

Ask HN: How to go about patenting an 'invention' - e7mac

Does anyone have any tips on going about getting a patent? Should I be talking to a lawyer, or a patent engineer, and where do you typically find people to help.
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kjksf
Yes, you should talk to a lawyer specializing in patents.

How to find one?
[https://www.google.com/search?q=patent%20attorney](https://www.google.com/search?q=patent%20attorney)

Expect to spend ~$10k (lawyer + patent filing fees).

That being said: if you don't have resources to defend a patent (read:
hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in lawyer fees, months-to-
years litigation) then don't bother getting a patent.

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nostrademons
If you're doing a startup and have the money lying around to file one, it
often makes sense to do so just because patents can become significant
negotiating leverage in acquisition talks. In the U.S. you have to file before
making the invention public, which means that if you want to patent-protect
your product at all you often have to do so early on.

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shawnreilly
I had a bad experience attempting to get a patent done for one of my previous
(bootstrapped, and failed) startups. I basically paid a lot of money for a
document that did not properly describe what we were building, and no claims.
Granted, I must accept the fault, since my results indicated that I could not
properly articulate what we were building (even though it seemed pretty
straightforward to me). So I realized there is a problem with this; Nobody
else knows the details of what you're building better than you do. So even if
you do seek professional help, be prepared to properly document and explain in
extreme detail what you are building. With my experience, I ended up getting
motivated to learn more about doing it myself. I called the USPTO relentlessly
to learn everything about the process. They won't give you legal advice
pertaining to the patent, but they will help you with process and fee's. Then
I started reading relevant patents for fun, and learned about the structure of
the document, and what some of the requirements are. In my opinion the hardest
part about writing a patent, and the most important, is the claim(s) section.
It is my own personal belief (and some may disagree) that it's completely
acceptable for an entrepreneur to write the technical portion of the document
(with drawings). Similar to answering the Y-Combinator Application, I find it
to be a good exercise in validating how well you know your own product. With
the technical portion completed, then I would approach the professionals to
write the claims. You can file a provisional patent yourself for under $200
(more for fast track). You can also revise it, and/or add claim(s) at a later
date. Depending on what resources you have available, this might be your only
option. But the general rule still applies; you usually get what you pay for.
So it is definitely recommended to seek professional help. Especially
considering the implications of the claims and wording later on down the road
when you (possibly) run into a situation where it needs to be used (perhaps
defensively, perhaps offensively).

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sthu11182
Also, do your own initial search to see if anyone else has made this
"invention." This may save you a lot of time and money.

patents.google.com is a good place to start.

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eddyparkinson
Patent lawyers will give a free 1 hour consult (depending on country).

Patents help you get acquired and get investment. But, they are very expensive
to defend.

