Patent Attorney and Founder
Everybody, I’m J.D. Houvener, your host of the Bold Today Show, where you, the inventor, entrepreneur, business owner, get your daily inspiration so you can go make the world a better place.
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We’re talking about how to write and file a patent application, and we’re going through all the steps that we attorneys go through, work with our clients on, and we’re opening up the gates, showing you the process that we use because we want you to have all the information as possible. This is how you write an application.
Step 5 today covers the detailed description of alternative embodiments. Okay, you want to tell the examiner, and you want to have on your palette in the provisional patent application all the different options, all the different potential opportunities that your invention might have in other industries or other applications. To do that, you’ve got to add color.
In the last section, we asked you to painfully put down the most basic version of your invention. Right, we’ve got, of course, articulate how it’s novel and different above and beyond the prior art, but that core skeleton of an invention now needs to be brought to light. And not just the one version you’ve thought of but all the different colors of the rainbow. So you need to use your imagination, think outside the box like crazy, and go wild.
Use your thoughts about when you’re designing the product, when you’re putting yourself in the shoes of potential customers. What might they want? What might they want maybe five years from now? And think about other technology and how it solves problems, and think about what the other types of materials could be. And don’t get mired down in overthinking and being technical. You need to really have fun with this, and even if the solution is using a material that you think based on your background is gonna be subpar, put it down. It may have some other effects, some other application that you don’t even really realize right now. It’s that important to put down that version. If it could be made of plastic, could be made out of fishing net, could be made out of recycled fibers, put it down. It’s that important. And then walk through what the ramifications would be if it’s made of that material, how would it be attached, and then if it’s also been attached using that way, how much support it might need, what other structural means might you use to make that accomplish the goal you’re trying to achieve.
So this section, you might want to spend a little extra time on. This could take up, you know, four to five paragraphs or more if you’ve got that amount of imagination. It’s really endless, and I would urge you to put a lot of effort into this section. So without further ado, we’re going to let you go, get back to work, roll up your sleeves, and get to it. I’m your host J.D. Houvener of the Bold Today Show. It’s my pleasure talking with you here. Go big, go bold.