typically a person can file for a patent within a year of building/using the product (my lawyer told me that) The first step is typically a patent search which used to be about 500.00- maybe a bit more-ask a lawyer about your absolute first step (could be free advice) I know that I sent myself a certified letter with the description and photo of my prototypes- the first one who has the info is typically the one who would get the product but you still will need a lawyer- the patent examiner will help you decide before you spend thousands on a patent if it is even worth your time/money. Good luck to you and oh yes, go to an inventor's meeting in your area and you will learn a lot of useful information- you don't have to divulge your idea at the meeting, it is just networking and you will hear horror and success stories.

Thanks. How do you find the inventor meetings?

Some useful info regarding patetns in here: Forum topic 8260
 
Keep in mind that IANAL, but unless you have either (a) a killer and novel idea on how to solve a problem, (b) lined-up a commercialization path for your product, or (c) very worried about reasonable competition possibilities, a patent is an unnecessary cost for the majority of cases.

LLB is right, given that you disclosed at Quirky, you have lost international rights in most countries already. You used to have year from disclosure to file for a provisional patent in the U.S. (the system is changing, so you should check on that), and a year after that to file for the real patent.
 
Although the initial filings are relatively cheap in most cases (less than $300 I believe), the total costs for really pursuing a patent can be steep and exceed $10000. Most people (including universities) get at most to the preliminary patent stage. Hoping to line-up a company that will pick-up the rest of the costs of going forward within the initial 2 years of protection.

Inventors meetings can be googled in your area- (you have internet access) they usually meet once a month but if you find the group, there should be a website with it. Inventors are a friendly bunch if not outspoken about their "babies"- they will help you with ideas about patent searches, which lawyer did a better job- (there will be some horror stories along with the success stories) and they will hand you business cards, they typically have some printed literature for your area about lawyers, patent search attorneys, etc. I hope your patent/inventor story does better than ours (my sister and I patented the product I submitted) They may ask you pertinent questions about your product but they will understand if you are vague, just sit, listen and network and you will find them friendly and helpful! good luck to you. Our patent search was 500.00 and our utility patents were 3500.00 each- if someone tells you to go to a prototype planner, get back to me -there is one that I sent ours to and he thought it was "an award winner" and that "his wife would have liked to invent this" so I will tell you to avoid him. If you are confident about your prototype, don't send it to anyone- even after the nda- and signed agreements, we had to have a patent with his name on it too. (he is in/or was in connecticut)

I believe you can still file in U.S. Individual inventors get a discount at the U.S.PTO. In any case, for a few hundred dollars you can buy yourself some time to think if it is worthwhile to pursue a utility patent. You get, I believe, 3 independent claims and some number of dependent claims at no additional cost with the filing fee. Additional claims start costing big money as the PTO has more work to do, they hate patents with lots of claims and make you file a divisional application (a lot more money).
...
Your biggest problem is drafting your claims. Technical people do not understand that claims go from very general with very few words, to more and more specific. Lawyers cost huge money, and often have no technical education to even understand your invention.
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I have prosecuted my own patent applications, and litigated my case in the trial court and court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. To make your patent worth something you have to remember, the claims should be drafted using the SAME words you used in the description in view of possible future litigation. If there is any ambiguity a judge will determine what things mean (often a stupid and ignorant judge)
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Lets say you invented a mouse trap which is made of high impact plastic and does not kill the mouse. You may draft as follows.
Claim 1 A system comprising of a box for capturing mice without killing them.
claim 2, The system of claim 1, wherein said box is made of plastic.
claim 3, the system of claim 2, wherein said plastic is high impact.

You get the idea, right?

Guys and Gals!

Protect your inventive ideas BEFORE you submit to Quirky! You do this with a Provisional Patent Application with the USPTO! It only costs $125 and is easy to do.

And NO... You do NOT NEED a lawyer.. It was designed to be EASILY done.. Go to YouTube and search Provisional Patent Video Course and see some suggestions!

If links work see this..
http://provisionalpatentvideo.com/

To see the top 10 reasons to file a Provisional Patent Application please watch the second video in this blog.
http://www.filepatentapplications.com/blog/

Quirky Guys and Gals!

Protect your inventive ideas BEFORE you submit to Quirky!

You do this with a Provisional Patent Application with the USPTO! It only costs $125 and is easy to do.

And NO... You do NOT NEED a lawyer.. It was designed to be EASILY done, with some good guidance...

Go to YouTube or Google and search Provisional Patent Video Course and see some suggestions!

If links work see this..
http://provisionalpatentvideo.com/

To see the top 10 reasons to file a Provisional Patent Application please watch the second video in this blog.
http://www.filepatentapplications.com/blog/

When you submit an idea to Quirky it is "Public Disclosure"

As such you are "given" 12 months to file your Intellectual Property Protection.

And YES.. There ARE Slime-balls watching Quirky for your GREAT ideas because they KNOW many of you will NOT protect your inventive ideas.

So, get to work.. It is NOT that hard!

If you have a bunch of money hire a lawyer.

If not take advantage of the Provisional Patent Application Process SPECIFICALLY designed to allow the independent inventor to protect their inventive ideas and pay TAX if you become a zillionaire!

Until and if Q picks your idea out of uc you can do whatever the hell you want. What are they going to do, sue you? I seriously doubt it.

my personal thoughts on this...the more time you have spent on a particular idea, the more you should consider getting a patent. if you have a design for an idea right down to how many nuts and bolts it takes to make it, how big you think the market is for the product, what price range for the product, and so on, then spend the 95 bucks at uspto.gov for a provisional patent. as soon as you file a provisional patent application, you can legally declare "patent pending."

I believe there is a guideline in patenting, where as if you do not have money and underprivileged you can basically do it for free. Call the Patent office in D.C. To get the real low down, but do not take my word. Just go here and look. or like I said call them.
Here is a fee list from the Patent office.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee092611.htm

Yes, I understand in the US you can file a patent within a year after the first public disclosure of the idea (that would be the day you put it up on Quirky). This is quite fortunate, in many other countries such as the UK you are prevented from filing a patent after any public disclosure of the idea!