|
(not an attorney. These are just my ideas)
I've had many ideas(never followed up on), which many years/decades later I viewed in media as the "latest-greatest" thing. Helmet to roof strap, electromagnetic suspension, interactive keyboard for the blind, etc.
Glad those ideas are benefitting society, but wish I was the one receiving royalties.
After a professional search by a private firm, I once spent $6,000(usually $8-20+K) with a good attorney filing for a 3-rotor electric efficiency motor/energy converter. With hybrids in full swing, I believed there could be a strong market demand for this type of product.
-I spent hundreds of hours searching and printing similar concepts beforehand, and wrote a basic patent outline which he could base off of, if desired.
-The patent office denied my claim, and returned their own search showing existing artwork(filed after I originally had the idea). Oh well.
You can do a basic search using terms at the USPTO website.
-If you're too vague, you'll sift through hundreds and thousands of unrelated ideas.
-If you're too specific, anyone "monitoring" your computer(media stalkers etc.) could figure out your game plan.
A Provisional Patent can be filed for cheap which only stakes your claim for a year. It can be handwritten but should encompass all aspects and variations of your idea. A Non-Provisional lasts 15 years(I believe), needs to follow exacting USPTO guidelines, and is a stronger claim.
A claim is only as strong as its enforcement.
During that time you can attempt to market it to companies or talk to honest people in the business. After filing, I attempted to directly contact the R&D departments at Toyota and Honda, but received some rude replies.
That is usual business bureacracy. They only provide waiting room coffee to closers.
Get a "non-disclosure" form signed first. Whomever may decide they want you to release your temporarely rights so they can file a Non-Provisional themselves, they may plain steal it, or they may just decide that implimentation of your idea would not sell product and/or be too expensive to manufacture.
Many and sometimes most of the ideas contained in your patent are probably already included in(and infring upon) existing patent holders. Fighting a large company in court costs millions of dollars if not on a contingency agreement with the attorney, and they will squash you like a bug.
At this point you would be seeking funding and business partners who will do that work.
|