This Weeks' Topic

Patents

Can you patent your idea for a new invention?

How can you keep someone from stealing your ideas ?

Thomas Edison held over 1,000 patents, including the lightbulb and the phonograph. He also envisioned cheap housing made out concrete poured into giant molds. If you want to protect you idea from being stolen, you need a pate

How does a patent differ from a copyright or a trademark?

A copyright protects books, articles, music, works of art. A trademark protects brand identity, such as a name, word or symbol. A patent is more concrete - it protects a specific invention.

What if you do steal someone else idea, what happens? Will the government bring a claim against you?

Patent violations are exclusively enforced by the patent holder. So if you steal someone's idea you have opened yourself up to a lawsuit. However, it is common, to purchase a patent license which basically says that you can use the patented invention in return for a fee or a share of the profits.

How do you apply for a patent?

For information on how to apply for a patent, to the website for the U. S. Patent office. You will need technical drawings and photographs if you have a working proto type.

Patents can be applied for online here:

http://www.uspto.gov/ebc/efs/
You can also search existing patents here: http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html

Some of our most important inventions weren't created by scientists in the lab - but were invented by ordinary people at home.

Disclaimer
This information is general and may or may not apply to your situation. The information contained on this web site is not to be considered as legal advice. Since no two cases are identical, we recommend that you contact an attorney in your jurisdiction to discuss the specific facts of your case. Furthermore, since statutes and case law change so frequently and due to information provided by other sources, we make no warranty or guarantee concerning the accuracy of the content of this or any other web sites to which we link.