Can anyone help me?

Here's the situation...

I've come up with an idea for an invention that I think could potentially make me alot of money.

However, due to the fact that I lack the knowledge, materials, facilities, or capital to develop the invention, I'm thinking that it may be worthwhile for me to try and sell the idea to a company that already has those particular resources.

Does anyone have any experience with something of this nature? I have alot of questions as to what steps I should take... For instance, applying for a patent, etc. Should I apply for a patent and then try and sell the patent? Is it possible to recieve a patent without a working prototype?

What should I do?

License the patent.

You don't need a working prototype to get a patent anymore.
I can't remember the different types of patents there are (but there are three of them) I think that there's a "design" patent, and a "utility" patent, and another one etc. There's actually a website made by the government to help you figure out which patent you need.
Then you just get the paperwork, and either write the patent description yourself, or get a patent attorney to do it for you (which is expensive, unless you have a friend who can get you a "good deal" if he knows an attorney)

or get a patent attorney
Its your lucky day ci5ic, I happen to be a patent attorney myself!

Just, tell me your idea, and I'll get the ball rolling.












on my early retirement. ahhahahahahhaha

Don't tell him your idea, he's the devil, he'll just steal it - you know how "those folk" are. Patent folk.

Just send me the detail and some blue prints I'll make sure it gets done. :biggrin:


BASTARD!!
someone beat me to it :mad:


:icon16:

I have three things waiting for me to save the money for the patent attorney. I have talked with a few patent attorneys and what I was told by more then one. Take some time and draw it up and do a write up on it. Now take that and send it to yourself CERTIFIED mail. DO NOT OPEN IT :grinno: just put it in a safe place. With this you can prove it yours from the day you mailed it :sly:
Just alittle insurance.

I have three things waiting for me to save the money for the patent attorney. I have talked with a few patent attorneys and what I was told by more then one. Take some time and draw it up and do a write up on it. Now take that and send it to yourself CERTIFIED mail. DO NOT OPEN IT :grinno: just put it in a safe place. With this you can prove it yours from the day you mailed it :sly:
Just alittle insurance.

Yeah, that's the poor-mans copyright.

I imagine that the difficulty for me will be trying to determine wether a patent for a similar idea already exists, in which case I would certainly need a patent attorney. I just don't know if I have enough technical data to do a sufficient write-up on it. I've got the basic design and function, but not the working bits and pieces (electronics, etc.).

Here's a site I found on copyrighting, pretty interesting:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

Just found this... very interesting...

According to my search, my idea does not currently have a patent...

www.uspto.gov