Every invention has a story to tell. It’s the story of how it came to be, and why it was created. It’s the story of the inventor who dreamed up the idea, made it a reality and brought it to market.
The journey from idea to patent is often a long one, and there are some important steps you’ll want to take along the way.
The first step in getting an invention patented is coming up with an idea for invention, something new or improved. This can be as simple as dreaming up something completely new or as complex as finding an improvement on an existing product or process.
Ideas for inventions can come from anywhere: from observing what others have done wrong and trying to fix those problems; from observing what others have done right and trying to improve upon them; from your own personal experiences; or even through pure serendipity (for example, discovering something while tinkering around in your garage).
Once you’ve got an idea for an invention that might work, write down everything you know about it so far — every detail will be useful later on in the patenting process. You can use free online tools like Google Docs or Zoho Writer to create a record of your idea’s progress early on in its development stage. You can look for help when you are just getting started with a new invention idea and need to learn more about the process of patenting and protecting your idea. You can also find help with finding a good patent attorney who can help you through each step of the patenting process.
The next step is to do some research and find out if your idea has been patented before. You can use Google Patents, the USPTO website to search for existing patents on similar inventions. If you’re worried that someone might have already patented something very similar to your invention, you can contact a patent attorney for advice and assistance in determining whether there are any legal issues with moving forward with your idea.
