He himself invented - he patented himself

They say the idea - the brain orgasm. If you have experienced this feeling and the inside of the skull lit up a lightbulb that does not let you sleep at night, then your next thought would be: “how do you convert this luminescence into tangible assets”? There are three ways: the right one is to appeal to patent attorneys and pay a tidy sum; smart - learn the patent law and spend a lot of time; and the third is for those who have neither time nor money.



Let's stop on the third way, which is applicable if you are not sure of the success of your idea or are going to sell a patent. A patent is a documented idea that protects a device, substance, method (algorithm), or appearance of a product. One of the main requirements for obtaining it is novelty. No patent search will give you an exact answer whether you first stated this idea, since patent applications are not published immediately, and besides, even after receiving a patent, if an ancient Korean application or journal article emerges, it can be canceled.



For example, in your area you haven’t met anywhere on the crest of a wave and have an idea like yours, then conduct an independent patent search on fips.ru , uspto.gov , wipo.int , and if you don’t find similar patents or applications, take drawing up your application. Search for keywords on which your idea is based. After finding out the class of the International Patent Classification (IPC) to which your idea relates, look through this class for all patents and applications. You can use the patent search in google.ru or findpatent.ru and freepatent.ru.

After filing an application, no one can patent your idea, which means that even if you do not receive a patent, then, along with others, you can use this idea for your own purposes, and before that you can talk about some kind of profit prematurely. Once the application is registered, the idea can be disclosed to investors or buyers. Very often these are not found, and you just forget about the application, while saving time and money.

Your main expenses will be patent fees, for which there is a 50% benefit for single inventors. By the way, you can not pay them at all if you write a statement about the transfer of the right to the invention to the first interested person, and if you have a commercial interest, then return this right to yourself by paying the prescribed fees (Article 1366 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

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Evaluation of an idea is one of the most difficult questions on which many stumble, but how to evaluate it, if the idea cannot be disclosed before the application is submitted and the cost of patent services is tens of thousands? Try to do the patenting yourself, it's not as difficult as it seems. In the seventh case, you can accurately determine whether it is worth hoping for the success of the idea. And you can alter the application at the consideration stage.



Patenting can be divided into three stages: filing an application, obtaining a patent and the operation of a patent, and the second does not follow from the first and does not guarantee the third. Legally, a patent works only with independent claims, all the rest of its content only to substantiate them, as well as a reserve for making changes to the formula in the case of a court, and as disclosing options, to prevent others from patenting your idea of ​​improvement. A patent is considered used if the product contains at least ALL the attributes of the independent claim of your patent. The rule for the formula is simple “IT IS NECESSARY AND SUFFICIENT”, i.e. the fewer signs there are, the greater is the volume of protection in it, while the signs must ensure the novelty and technical result.

In principle, everyone can get a patent, for example, by submitting an application in which the game joystick will be equipped with an opener for beer, but hardly anyone will be interested in buying such a patent, because the device itself will not have sales. By the way, if the formula simply indicates “opener”, then any opener for beer and tin cans will be protected.



Of course, you will have to read the laws and rules for drafting an application, they all are on the FIPS website, but it is impractical to delve deeply. Take for example the formula and description of the analogue closest to your idea, just copy the independent claim of the formula, moving the words “different in that” to the end and add the signs of your idea. In the case of an opener, it will be like this: "A computer joystick, characterized in that it is made with two handles, characterized in that it contains an opener." In the description, write everything you consider necessary and at least somehow related to your idea, here the rule is is simpler: "THAN MORE, BETTER." The vast majority of applications are still corrected in the course of consideration, just keep in mind that you can’t add a new sign! Let it be written vaguely, illiterately, in your own words, or drawn, but it must be!

And you should not get involved in the volume of the application, in order not to pay extra duties, it is better to limit yourself to 3 independent points from 15 points of the formula and 25 sheets, including a description, formula and drawings.



So, you have applied and found a buyer. In this case, it is already necessary to contact the patent attorney, who will correct all the shortcomings of the homemade application, but these costs will be justified. Of course, this method of patenting is risky, because it is easy for an inexperienced inventor to make a mistake, but if you choose to patent or not to patent, then it is better to follow this path, especially in our time of high technologies and speeds when ideas lie on Internet forums.



What do you risk in the case of self-application? For example, the application is compiled completely badly and you have publicly disclosed your idea. By the way, to prove the publication on the Internet it is necessary to provide a certificate from the provider about the exact content of the publication and its date, which is extremely problematic. If there is no interest in the idea, then you forgive yourself a filing fee. If there is interest, but a patent cannot be obtained, then you always have a chance to improve your invention and submit a new application with the participation of patent specialists. And if you do not submit an application, the idea can go to others, and even if you patent an improvement of your idea, you cannot use it without paying royalties to those who received the first patent.



In any case, a published application with your authorship will be a good asset for the future!



PS I have experience in self-patenting through a patent attorney, both in our country and abroad. Ask questions, try to help.



More information about patenting can be found here:

We start educational program on patent law

As I patented the program (Internet service)

What is a patent, why is it protected and who benefits?

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LikBez on patents

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