How to patent an idea?

D.P. said:
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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developed?
so he leaves then starts working on it, thats ok?

or do you mean any IP conceived?
 
Oxide™ said:
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?
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You can tell anyone you want, as long as they then don't go and make it public.
 
Oxide™ said:
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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Seems to me like your idea is not really patentable then. If it is an obvious feature that any intelligent person can think of quite easily like a 4th wheel, then you are unlikely to be able to patent it.
 
D.P. said:
Seems to me like your idea is not really patentable then. If it is an obvious feature that any intelligent person can think of quite easily like a 4th wheel, then you are unlikely to be able to patent it.
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*weep*

Ok heres another closer comparison, last time, if you guys reckon its not feasible then I will leave it.

Let's say, hypothetically, that all toasters only had 1 slot for 1 peice of bread at a time. I then come along with a convenience idea to add multiple slots. Is that idea patentable as the toaster and technology/process is already invented/patented. It's convenient as it saves time and most likely money used on electricity.

Can convenience ideas be patented? If so would I pay the original patenter (sic) royalties for piggy backing on his toaster patent and adding an improvement? How would I even make money out of such a thing?
 
Adding extra slots to a toaster is like adding wheels to a car, it probably isn't a novel idea therefore wouldn't likely be patentable.

You would really need to speak to a professional patent engineer though.
 
You can patent adaptations to commonly used items as long as you are thus adding features previously not available or increasing the devices usability in some new and never before thought of way.

Someone who you tell more to would be more helpful in this. Basically if hair dryers did not exist, and you added a fan to a toaster for the drying of hair, that you could patent.

If you find a novel use for something available beyond its common use/design you may be able to patent it.
 
Similar to your car anology:

"Adding more power" is not an innovation. Eg - Boring out the cylinders to increase cubic capacity
"Adding more power in a new way" is an innovation. Eg - Honda use VTEC to get more power out of NA engines.

You would be unlikely to get a patent for adding more of the same unless there was some strange limitation in doing so that you have found a method to get around.
 
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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That is insane if thats true and people allow that to be.
 
Not sure if it's been said. But usually if IP s included in you contract. It is only for things related to your job/company or if you have used work time/equipment of it. So if it's totally unrelated you should be fine.

And as said leaving your job would solve nothing. It's not silly, it;'s there for a reason. Otherwise you would design something at work, leave and patent it.


But as said if you are serious. you need a lawyer. I'm sure theres many books explaining the process to help you out.
 
Hello there, I'm Peter!

peterjones.jpg


I'm going to tell you where I am with this. It sounds too good to be true to me. If its just a case of simply adding more (an extra wheel, toaster slot whatever) then surly the original designers would have included it. You have over engineered a product that didn't need fixing. I think you'd be crazy to take this to market.

For that reason, and that reason only I'M OUT. :p
 
Hostile17 said:
Hello there, I'm Peter!

peterjones.jpg


I'm going to tell you where I am with this. It sounds too good to be true to me. If its just a case of simply adding more (an extra wheel, toaster slot whatever) then surly the original designers would have included it. You have over engineered a product that didn't need fixing. I think you'd be crazy to take this to market.

For that reason, and that reason only I'M OUT. :p
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ke7kh5.jpg


"I hate you. And for that reason alone, I'm out."
 
haha Hostile 17 :)

It's definately not related to my work/job and I thought of it at home so hopefully it's not covered under the IP agreement. I still can't find any example of my idea, which I find odd. Will seek legal advice after I've saved up a bit.
 
You could do a 'poor mans patent' just now to safeguard your idea. To do this, write down in as much detail as you can on a piece of paper and pop it into an envelope. Then pop a stamp on it and send it to yourself. Keep it this way and don't open it as it will have the post office stamp on the day it went through the post office system. Do this until you find out whether or not you should spend silly amounts of money on a proper patent for your product/idea.

Al:D
 
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