When Should You Seek Patent Assistance for Your Invention?
Inventors are used to going it alone. It’s not unusual to spend hours going over problems, studying issues and using trial and error to create something new. But when it comes to protecting your creation, it’s a good idea to know just how far going it alone can take you–and when you should seek help.
From the Beginning
In actuality, though it’s entirely possible to create draft patent applications on your own, it often makes better sense to involve an expert from the beginning. One reason being, if you are going to continue in your efforts, you’ll eventually need professional help for patent searches and for the more detailed patent applications themselves. This process will go more quickly and smoothly (and, in the long run, be cheaper) if your patent expert already has a good grounding in what your invention is or does, and where you are in the application process.
One frequent mistake of inventors is to wait too long, or until they are too far forward in the process before seeking help. What this means is that any expert that is brought on board at this time is coming in blind. They have no idea of the details of your invention, and it would ultimately take more time for them to read what you’ve already done, than it would to start the process from the beginning. This is something to take into consideration before you get too far along in a do-it-yourself patent application process.
Remember, also, that professionals patent attorneys have access to information for patent searches that is not readily available to consumers. When you’ve spent so much time on your invention, the last thing you want to find out is that something too similar is out there. There are any number of things you can do yourself in the patent application process, but make sure that your money-saving activities will actually be worth it in the long run. And don’t wait too long to consult your patent attorney, for the best results.
