One of the first things you should consider when it comes to attaining a patent for your idea is determine whether or not to use a patent attorney. There are no regulations or requirements by the patent and trademark office that require a patent attorney. In fact, thousands patents are issued each year to people who didn’t use an attorney.
Even if you decide to use an attorney it is to your benefit to learn as much as you can about the patenting process. By doing this you can check on the work your attorney is doing for you more closely and spend your money much more effectively. For instance, if you have limited funds available you may decide to do most of the patent application preparation work yourself while using your attorney for a few specific tasks. On a simple invention your attorney costs could be anywhere from $3000 to $5000 so optimizing how you spend your money will go a long way.
The next thing to consider is which type of patent your idea falls under. There are three kinds.
Utility Patents
Most patents fall under the category of a utility patent. The nature of these inventions perform some sort of utility. Examples would be, software, computer hardware, electronics, drugs, manual transmissions, and anything else that provides a utility function.
Design Patents
These patents cover unique external appearance invention ideas. This in opposition to patent ideas that relate to how an item functions. It is possible to file both a utility and design patent, however, each patent should be a unique invention within itself. For instance if how you patent your idea relates to internal software running inside a computer chip you could file a utiltiy patent for that and additionally file a design patent for the shape of the outside structure of your invention provided that the shape isn’t required for the device to function. Design patents should relate only to aesthetics of your invention idea, but it shouldn’t be necessary for your invention to work properly.
Plant Patents
Asexually reproducible plants are covered by plant patents. If a plant falls under the category of sexually reproducing it can be covered under the plant variety protection act which is different from that of a plant patent.
Should you patent your idea or acquire copyright protection?
Before you decide to go through the process of filing a patent application, you may want to consider some alternatives such as copyright or trademarks. How to patent an idea may include a design patent, but you can also acquire copyrights in addition to the patent. This allows for more coverage since copyrights and patents provide somewhat different legal options.