Tips for Keeping Your Patent Information Safe

For most inventors, the decision of whether they should get a patent for one of their ideas is an easy one. Most are very excited when they come up with a new or improved-upon idea they want to share with the world. There are, however, many reasons why inventors may choose to wait on patenting their idea or delay working with a patent lawyer. Patent lawyers are useful and can help inventors keep their intellectual property safe from those who want to steal it.

How To Keep Your Ideas And Inventions Safe

While inventors work out kinks or determine if an idea or invention they have come up with is actually patentable, they need to keep their information safe in the meantime. Additionally, they need to figure out if their ideas are worth the time and investment needed to apply for and get a patent approval. For some inventors, delaying the hiring of a patent attorney is simply because they lack the funds to do so. In any case, below are some tips to consider for keeping an idea or invention safe before hiring a Utah patent infringement attorney for help.

• Provisional Patent

If you need more time but think your invention has real potential for patent approval, you should file a provisional patent. The application will provide you a "patent pending" status and offer proof you came up with a specific idea before anyone else did. It can buy you time before you hire a lawyer and apply for the official patent.

• Sign an NDA

An NDA is a non-disclosure agreement. If you are not fully sure if your idea or invention will get patent approval, you may be asking other people you work with or know if you can share your ideas with them. Even when you think you can trust someone, it is best to have them sign a non-disclosure agreement before you share any sensitive information about your ideas or inventions. If they sign it, they cannot share or steal your ideas or any part of them. If they do, you will have the necessary means to sue them for damages.

Benefits Of Hiring An Attorney

• Prevent Theft

The decision to hire a patent attorney is one that needs close consideration. However, the main reason most inventors take the plunge is to protect their intellectual property from theft. Most inventors need to attract investors and licensing deals to get funding. To be successful in this task, inventors need to protect their ideas and inventions from being taken. If no patent application is filed by the inventor when pursuing investors, the investor may instead take the idea and turn around to file a patent application themselves.

• Reduce Competition

Another reason to consider hiring a patent attorney is that patents can serve as a barrier to other competitors trying to enter your market. They may see your patent already filed and consider whether it is worth the risk of getting in trouble for patent infringement. For some competitors, the potential rewards do not outweigh the risks involved.

• More Profits

Patents are perfect for inventors and business owners who are looking to stop others from selling, using, making or offering for sale inventions they have claimed. Assuming there is a market for the product or idea, the patent will allow a filer the ability to charge higher prices for their products which have patents on them. Keeping the competition out of the marketplace will reduce the overall supply of products you are wanting to sell or offer.

• Encourage Settlement Agreements

During a litigation proceeding, both parties in a patent dispute can assert a multitude of claims against each other regarding patent infringement. Having a patent lawyer on your side can ensure you are not taken advantage of by the other parties involved. In some cases, your lawyer will work with you to cross-license a deal when a single patent owner cannot be named.