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As an entrepreneur, you’ve probably heard this many times: “Ideas are worthless until you get them out of your head and see what they can do.” Every big idea starts with a small first step and many leaps of faith to get it realized. However, you’ve probably also seen big Kickstarter projects get funded, only to be copied by other manufacturers just before they’re released. Patents are tools you can use to protect your inventions from being copied and sold without your permission.
What is a Patent?
根据美国专利商标局（USPTO）的说法，以下是可以获得专利的内容：发明，“包括机器，制造物品，工业过程和化学组成”。专利有三种不同的专利类别，可满足不同的需求：设计专利，公用事业专利和植物专利。
Only two of the patents apply to hardware design. Design patents protect the distinctive features of your superficial design, which is applicable to the ornamental value of a product. A utility patent, the one in which most product designers are interested, protects your invention’s core technology—the specific size of your mechanism, how your mechanism moves, and the exact parts that make this piece of technology work.
Trademark and Copyright are slightly different tools that protect brands and works of artistic value. If you want to protect your established brand name against abuse from copycats, look into creating a Trademark, easily identified by the tinyTMsymbol beside your logo or trade name.
Apple has a utility patent, U.S. Patent 第8,441,450号, for its “movable track pad with added functionality, that covers design variations in addition to the MacBook Pro’s trackpad. Utility patents are granted for technology that is new, inventive, and commercially viable.” data-entity-type=”file” data-entity-uuid=”3732ff21-0c8e-4c5d-880d-f965b4e6cc11″ src=”https://2l2cay2y05fl2aba9x29f5xj-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/patents-image01.jpeg” width=”950″ height=”633″>
Should I Patent My Ideas?
You’ll need to decide whether or not you feel your idea is novel enough to make it worth investing in a patent. In business terms, a patent is an investment and insurance for your intellectual assets. It makes no sense to protect against theft if you’re not going to profit from it.
Getting a patent ranges from at least $5,000 to beyond the $20,000 mark, depending on the complexity of your invention and thus the number of pages you’ll need to file. The USPTO has listed afee scheduleto which you can refer.
Although a patent is good for 20 years, that’s no guarantee that your invention will still be profitable or relevant to the market along the years. A patent is subject to annual maintenance fee from the end of the fourth year from the date of patent filing.
您需要对您的业务和市场轨迹有足够的了解才能计算出款项。如果您想继续参与这项数百万的收入业务五年，并且您认为您的行业不会有太多创新，那么也许前期成本是值得的。
我该如何发明专利？
If you decide to apply for a patent, it’s acomplicated, lengthy, expensive process, so hiring a qualified attorney and meticulously following the U.S. Patent Office instructions is essential. Though not every city in the U.S. has a patent office where you can apply for your patent, there are resource centres around the country where you can seek assistance, and the U.S. Patent Office’sresource pageoffers a wealth of information and videos to answer your questions. Note that patent coverage is specific to the country where you apply, so if you need coverage in multiple countries (a European patent, for example), you’ll need to submit a patent application in each country where you need coverage.
应用程序之前专利局,avoid telling anyone how your invention works, not even your investors or mentors, without a Non-Disclosure Agreement. This document will be useful for safely getting improvement opinions and investment capital, without being denied for your patent.
Likewise, you should always preserve your concept drawings. (In fact, that’s one reason engineers keep notebooks. Pro Tip: Use hardcover, bound notebooks, because pages can easily be torn out of a spiral notebook, leaving no evidence behind.)
The initial phase of applying for a patent will be aPatent Searchto validate that there are no similar patents on record, which you can doyourselfor pay an attorney several hundred dollars to do. If you’re low on resources, you can participate in thenationwide Patent Pro Bono Program。一旦确定了您需要哪种类型的专利并收集了资源，就可以提交专利申请。
您将与政府审查员合作回答任何问题并解决任何必需的信息，如果您获得专利，则将获得津贴问题，然后您必须每四年维护一次。
一旦获得专利，如果我找到模仿者怎么办？
If someone violates your patent, you can legally sue the offending party for patent infringement in federal court. Samsung and Apple have been engaged in a patent feud since2011和eventually settled for across-licensing agreementin 2014.
话虽这么说，重要的是要制定策略专利。回到我们在资助阶段被中国制造商克隆的Kickstarter项目的示例，如果您处于这种情况，并且您有中国专利保护您的想法，您可以起诉，但中国专利执行是一种tricky issue。You’d want to speak to your attorney to figure out the best course of action for专利起诉。
Main Takeaways
Applying for a patent requires you to commit both time and money to the process. It’s a good idea to review your needs and the various ways you can protect your intellectual property, whether you apply for a trademark, copyright, or a specific type of patent. Always speak to a licensed attorney who is a subject matter expert, so you can get advice on the best option for your needs.
