Inventors make the same mistakes over and over again. That's why so many of them are discouraged and disheartend by a patent system that is intended to protect their inventions. Since being forwarned is being forearmed, if you understand these 10 common mistakes you have a far better chance of succeeding in patenting and commercializing your invention.
For more help check out the patent services available on Ala Carte Patent Services or if you want to sell or buy a patent, Intellectual Technology Trifecta
1) Confusing a product concept with an invention.
In a famous episode of Seinfeld, Kramer "invents" a perfume that "Smells like the Beach". In fact Kramer didn't "invent" anything. He made the common mistake of deciding that since he had uncovered a product need he had made an invention. In order for Kramer to actually have invented the perfume, he would have either need to consult a perfume chemist or identify by himself chemical compounds that when used as a perfume would make the wearer "smell like she just came from the beach".
2) If I haven't seen it in the marketplace , it doesn't exist.
A TV show on patents showed a woman who claimed to have "invented" rolling suitcases. At that time such suitcases were unknown in the marketplace. However the patent attorney who was invited to review her invention for the TV show was able to find hundreds of patents on suitcases with rollers. There are many , many reasons why ideas which may or may not be patented are not commercialized. One reason to do a patent search is to find those inventions before you spend a lot of money trying to patent or commercialize someone elses invention. By preparing an invention report you may also realize how your invention does the job better than those already patented or what you need to make you invention unique and thereby patentable.
3) Disclosing your Idea before you patent it.
In the same Seinfeld episode Kramer makes another classic mistake when he tells an executive at Calvin Klein about his idea. He does so without obtaining the necessary acknowledgment from Calvin Klein that they have received confidential information from him (called a Non Disclosure Agreement or NDA). Without an NDA Calvin Klein would be free to use Kramers invention and claim he gave it to them. In fact the whole show scenario is unrealistic.
Most large companies have only a single person or department who is allowed to talk to inventors like Kramer. That department, usually called something like the Idea Submission Office , never connects to anyone else in the company. The reason they don't is to protect the company from lawsuits made when, as happened in the Seinfeld episode, the company later decides to market a similar product (i.e. a cologne that "smells like the beach") . Unintended disclosure can also include publications or presentations at conferences made before a patent application is filed (mistakes academics often make). Inventors often need to hone their inventions by discussing them with others even if the others are family or friends a NDA is highly recommended.
4) Offering your invention for sale before you patent it.
In the United States, once you have "offered for sale" an item that contains your invention, you have one year to file a patent application on it. Thus inventors often find to their dismay , that the product they are selling is being copied by a competitor and they can't do anything about it because its too late to file a patent application. In fact there is no grace period in Europe so as soon as you have sold something containing your invention, you have lost the right to patent it in Europe.
5) Deciding to save money by not ordering a patent search
since the patent office will do one anyway.
This is penny wise and pound foolish. Anyone familiar with the patent process can tell you the patent prosecution phase, which is where the examiner essentially puts the inventor on the witness stand and demands that he prove the invention is valid, can be very time consuming and costly. Not searching a patent is like going into court without any preparation for the case. A well prepared patent application is made with a strong knowledge of what the examiner is likely to cite against that patent.
A good attorney can write the patent claims to take that "prior art" into account Some unscrupulous attorneys will encourage inventors to avoid searches knowing they can make lots more money when the prosecution drags out. In one case I'm familiar with a complete rewrite of the patent was necessary when the prosecution uncovered information that could have easily been found in a search. Inventors can perform thier own patent searches but guidance by experts in learning thprocess can pay off. While the inventor is the one who best understands the invention , the patent classification system is vast and determining the proper class for your invention requires experience. Once an invention has been classified, all patents wihin that class are easily retrieved. It often becomes obvious that patent titles crafted by inventors are not a good description of what the invention is really about.
6) Forgetting the rest of the world.
The United States is only one country in which you need to obtain a patent. If you want to sell your product in Europe, Japan or elsewhere you must obtain patents in those countries as well. One client I know, lost a major market because the biggest market for his invention was in Europe and he chose to patent his idea only in the United States.
7) Relying on Trade Secrets you can't keep secret.
Coca Cola has been very successful in protecting their product without patenting it. But that is rare. If anyone can find out what you are making and you don't patent it they can copy your invention with impunity. What is far worse they can patent it themselves and potentially stop you from making your own product. If someone can take your product apart and deduce your invention , you shouldn't be keeping it as a trade secret. You should make this decision before you make it possible for others to see your invention. The
practice of discovery from product analysis is referred to as
“reverse engineering” and a common practice in some third world
countries. If companies in those countries market
their version of your invention in the
US
, you can either recoup royalties
from them or restrain them from continuing marketing
8) Once I've made the invention and it works, I'm done.
Inventors often think that once they have invented that better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to their door. Actually, making the invention is only the first step. The next and biggest part of the job is commercializing the invention. Even if an inventor sells the rights to the invention to someone (which usually requires that it be patented) , that other organization will be responsible for commercialization which takes the largest share of money, time and risk. That is why most inventors find to their dismay that their wonderful idea is rejected by most of the companies they show it to.
Commercialization involves all the marketing, manufacturing and financial steps that are needed to satisfy answer the three questions which must be answered positively and conclusively if the invention is to succeed : Will it Work? Will it Sell? Will it make Money?
These are questions that should be answered by inventor in order
to either sell the product to a customer organization or if he intends to
commercialize it himself, to sell the product to potention investors in his business*
9) Ignoring Patent Office Fees
Inventors never stop paying the patent office. Once the filing fees are paid there are issuance fees and patent maintenance fees. Click Here for Fee Information After an inventor has spent a great deal of money on legal services to get his invention filed and examined, he then has to deal with an endless array of patent office fees. The longer a patent is held the bigger the fees get. That is why many patents are abandoned after only a few years of their nominal 20 year life have elapsed. Companies or individuals with large patent portfolios often find they have very large regular payments due to keep them in effect. Particularly if they have foreign patents as well as US ones
10) Trusting the wrong people -- "Inventors Wanted".
The world is full of people who want to take an Inventors money without offering much if anything in return. The famous "inventions wanted" adds prey on inventors who are ignorant of how hard it is and what is really required to commercialize an invention. These unscrupuluous companies pretend they will help an inventor file a patent and file a provisional application that will expire to uselessness in a year without any intention of filiing a permanent application.
They will offer to "present your invention to industry" means they will mail flyers to a list of companies that will go directly into the circular file. There are legitimate companies that offer patent brokerage and help with filing patents (ours is one) but they don't make phony promises and they aren't inexpensive.
A provisional patent application can be filed for a minimum fee . A provisional establishes a legal starting date so that an inventor’s invention can be more freely disclosed to others (with
NDAs) for planning and commercialization. A provisional application must be followed up by a full patent application within one year or will run out. This time period can also be useful in
building a working prototype of the invention, to optimize its features and create selling points for attracting potential customers or investors
There are legitimate
companies that offer patent brokerage services
and help with filing patents but they don't make phony
promises and they will charge reasonable commissions for real results.
For help with your invention contact us. At Ala Carte Patent Services when you order a patent search or invention report from AlaCare you are never kept in the dark. We tell you what we will do, how we will do it and what each step will cost. We even let you follow the progess of your job on line.
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