start the patenting process. There are few formalities required for filing a provisional patent application, and the Patent Office fee is less. Furthermore, it acts as a place holder in line and affords you the right to legally use the terms “patent pending” or “patent applied for.” Independent inventors should, therefore, strongly consider starting with a provisional patent application.

For more information on the patent application process please see our Overview of the Patent Process. If you are stuck at the idea stage in your invention I recommend reading Moving from Idea to Patent.

If you are contemplating whether you want to work with an invention submission company to help procure patent protection and obtain marketing assistance, please first read The Truth About Invention Submission Companies.

If you need assistance preparing and filing a patent application, or in obtaining a patent search, 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.