Inventor Services, LLC

Description

The short answer is no. You do not necesarily need a patent to legally sell a device. A patent is primarily useful to give you protection from your competition. A patent gives its owner the legal right to stop others from making, using, or selling the goods or processes covered by the patent for a fixed period of time. There are many situations in which you may freely sell a product without protecting the product by a patent. For example, any patents protecting the device you desire to sell may have expired. In another situation, suppose you are denied a patent on your desired product by the USPTO. You may still sell your product as long as you do not infringe any other unexpired patents. In this case you will have to achieve commercial success on some other basis than by the exclusionary rights granted an inventor upon receiving a patent.

However, even an extensive search may not turn up all the prior art. For example, there is a chance that a patent may be pending in the system and unavailable for our review. None-the-less, the search will indicate the extent of prior art and allow you to determine the likelihood that you may obtain a patent. Search results may also present prior art around which claims must be cast to obtain your maximum patent protection. For this search we receive a set search fee . We do not issue guarantees of patentability; you must make your own decision concerning the patentability of your invention after reviewing the search results. However, we provide our experience and insight to guide you in making such a determination.

A typical scenario might be as follows: you have invented a product and have determined that it will be commercially viable. Furthermore, in order to protect your interests, meaningful patent protection is required. The typical steps an inventor will take to obtain and keep a patent include: patentability searching, disclosing the invention to professional patent counsel, having patent counsel prepare and prosecute a patent application before the USPTO/PCT, payment of issue fees, and payment of maintenance fees. Once you reach a positive evaluation of your search results, you can disclose your invention to us, either in person, or by FAX, mail, or e-mail. We will then review your information, and quote firm, fixed, costs to proceed. (A nondisclosure agreement is not required between us , but we suggest it for your peace of mind, and to promote its use in your business practice. In any event, we are bound by our personal and professional ethics and cannot "steal your ideas"). Assuming you hire Inventor Services, LLC, you will pay a retainer in advance to cover the cost of each phase of work (application, Office Action, etc.).

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