DocL said:
I already have a working instrument of the idea that I want to incorporate into an otc product that will help everyone who uses this product to use it correctly. Also, the person who is a patent agent is a good friend of my father, he has a few patents in the field already. When I showed him my idea he was ecstatic and he's already prepared a contract for me. I don't have the discretionary money to fund the idea, but he said that it could easily be sold to any of the pharmaceutical companies. Someone else also recommended that I send myself a letter with a rudimentary drawing of my idea and not open the envelope. They said it will help prove that I initially had this idea. Does sound correct?
I know that at our company we need to document all of our ideas in numbered notebooks with dates that are turned in to the company for storage. In the event of a patent dispute, these notebooks can then be referenced to show when the idea was first conceived. Mailing yourself documentation on the idea as well as diagrams does the same thing by having a US postal stamp with date on it (of course it needs to remain sealed!). You can then throw this into a safety deposit box in case you ever run into problems later.
Please also note that there are limitations to how soon you must file the patent if your invention is displayed publicly anywhere. If you've demonstrated it at your local hospital for example, then I believe you have 1 year from that point to have your patent submitted.
If you're 100% comfortable with the patent agent, then go ahead with them. I just advise some caution as I know my uncle lost his entire life savings (over a million dollars) to a very close business associate whom he had known for over 30 years. Money does strange things to people!
In any case, if you're planning on shopping the patent around, then it's a very good idea to have as much documented and dated/sealed as possible. Also, not as important (and costly), but you may want to look into international patents if the companies you are dealing with have global operations. Non disclosure agreements are great, but difficult to enforce in court if they claim they already had the idea. If your idea is very good, then take all precautions to protect yourself and make sure it is not stolen! Unfortunately, this type of thing happens on a regular basis (big companies stealing good ideas from the little guy).
Also, if the idea has huge revenue potential for yourself (eg. tens of millions from licensing) then it may be a good idea to raise capital with private investors so that you don't skimp on making the patent airtight. The last thing you want is someone else to come in and get away with a similar product on a technicality because your claims were not broad enough. If in your research you find there are no similar ideas, then your claims MUST be as broad and encompassing as possible. You do not even have to have this demonstrated in a working product .. the idea itself can be patented, so think long and hard about all possible applications and variations.
Best of luck!
