How to patent an idea?

Oxide™

Oxide™

Oxide™

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Oh my God I think I may have just had my light bulb moment and thought of something that could make me well off. It's not a new invention or anything, rather a slight improvement to something that is already common place in every house and office. In this current climate (yikes I said those words) it makes sense and I would even buy it.

Is there something out there to protect my idea. I have never seen it in the shops before. How would I go about finding out? any pointers to websites that deal with this type of thing much appreciated.

I'm not an inventor or business savvy but I reckon costs would be 50p and sell it for £3 at a guess.

Obviously I'm not going to tell what it is ;) What do I do, what do I do??? :confused:
 
mmm I would have to read through my contract but I would assume yes. Is that bad?

Seems theres quite a few websites that you tell the idea to and they find out if it's valid, however the question is who to trust?

It also sounds expensive with patent lawyers and such :(

I obviously haven't thought this through yet

edit: I think its more a 'design' idea I need to patent as its a design to improve on something that already exists, is this even possible to patent?
 
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Oxide™ said:
edit: I think its more a 'design' idea I need to patent as its a design to improve on something that already exists, is this even possible to patent?
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It will depend but if you can prove that your idea contains an "inventive step" that would not be obvious to people who design such things and it has an industrial application then yes you probably can patent it.

The link that Viper² has provided is a good start in this area.
 
Probably your company owns the IP to your design if your company works in anything similar.

Otherwise you have to make sure no one else has pattented the idea. Probably someone already has.

Lastly, you will need a lot of money and time, you need to hire a patent lawer or such like.

I^m quite lucky as at my university they have a whole legal team to sort these patents out.
 
Balls! just read through my terms of employment and theres a hefty section regarding IP that I agreed to :(

Am I expected to leave my job just so I retain full ownership of my idea? bit harsh
 
Oxide™ said:
Balls! just read through my terms of employment and theres a hefty section regarding IP that I agreed to :(

Am I expected to leave my job just so I retain full ownership of my idea? bit harsh
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look in to how viable the idea is whilst you are still with your company

work out if the idea is a good one (ie can you probablly achieve the patent)

then if so , leave to setup your own company
 
Oxide™ said:
Balls! just read through my terms of employment and theres a hefty section regarding IP that I agreed to :(

Am I expected to leave my job just so I retain full ownership of my idea? bit harsh
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It would depend on what the IP is, what exactly your contract says and how reasonable the terms are in it. If your invention is in no way connected to what your company currently does and it is not linked to something you have done at work then it may be possible to argue that irrespective of the contract terms it is your idea and you have the right to patent it.

However if you are serious about this then go to see a lawyer who specialises in patents and IP law - advice from the internet does not cut it if you intend to pursue this.
 
Thanks for all the tips guys :)

I'm going to do more research into how viable it is to pursue and take it from there.

Lying in bed last night, my mind was in a flatspin thinking of all the possibilites/pitfalls of the idea, funny how the mind downplays something and makes you second guess it (maybe that's just me) when at the time it seemed obvious and brilliant. Going to try carry that initial positiveness through and see how it goes.

Again thanks for the tips guys, much appreciated :)
 
Oxide™ said:
[It's] a slight improvement to something that is already common place in every house and office.

Obviously I'm not going to tell what it is ;) What do I do, what do I do??? :confused:
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If it's something that is already commonplace can't you just tell us what it is that is common place? If your idea is patentable then none of us will really have a clue what your improvement is.
 
If it's just a small improvement to an existing idea then make sure you can get a solid patent before you spend any money, it's difficult to say without knowing the idea but you might need to pay royalties to the patent holder for what you're improving upon for example.

I'd be wary of jumping in too quick, it may be a great idea but if you can't get the patent sewn up tight someone else will do it quicker and cheaper.
 
Skyfall said:
If it's something that is already commonplace can't you just tell us what it is that is common place? If your idea is patentable then none of us will really have a clue what your improvement is.
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I'd prefer not to tbh mate. I know that comes across as douchebag but loads of bright people frequent these forums and it's not exactly a rocket science idea. It's so obvious, I'm currently trying to find if it is already available. I won't be surprised if it is.

Edit: without giving it away let's say, as a hypothetical example, that all cars only had 3 wheels and my idea was to add 4 wheels. I haven't invented anything as wheels and a car are already invented, but the idea to add a 4th wheel makes total sense (or even the idea of more than 3 wheels on a vehicle). Is that idea patentable? or is it full of leaks that it's not worth going down that road?
 
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Am I allowed to tell my wife the idea? further research suggests I need to keep it secret and only tell people if they sign a NDA, is this still applicable for spouses?
 
Oxide™ said:
Edit: without giving it away let's say, as a hypothetical example, that all cars only had 3 wheels and my idea was to add 4 wheels. I haven't invented anything as wheels and a car are already invented, but the idea to add a 4th wheel makes total sense (or even the idea of more than 3 wheels on a vehicle). Is that idea patentable? or is it full of leaks that it's not worth going down that road?
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The problem with that analogy is that cars are not patentable, or at least not the general layout.

But assuming a 3 wheel car layout was patented and your idea was to add a fourth it really depends on how difficult that next engineering step is.
 
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write your idea as best as possible then send it recorded delivery to yourself, put that in a safety deposit box in a bank or the like (don't open it after receiving it back of course).


now, if you are improving something else, chances are your idea has been thought of or wont really be worth doing. However, you may be very very very lucky and have come up with something...
I'd expect to be paying royalties to the original patented item you are changing though :p
 
Oxide™ said:
Balls! just read through my terms of employment and theres a hefty section regarding IP that I agreed to :(

Am I expected to leave my job just so I retain full ownership of my idea? bit harsh
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No, because if you leave your job then your employer still has legal right over any IP you developed during your employment time.
 
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