Technology is improving our productivity and making our lives easier. Nowhere is this more evident than with the proliferation of online companies aimed at helping individual inventors.
Traditionally, the path to patent protection begins with hiring a registered patent attorney, who files the necessary documents so inventors can be sure that their best interests are being looked after.
But now, with the emergence of what is commonly referred to as Web 2.0, inventors no longer have to stick with the traditional path.
Web 2.0 is the trend in online technology aimed at facilitating creativity and collaboration among a distinct community through user-generated content and shared ideas.
In the inventor community, knowledge can be exchanged through blogs or open forums. At the United Inventors Association forum (uiausa.org/UIAForum), inventors can post questions and get answers from community professionals.
Edisonnation.com is a Web 2.0 site for anyone who has ever had a great idea. Inventors can get help from other inventors around the world.
JDSupra.com is another Web site that embraces collaboration and free information in all areas of the law, including patents, trademarks and copyrights. Visitors can search an expanding database of legal documents and locate attorneys who have a record of success on cases similar to theirs.
IP Protection
We all know how important intellectual property protection is when developing marketable products. The question is how best to go about it.
Experienced IP property attorneys offer the best chances for success, but they can be expensive. Going it alone involves a time commitment. But the paperwork and bureaucracy of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is daunting.
So what is a cash-strapped inventor with a great idea to do?
One option is to pay one of the Web’s many legal document-service companies to help you file a patent. For a fee, these companies help inventors fill out and electronically file provisional patent applications. They are relatively affordable. Check the various rates from legalzoom.com, 24hrpatent.com and Inventionhome.com.
These companies are not law firms, so their services are limited. And they cannot provide legal advice many inventors seek. Before paying for a provisional patent filing, it’s important to separate well-intentioned dotcoms from those just looking to score a quick buck.
For those who feel more comfortable speaking with an attorney but fear a sky-high bill, inventors can use the Web to do much of the time-consuming legal legwork themselves. In 2006, Google unveiled Google Patent Search, which allows inventors to search existing patents to discover whether their idea is unique.
Similar searches are commonly done by patent attorneys to see whether an invention displays “novelty” and “non-obviousness,” two of the five requirements for patentability.
Wondering what the other three requirements are? Try www.ipwatchdog.com or one of the Web’s many legal blogs. By doing the research before consulting an attorney, you can educate yourself and keep legal costs down.
For inventors who would rather find someone else to foot the bill for protection, a new Web-concept may suit their needs. Big Idea Group (BIG) aims to connect inventors with innovation-seeking companies via an online marketplace.
BIG offers inventors a free evaluation of their ideas. If BIG decides to become your agent, it will represent your idea at no charge for any of its services – including patent protection, product development, marketing, and research.
BIG makes money by licensing ideas, selling a company the rights to produce an invention in return for royalties and advance money, and from fees that companies sometimes pay for BIGs services.
BIG uses a network of members, through an open-source environment, to develop, license and market selected ideas. This method is perfect for someone who is seeking capital and doesn’t mind giving up a share of the royalties.
Whether using free online forums to gather information, electronically self-file, Google Patent Search or open-source technology to find a licensee, the Web is opening new avenues for inventors to protect their ideas and find financial success.
Janine D. Geraigery is founder of the
Law Offices of J.D. Geraigery, an intellectual
property law firm, and LegalLady.com, an
online legal forum. She’s spearheading the
2008 Ingenuity Expo inventors’ tradeshow
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
E-mail janine@LegalLady.com. Visit www.LegalLady.com or www.IngenuityExpo.com.
