A patent is a patent is a patent…… FALSE! If you want to patent an invention the right way, and avoid wasting thousands of dollars having to re-patent…and then redo it, it’s important you understand to understand the 3 main types of patents:

1. Utility Patents – cover new and useful inventions such as mechanical devices, electronics, medical devices, biotechnology, gadgets, and processes for making things.

2. Design Patents – cover new and ornamental designs of products (articles of manufacture) such as containers, furniture, toys, or housewares.

3. Plant Patents – cover new and distinct plant varieties such as flowering plants, vegetables and fruit trees.

All three patents utility patents, design patents, and plant patents must overcome two primary hurdles to get to an issued patent. 1) novely (must be new) essentially means that the invention must be new, not previously known or used by others and 2) non-obvious essentially means that the invention must not be an obvious variation or combination of subject matter previously known.

In the United States, if the inventor makes an offer to sell, makes a sale, or publicly discloses the invention, the inventor has one year from the earliest of those events to file a US patent application. Otherwise, an inventor will lose their US patent rights. Thus, he who hesitates with protecting their invention may find a prosperous future quickly becomes a shattered dream.

If an inventor makes an offer to sell, makes a sale, or publicly discloses the invention before filing a patent application he/she will likely lose their rights to file in foreign countries.

Download the Inventor Start Kit ™ to learn the step-by-step invention process from start to finish!