Told you that I was going to do a blog about patents :) First I am going to give you some rules of the road. Then I am going to tell you how to file your application properly. If you have a question, or is just unsure, just drop me a line. I will be glad to answer any and all your questions. If I don't have the answer, I will point you in the right direction.
First: Before attempting to do anything, ask yourself this question, what is a patent?
A Patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state (national government) to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention. This prevents third parties from taking the patent holder's intellectual property without permission and exploiting it for their own benefit during the period in which the patent is in effect.
Second: Perform a search on your patent to see if anything has been created. There are a few ways of doing a patent search. I will give you the easiest ways.
USPTO Full Text and Image Database
(patft.uspto.gov)
This will take you to the main online database at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. There you will have the option to search under issued patents or applications that are still in the process of being patented. Use distinctive keywords during your search to get the best result. (People have called into my office asking what is a keyword, or even asking me how to perform a search. If I have to tell you what a keyword is, then I will assume you have never done a research paper, or quite frankly, any paper where you had to write for English where notations are involved.). For those that looks at the screen and don't know what to do, use the second option.
Google Patents
www.google.com/patents
This website is more user friendly. When you go to the website, just type in what you are looking for. Google uses the same data base that is on the government's page, but it a neater view.
Note: The USPTO will not perform a search for you unless you have filed an application. So don't call to the USPTO and ask the agent to perform a search over the phone. Most agents will tell you to contact an attorney, who will be more than happy to perform a search for you - for a fee.
Once you have done you research, and have decided that you have a unique invention, then you can go to the next step, which is writing and submitting your patent to the United Patent and Trademark Office.
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