As a patent attorney who has filed hundreds of patents over the years in various industries, I can tell you with 100% certainty that there is a wrong way to file a patent. And I can also tell you that there are consequences to filing a patent the wrong way.
Having seen the process so many times, I’d like to shed some light on the incorrect process for how to patent an idea because…
“A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether.”
– Roy H. Williams
Do not send your patent to the wrong office
There’s a huge difference between the patent office and the copyright office, and I have one very sad example to illustrate this point.
An older man came into contact with had created an invention. He took all his work and wrote it up, including beautiful drawings, and sent it to the copyright office. He eventually realized his mistake, but by then a year had already passed. According to Section 102A of the Patent Act, a year of sales or publication excluded him from being able to get a patent on his invention.
Ouch.
Filing your patent application too broadly
The best way to describe this is with a real estate analogy. Filing broadly has the advantage that if your claim goes through, you have a bigger piece of land. The challenge is that other people will think you’ve drawn your lines on somebody else’s property.
I’ve seen a man file a patent application for an engine that overlapped with a patent for a garden hose. Strange but true, as are many things with patent law.
Filing your patent too narrowly
Over and over, I see people include things in their patent applications that they think are vitally important that, frankly, aren’t. Two examples of this are dimensions and materials. You’d be surprised, but the USPTO just doesn’t care that much about those items—they don’t carry any patentable significance.
What they do care about, and what we will focus on in your patent application, is alternative ways of accomplishment.
This is the sixth post in an eight-part series called How To Patent An Idea. To continue reading, please go to the next post, How To Patent an Idea—The Three Types Of Patent Clients.
If you’re reading out of order, no worries! Click here to go back to the first post, How To Patent An Idea—A Gross Oversimplification.