How to patent a product ?

What is a Patent?

A Patent is a right granted for an invention that permits you to exclude others from making, using, or selling the invention. 

The reason why inventors think of a Patent as the top priority of their business is that they value a lot the idea of a product that has not been proven.

Getting a Patent as a start-up, means you have all the confidence that your product will be having exclusive rights in the market.

How to patent a product ?

When filing for a Patent application, it is recommended to ask for the attorney’s assistance for legal technical procedures to avoid risks.

Here are some of the tips to follow when conducting a Patent. 

1. VERIFY IF YOUR IDEA IS WORTHY OF BE PATENTED.

When filing for a Patent, one thing you should bear in mind is that you can not go through a Patenting process if your product is already invented by someone else. The Patent Office will only allow you to go for a Patent if your product has never been patented/or published by someone else.

So you need to ensure your idea is unique and will not be similar to other patents and published articles. You can also perform broad research on Patent and Non-Patent literature to verify if your idea is unique and if it’s not violating other Patent’ rights. 

2. DO NOT LOSE RECORDS.

Keeping records is very important when opting for a Patent. It’s convincible that another inventor can be working on a similar product at the same time as you. When you keep records about your product, you’ll be able to prove that you never copied someone else’s invention. 

Documents like memos, drawings, and photographs will help your invention have a strong backup.

3. MAKE PROTOTYPES.

These are early samples of a product used for checking the process of an invention. Before applying for a Patent it is advisable to have Prototypes for a full description of your Patent.

This helps you understand if your product/idea is workable and the patent would be more worth it. Further, you would be able to add more details if required to the patent to increase the scope of the patent.

4. FILL FOR A PROVISIONAL PATENT APPLICATION.

This is a type of patent temporarily filed by the patent applicant to secure a filing date while avoiding the costs associated with the filing and prosecution of a non-provisional patent application. If you are a single person or a single organization (small entity), the Patent would be less expensive as compared to the fees for large companies. The USA offer micro entity fees for the inventors having an annual income of less than approx USD 1,75,000 and should not have filed more than 4 patent applications in USPTO.

To protect your invention with a few expenses, you can opt for a provisional patent application (patent pending), and in one year, it can allow you to finalize all the financial resources, and once your ready you can now go for a Non-Patent Application. This type of filing will still protect your patent from being copied by someone else.

5. WAIT FOR THE FINAL RESPONSE.

Do not expect quick feedback for the Patent Filing application. Generally, it takes 18 months to publish the patent application and then around 6-12 months for the examination. Later, you need to respond to the office actions to respond to the rejections of the patent and trademark office to get approval on the patents. 

Wissen Research’s in-house legal team is always available to assist clients in filing a patent in various countries such as IN, CN, US, EP, UK via our in-house associates. We take care of all burdens till you receive your patent successfully.