Before you hire a patent attorney or agent, complete a rudimentary search for free at make sure no one else has patented your idea. Just because you haven't seen your invention doesn't mean it doesn't already exist. Before you file a patent there are two main steps you should take. You will need to research your idea from a legal and business standpoint. Just make sure it meets the requirements above. You can find specially designed inventor's journals at bookstores such as Nolo Press or the Book Factory, or you can save money and purchase a generic notebook. An inventor's journal can by any bound notebook whose pages are numbered consecutively and can't be removed or reinserted. This journal will become your bible throughout the patent process. Write your idea down in an inventor's journal and have it signed by a witness. This is unreliable and unlikely to hold up in court. You've probably heard about the "poor man's patent" - writing your idea down and mailing it to yourself in a sealed envelope so you have dated proof of your invention's conception. ![]() This is the first step to patenting your idea and keeping it from being stolen. Write down everything you can think of that relates to your invention, from what it is and how it works to how you'll make and market it. Simply having an "idea" is worthless - you need to have proof of when you came up with the invention ideas.
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