MVF Partners
VENTURE CAPITAL
How to Patent an idea with a provisional patent application. Do you have a great idea and are worried someone will steal it or beat you to the marketplace? Filing a provisional patent application should be your first step to protect your new invention, even before you tell your idea to friends or investors because you can actually block yourself from getting a patent by disclosing your invention publicly before you file.
The patent search is important for three reasons:
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It will tell you if someone else has already invented your idea (if they have, you are not eligible for a patent).
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You can find companies that are doing work in your area and use them as potential investors or licensees of your patent.
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You can use already issued patents that are related to your invention as a guide or template to write your own patent application.
A patent search can be conducted online at the USPTO website, or at places like HYPERLINK "http://google.com/patents" Google patents. This is the hardest and most time consuming step. In order to get a valid patent, you have to describe in detail to the patent office exactly how to make and use your invention. You should include several figures or drawings showing what your invention looks like. If your idea is for a new software process, than your figures will be a flow chart showing each step of the process. When creating your figures, make sure to label each key feature of your invention with a number. You will then use those numbers when you write your detailed description of your invention in your patent specification.
The goal of your patent application should be to create a technical description of how to make and use your invention. This is not a marketing piece of business plan so go easy on the market and business information and focus on technical details. Patents and patent applications are published online so don't include any business secrets or strategies in your patent application
