>Anybody here have experience in the patenting department?
>
>What is patentable? What is not? I mean in a patentable process is everything patented (the way things work, the look and feel...) or should different patents be applied to different aspects of what needs to be patented?
>
>Is it worth it to patent or is this only reserved to the big corporations because they're the only one to have the financial resources to fight for their rights?
>
>What are the positive and negative sides to such a process?
>
>Thank you for additional feedback on things I could've forgotten.

Hi Denis. We have patent pending status on a couple of what we believe are unique developments/inventions. My experience is this;

1) if you think you have a unique process or method then you need to speak to a professional patent specialist firm. It costs more but they have the knowledge to do it right. You do not want to end up having a unique concept and lose it due to poor execution of the patent application.

2) you start by submitting an "application for a patent". This will put you at the front of the "patent option" queue, so to speak, and give you first shot at the full patent (if available). This assumes someone has not already got the patent or is not already in the "pending" queue before you.

This application is not the patent. It only gives you the first right to get a patent if one has not already been granted to someone else.

This application step is not too expensive. This step also does not tell you if you can even get a patent either. It just puts you in the queue to get a patent if (a) no one else has the patent already and (b) the idea is patentable.

3) The application above gives you about 18 months in which to research the patent markets and decide whether to apply for the full patent. The researching of existing patents in your field can be very expensive and needs to be done with a lot of forethought. If you do not go for the full patent then the application in (2) above falls away.

4) If you go for the full patent then you will need to hire a firm to perform the research into the existing patents. This is done by region, eg America, Europe, etc. Each of those research processes cost money but the researchers are expierenced and will be able to tell you whether your application for a patent has a good chance of success or not in that market.

5) Depending on the results of the research in (5) above you will decide whether to pursue the full patent status. This again costs money and must be done on a per territory basis, or full international - but that costs a fortune.

My opinion is to first get a professional opinion. If that is positive then go for the initial "application to get a patent" step. This is not that expensive and hopefully puts you first in the queue. Then you can think it through further. During this time you can tell prospects and other companies that you have "patent pending" status on your invention.

iro whether you can protect your patent - there are lots of lawyers that will work on a commission basis if they believe in the strength of your patent. That I do not think is too much of a problem. The problem is the costs to get the patent.

hth.