Patent Attorney and Founder
Hi I’m J.D. Houvener, your host of the Bullet Today Show or you the inventor entrepreneur business owner get your daily dose of inspiration to make the world a better place.
Alright everybody, well this is Part 4 of a series talking about what you think it should think about before you move forward and hire a patent attorney. We backed on Monday, we talked about looking at all the different upfront legal issues in terms of this statutory bar, if you’ve gotten issues in terms of whether your product is not able to be marketable given them maybe that brought the overall industry, it’s kind of sagging or okay.
We talked on Tuesday about the idea that you know this this may not be the best fit for your for timing and it may be a better alternative to think about as a trade secret in that in that aspect. So we also looked at when you get ready to prepare for a consultation what should you bring. Alright, what are the things you should get ready to bring in terms of your your photos or drawings or images and your prototype if you’ve got that. You should bring that too.
Now today we’re going to talk about what actually happens in the consultation, what you can expect, and how to make the most out of the consultation that you have with our firm at Bold Patents. You get 30 minutes and it’s at no charge. Not all firms are willing to do a free consultation. At our firm we believe strongly in education. Patent law is one of those areas that many people are interested in, they’re kind of intrigued at the idea of creating new things and the government giving a 20 year monopoly, you know, and so it’s a really interesting subject matter because of that.
So much has been written about it and unfortunately so much incorrect or misinformation has been out there on top of that. The laws have changed so much in the past 10 years that anything written 5 to 10 years ago is really going to be old law, even if it was accurate at the time written. That’s why it’s so important for us to talk with inventors, business owners and entrepreneurs like you to educate you about the process, help you understand the nuances of patent law and how it applies to your specific invention.
In the consultation, one of the first things you’re going to talk about is confidentiality and you get right upfront a clear definition to the fact that you’re talking with a patent attorney licensed in a state where they have sworn an oath to maintain competence. And so that’s a nice we should just sort of take a breath of fresh air and realize that this is actually a nice thing but you can be trusting you can really get into all of the details, yes all of the details, because every single little detail is going to count and you’re going to want to tell the attorney all of your invention because in order to discern whether it’s eligible or whether patenting is the right route for you to get a good recommendation you’ve got to tell all and come prepared like we talked about yesterday with a full description whether it’s a written description, drawings, pictures or the actual prototype. Bring it with you. These are things you can do to bolster and make the most out of a consultation.
You’re going to want to talk to your patent attorney and inquire about whether they think you have one or more inventions and what that’s going to mean in terms of budget. A lot of times we have an inventor come in with their invention and oh my gosh, what they’ve got is at least five separate inventions that are distinct and they operate and have different attributes that go on top of one another. So we’ve got to be proactive and think about okay well which one of these applications, which one of these inventions are we going to want to afford with first. And so having that business plan right, that other thing you’re supposed to bring to the consultation, will help guide this conversation.
You know where is your business at now, where is it going to be five to ten years from now. That will help guide the answer as to which invention you move forward with first.
You want to discuss different options and what the first step should be. As we talked about in previous sessions of the Bold Today Show I emphasized the importance of a patentability search for almost every type of invention, especially if the inventor has come up with this new product that’s outside of what they do on a day to day job or what they do for work. There’s a new field for them. Because of that they likely don’t know what the standard, what the what this state of the art is and so that is something they should be looked into by a registered patent attorney because they need to be able to know what the law is to determine whether that specific reference or prior art is going to be enough to reject the inventor from getting a patent application granted at the Patent Office. The patent attorney, in essence, puts themselves in the shoes of the examiner.
The next big thing you should discuss within a consultation is the process. You’ve got to become away with a clear understanding of what’s next, what comes after and what leads up to the finish line. And don’t forget to ask how much it costs! Okay it’s sort of the obvious question but you’ve got to ask not just what the first step cost but what the whole process is going to cost so that you and your investors know what you’re looking at without really batting an eye or without, you know, with eyes wide open I should say as to what the cost is going to be and what the investment, yes.
I hope this has been educational and hope you all sign up for a free consultation. I welcome you all to visit our website at BoldPatents.com. Place forward this email to someone you might know that’s interested in moving forward with their invention, invite them to go to our website and book a free 30-minute consultation. I’m your host J.D. Houvener of the Bold Today Show. Have a good day everybody. Go big, go bold!