Q: Hi, I have an idea for a new product. What things should I have done prior to contacting a patent attorney? Thank you!
The product should be relatively easy & inexpensive to manufacture. I’ve done as much in-depth research as possible online - and nothing like this exists as far as I can tell. I’ve spoken with friends, relatives, neighbors about a need for such an item and I’ve received 100% positive feedback.
What is the best resource(s) to help guide me through the numerous steps of possibly making this idea a reality? Are there any things/people I should avoid during this process? Thank you for your time, expertise and insight.
A:
Kudos to you for doing some prep work before your first meeting with a patent attorney. I love clients like that. I teach entrepreneurs about the patent process. I think it would be worth your time to review my intro slide set just so that you have some vocabulary and basic concepts https://bit.ly/Protecting_Advantages
After that, I suggest that you look at my slide set on DIY patent searching and start locating some relevant patents in your space. https://bit.ly/Patent__Searching
Reading some relevant patents and taking a deeper dive into the file histories on public PAIR (which will be revised later this month) is a great introduction into this process. You will have a feeling for how the process works, how much detail is required, and the push-back you should expect as the default response from the PTO is that your new thing is an obvious recombination of old things.
I hope that this helps.
Kevin E Flynn
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