LinkedIn Groups, Group: Innovate the Future
Subject: New comment (23) on "How do I protect an innovation idea from being copied or stolen??"
To Josef and others
All true but still ...

Patents are expensive and the outcomes of litigation uncertain ... but the same applies to any contract or title.
At the end of the day there are three types of "ideas" or products: life-changing, commercially viable and all the rest - as judged not by the inventor (we tend to think all we do is life-changing) but the market. Once you are sure your idea fits in the "all the rest" category stop working on it and definitely do NOT waste money on patents. At the other end, a life-changing idea or product will quickly generate the return needed to hire the best counsel for patent application and IP litigation.
The real issue is what to do with "commercially viable" ideas. Most likely the "product" will be around end of life once the patent is granted, and will never generate enough money to justify a full international coverage and/or litigation - but the sad reality is that you DO need a patent (pending) to "sell" either to a large corporation or to investors or to distributors. Therefore a "cheap" patent is the best strategy.

I do not know who Josef hired, or how big was his invested capital, but applying for an US utility patent with international priority should not cost more than 12-15 thousand dollars and can be achieved with much less. Discussion, extensions to other countries, registration and renewal fees, etc. come at a later stage and should be approached base on a ROI logic: if your sales in a territory do not cover the cost of registration, leave that territory to the copies - it is basic busness logic.

When applying for a patent for a "commercially viable" but not "life-changing" idea, is better to keep in mind the following:
1) Apply as late in the development as possible to minimize the cost of re-writing and maximize the commercial life during the "priority" period.
2) You do not need a famous practice to WRITE a patent, make the DESIGNs, research PRIOR ART, or even to APPLY for a patent. Pure registration costs are less than a thousand dollars, and another couple of thousands for the priority, and it can be done on-line with a credit card. The rest are services that you CHOOSE to use.
3) Most practices outsource prior art research and design drafting, billing them back to you at a premium. You can do them by yourself, or hire researchers and draftsmen directly, saving a substantial amount.
5) In my opinion, the real contribution of a patent attorney is to have a second set of eyes in the verbiage and (most importantly) the claims to allow you to get as much mileage from your idea as possible. A good IP lawyers should be able to review your patent draft for a pre-negotiated (and reasonable) fee.
6) The "name" of the firm is relevant in LITIGATION but not in FILING. If you have a decent patent (from a legal standpoint) obtained at a decent price with a decent IP attorney you can always decide to hire the 900-pound gorilla later, IF a litigation makes sense from a ROI perspective.
Posted by Giovanni Zangrande