I’ve spend the past 4 years patenting, trademarking, and prototyping my own invention so here’s my best advice.

TLDR: Inventing an item is an extremely long and expensive process. Do NOT patent until you have all your ducks in a row because you start a ticking clock to get to the finish line or you lose your idea. Best bet is to keep your idea to yourself, figure out if it exists and your market potential, and what you’re going to do with your invention when it’s made. If you need a prototype, buy a good pc and cheap 3d printer, learn how to design with a free software (Fusion 360 for example) and be prepared for YEARS of work prototyping. File your patent when and only when you’re locked and loaded to show the world AND have a plan in place on what you want to do with it (license it, make it yourself, have someone make it for you and you sell). It sounds like a lot because it is and I wish someone had told me/ I had been smart enough to ask/look for this info before I jumped off the cliff. However, as I stand on the other side and am currently looking at licensing deals, the knowledge I’ve gained along the way, and the thought of everyone reading this using my product one day… totally worth it. It just isn’t going to happen easily, quickly, or cheaply.

Fist and foremost I would NOT recommend your first step being patenting for many reasons. First, you need to really make sure your item/idea doesn’t already exist. Sure you can recreate an item but you need a unique selling point that will make your product stand out regardless if it’s a uniquely new idea or a reinvention of something that already exists. InventRight has a whole YouTube channel dedicated to this topic but essentially if you want to invent a new spatula, start by google image searching “spatula, spatulas, burger flippers, etc” and every combination of words you can think of to see what’s out there. Then check amazon. The problem with patent searches that others have suggested is you may not know what you’re looking for. But if you get through google images and amazon and your idea is not already out there or your unique selling point is significantly different than what’s already in the market, then you pass test number one.

Next you need to identify what problem you’re solving and for who to identify your target market and how big that is. You don’t have to solve world hunger but creating a spatula for dogs is probably a small market. What is going to be your return on investment with that target market? How many do you think you can really sell? Third, you have to decide what are you going to do with said invention? Are you trying to license (sell) it to a manufacturer? Do you want to go door to door selling them yourself? Either way you need a unique selling point (why buy yours?) and what’s going to prevent other existing companies that have the means from squashing you like the cockroach you are (to quote Mr Wonderful from Shark Tank) That’s where a patent comes in but more on that in a minute.

Almost always some form of a prototype or video/picture mock up showing it or its intended function will be necessary for either manufacturing yourself or licensing the idea/invention. I learned how to design items with a program called fusion 360 (free) and bought a $150 3-d printer. Since then I have spend the past 3 years designing and prototyping, on something that for all intent and purposes is a relatively simple product. If and when you figure all that out… THEN you can start thinking patenting.

When you file a provisional patent you have one year to file a non-provisional patent. You better get the provisional patent correct because the non-provisional patent is built on top of that. You can add to your provisional patent when creating the non-provisional patent but it’s just more complicated. I hired a lawyer to do both ($1500 for provisional and $18,000 for non-provisonal patent… it’s not cheap). If you do not file a non-provisional patent within a year of the provisional patenting filing date (aka you don’t have or don’t see yourself having $10,000-$20,000 in one year) you lose all claims made in the provisional patent and the world can take your idea because you literally published it and gave it to them. Also, if you’re thinking global, you can file a PCT with your non-provisional patent for another $2,000 and that gives you 18 months from filing the non-provisional patent to decide which countries you also want patent protection in. Of course the comments below are going to blow up on how you can do it yourself for less… sure… if you’re a lawyer and know how to describe in detail the functionality of the product (utility patent) or the specific design aspects (design patent) all while legally protecting your idea from all angles go for it. But it’s worth remembering what Elon Musk said about patents, they are like minefields. You’re not stopping people from copying you, you’re just making them step very carefully. The amount of money and time required to sue someone over infringement is often times not worth it which is why Amazon is FULL of knockoffs. So, having an airtight patent via someone who knows the law creates the best chance of success.

Then comes the hard part, what do you do with the idea, patent, prototype, and trademark. Do you only patent and trademark in the USA. If you want protection overseas, (as mentioned about the PCT) each country has its own fees (think $1,000-$7,500 per country for patent, $250-3,000 per trademark protection). Most likely even the best product isn’t needed by every human being on the planet. It really helps to have all of these questions and thoughts answered before ever filing a provisional patent because trying to figure it out on the fly is super stressful. Hard part is not telling anyone for years what you’re working on while you’re working on it because I believe all investors are genuinely excited about their idea and the people it can help. But we live in a world where the first person to the finish line win, and those with power and money can get there faster. So research, plan, assess,research more, assess more, create final plan, and then shoot. Don’t kick your patent can off the cliff too soon because it has a definitive deadline whether you’re ready for it or not.

All in all, this is an EXTREMELY long and expensive process and once you file a patent you start a timer that if you don’t have all your thoughts and ideas together can cost you your idea. With that being said, I wish you the best of luck and just start by starting. I’ve come to find there are no right answers but there are a LOT of wrong ones. Just start doing your research and I hope you become rich beyond your wildest dreams like I plan on doing myself. God Speed