You've probably heard a lot of people say this before, "Hey, that's a good idea. You should patent i...

1. How to Patent an Idea - Yahoo Voices
You've probably heard a lot of people say this before, "Hey, that's a good idea. You should patent it."
Well, easier said than done. Obtaining a patent requires a lot of hard work. However, as long as you
have an original idea, and you follow all of the steps, anyone can obtain a patent. In this article I will
go over the steps required to patent an idea.
Types of Patents: First, you should know that there are different types of patents. There are utility
patents and design patents. There's also a type of patent called a plant patent that protects plants,
but I'm not going to get into that in this article. A utility patent protects the function or concept of an
idea, and a design patent protects the appearance and manufacturing of a product. It is not
uncommon for a person or a company to get a design patent and a utility patent for the same idea.
You should also know that utility patents and design patents have there own separate subcategories.
These subcategories are to classify whether your idea is a machine, chemicals, a man-made product,
etc.
Find Out if Your Idea is Patentable: Now that you understand the different types of patents and have
probably figured out which kind you need, it's time to determine whether or not your idea is
patentable. Your idea must cover three bases; novelty, non-obvious, and utility. Let me explain. Your
idea must be 100% original. Your idea must not be something that would be considered obvious to a
profession in that field. For example, if you claimed to have invented a new flavor for ice cream, one
can only assume that any possible ice cream flavor has already been considered by someone who
makes ice cream for a living before. Lastly, your idea must serve a practical use. In other words,
there's no point in patenting an idea that no one could ever or would ever want to use. Like, a drug
that's only purpose is to induce nose bleeds, and it has never been tested before. That wouldn't be
considered very practical.
Do a Patent Search: This is one of the most obvious steps. You need to search to find out if someone
else has already patented your idea. Performing a patent search is very easy. All you have to do is go
to http://uspto.gov and look for your idea. If you can't find it anywhere, congratulations! Not to be a
party pooper, but odds are if you've thought of something, someone else has too. In fact, hundreds...
maybe even thousands of others have. So make sure you search thoroughly.
Apply For a Patent: You really should go to the USPTO's website and read their full instructions on
how to apply for a patent, but I'll give you a brief explanation here. You're application basically
needs to consist of three components; A cover letter, a detailed description, and a diagram. The
cover letter should be just like any other cover letter. Explain who you are, what your idea is, and
why you want to patent it. Next, you have to explain your idea in full detail, and I do mean FULL
DETAIL. Do not leave out even the tiniest little detail. Finally, you have to draw a diagram that
illustrates how your idea works and how it can be manufactured. For example, if your idea is a flying
time machine, you need to show, in pictures, how someone could possibly build a flying time
machine.