Can you patent an idea? How to patent an idea in the USA?

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Can you patent an idea? How to patent an idea in
the USA?
A patent protects the invention against any
commercial or other forms of exploitation by
competitors, investors, business accomplices, and
third parties. But can a patent offer protection
simply to an idea? Or more specifically can I
patent an idea? A straightforward answer to the
question would be No. Its hard to patent an
invention idea unless and until you have
produced the invention. Patents are for
protecting inventions. They are not for
protecting ideas. However, this doesnt at all
mean that ideas are not valuable. Its only that
in absence of a tangible manifestation of the
idea, it will be hard to obtain exclusive
copyright or patent protection. However, any
patent application takes 2-3 years to land on the
patent examiners table. This allows a
substantial time frame for the applicant to turn
the idea into a tangible product or service. If
you are planning to file a patent for your idea
and wondering where to start, this blog will
answer all your questions in detail. Ideas That
You Can and You Cant Patent The patent examiner
may turn down your patent based on multiple
factors. The primary among these is ambiguity.
If your idea is too abstract and does not
manifest itself into a useful
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application, product, or service, its hard to
imagine that your patent application will get the
nod of the patent examiner. You should consider
yourself lucky if you can get a patent for
naturally occurring phenomena. There is no point
in wasting your time and money on claiming patent
rights over a new species of Catfish or for that
matter any new plant or animal varieties. Finally,
the scope of your idea or patent must be
well-defined. You cant speculate results or even
claim results that are not backed by conclusive
research or data. For instance, lets say you
have created a new line of herbal products that
treat dark circles. Now if you make a speculative
claim in your patent application that your
product ingredients can also be a likely cure for
baldness, your claim will only get weaker. Its
unwise to make over-the-top claims just to make
your idea or invention sound more novel and
unique. On the contrary, stretching the scope of
your idea beyond the realms of general logic is
a mistake you should avoid at all costs. Patent
Requirements Patent filings have some pre-defined
criteria as well. Make sure that the idea you
want to patent meets the following criteria The
idea should be novel and unique. Your invention
and idea should be completely new and
non-obvious. It must have no commonalities with
any current products or services. Neither should
it find mention in any previous patent journals
or publications. Secondly, your invention or idea
must not in any way promote or aid illegal
activity. If the patent examiners feel that the
idea or invention is open to exploitation for
immoral use, he is in his rights to cancel the
patent application Last but not least, the idea
or invention should bring a visible improvement
in the work or life of its target audience. If
its benefits are vague or open for debate, there
is less probability that the patent application
will be approved. The Standard Patent Application
Process There is a standard procedure that has to
be followed to apply for a patent. The procedure
can be broken down into seven steps. These
include Invention Disclosure The first and
foremost step is introducing your invention to an
audience. This could investors, potential
business partners, or a patent attorney. Ideally,
when you are revealing your invention to a third
party you should sign a nondisclosure agreement.
It will protect your idea or invention from
theft or commercial exploitation.
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Patentability Confirmation Is your idea unique?
Is your invention novel? Are there any other
products or services that are using similar
ideas? These are questions that you should find
answers to before staking your claim on the
patent for your idea or invention. Ideally, its
both, time and cost-effective to hire a patent
attorney to do all the research on your behalf.
The patent attorney will create a patentability
search report based on the research findings. The
decision to File for Patent Following detailed
research, if you conclude that your
idea/invention is unique and novel, the next
step is to file the patent application. Patent
Drafting This is the most important stage in any
patent filing process. The quality of your draft
will decide how convincing your patent
application is. Unless you are well versed in
patent laws and know exactly which parent to
file for, it is always wise to hire a
professional to prepare the draft for your
patent application. Filing the Patent
Application Once the draft is prepared and you
are 100 satisfied with its scope and details,
you can go ahead and file patent application.
Along with the patent application, you will also
have to submit a patent fee to the
USPTO. Request for Examination Ideally, it can
take 2-3 years for your patent application to be
reviewed by the patent examiner. However, there
are provisions in the law to fast-track patent
examination. You will have to pay a considerable
amount of fees in exchange for the
service. Responding to Objections In case there
are conflicts or claims of infringement against
your patent, the patent petitioner (in this case
you) have the right to put forth your defense and
resolve all conflicts. Once everything is
clarified, your patent is ready for
approval. Patent Grant All boxes having been
ticked. Your patent application will finally be
approved. For the grant of the application, Ill
be notified by the USPTO on its website and in
various public journals.
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Final Words There is no denying the fact that
patent application is a complex and
time-consuming process. Yet the benefits of
acquiring a patent outweigh the challenges faced
during the process. Once you have acquired the
patent Your idea is protected from being copied
or exploited You enjoy complete exclusivity over
the patent Patent multiples the commercial
opportunities for your product or service A
patent also boosts your brand power and increases
your revenue potential by a significant
margin. Today, thanks to digital solutions filing
patents have become a lot easier. A lot of the
earlier slow- moving and mundane processes are
now automated. Thanks to the internets reach and
usability, you can even hire registered Patent
Services USA using a simple google search. Hiring
a patent attorney will take most of the weight
off your shoulders and allow you to focus your
time and effort on other key business
areas However, please keep in mind that you know
your invention or idea better than anybody else.
While the patent attorney is there to ensure that
your patent application process turns out smooth
and hassle-free, your cooperation and
communication are very crucial. Ensure that the
patent attorney understands your invention to the
minutest of detail. We hope that the information
we shared in this article was helpful to you. If
there is anything more that we could add, please
share your suggestions in the comment section.
Your inputs are always welcomed!
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