Do You Have a Product Idea That You Want to Patent?

As you watch your daughter mow your yard and your neighbor’s yard your mind begins to wander. You brainstorm ideas that could help the task be easier. Beyond the self propel mechanism on your mower you wonder if there is a way for that mower to memorize the characteristics of your yard, and program itself to help her more easily navigate corners and inclines. And while you know there is now a robotic mower that will complete the task unassisted, you wonder if there is a way to incorporate some of those GPS advantages, but still allow for a person to work even more efficiently.

Your while life, that is how your mind has worked. You likely got this trait from your dad. He was always jerry rigging his current tools and machines to work more efficiently for him. He was always the one who could find a solution to any situation. From trying to work on a car unassisted with no one else, to finding out the answer to other kinds of challenges in and out of the work shop, your father has always been an innovator. And while he has often made his own life easier, he has not really ever found a way to make any money on his ideas. This is the reason, of course, why you ended up choosing your career. As a patent and trademark lawyer, you are now able to help others capitalize on their own dreams and visions.

The Decision to Obtain a Patent Can Help Protect Your Product Plans

Even if you will likely never make money on a new kind of lawn mowing technology, you find satisfaction in the fact that you are able to help others make the most of their unique product designs. You sometimes think that if your own father would have had the kind of legal advice that you now provide he might have made a bigger impact on the world around him.

For now, however, you are satisfied with the help that you provide to help your clients obtain a patent when they want one. There are, of course, many steps and procedures to securing a patent, but when clients work with the right lawyers they are able to get the results that they want. Consider some of these facts and figures about the many ways that patent law plays an important role in the development of new products:

• A new patent has a term of approximately 20 years from the application filing date.
• The first patent law was used more than 228 years ago.
• The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) receives more than 500,000 patent applications every single year.
• Patents are frequently utilized across 12 different industries, according to a recent survey.
• In the 12 industries where patents are successfully used, 50% or more inventions that meet the criteria for becoming patented are being patented successfully.

The decision to obtain a patent allows an inventor or product developer to protect their own unique ideas. In fact, with the help of the right legal adviser, there are many people who are able to do more than just make their own lives easier with their new ideas, they are also able to help others as well.