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| Homepage of Erik Chmelar | |||||||||||
Home |
Photos |
Bio |
Family |
Invent |
Biz |
Time |
CV:pdf|ps|txt |
School |
Quote |
Guests |
Blog |
| Inventions |
| I'm not posting details until the patent examinations are nearer to completion. |
| Personal Inventions | Title | Patent Application Filing Date | Patent | |||
| Tubular Shoelace Protector | 10/12/04 | -- | ||||
| Skateboard Truck Assembly | 11/08/04 | -- | ||||
| Retractable Tip Mechanical Pencil Assembly | 12/06/04 | -- | ||||
| Multipurpose Skateboard Tool | -- | -- | ||||
| Trying to find time to complete two more... | -- | -- | ||||
| Corporate Inventions | ||||||
| Title | Disclosure Date | Company | Patent No. | Local File | URL | |
| Methods of Testing for Shorts in Programmable Logic Devices Using Relative IDDQ Quiescent Current Measurements | 08/03 | Xilinx, Inc. | 6,920,621 | -- | patent | |
| Digitally Obtaining Contours of Fabricated Polygons | 11/04 | LSI Logic, Inc. | -- | -- | -- | |
| Segmented Adressable Scan Architecture | 11/04 | LSI Logic, Inc. | -- | -- | -- | |
| Low Density Checksums as an X-tolerant Test Output Compression | 11/04 | LSI Logic, Inc. | -- | -- | -- | |
| Postponed Quasi-masking Output Compression | 11/04 | LSI Logic, Inc. | -- | -- | -- | |
|
How to patent your invention |
| The patent process can be very confusing and frustrating to navigate, which is why patent attorneys get paid big bucks. And since patent attorneys don't want to make themselves obsolete, you'll find very little published information on how to write your own patent application. Since I'm no patent attorney, rather I'm someone who prefers to do things himself, I have no problem sharing my simple patent application submission recipe. What follows is a simple process to submit a non-provisional (utility) patent application (an application for a device, like a new toaster or an improved chair). |
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1. Do a prior art search for patents on devices similar to your invention at the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) web site. 2. Read A Guide to Filing A Non-Provisional (Utility) Patent Application. 3. Make your drawings that clearly identify your invention and all it's features; it's easiest to make the drawings first and then write the specification because you'll refer to the drawings. The format of the drawings is outlined in the above-cited guide. 4. Write your specification (the 'report' outlining your invention).  a. Follow the simple content format (sections, section titles, and what should be included in each section) outlined in the above-cited guide.
b. Use a couple of the patents you found when you did your prior art search as a guide, especially for the claims section since this is the most important part of your application--it contains the sole text that defines your invention and defends it in the event of a patent dispute.
c. There is a fair amount of information online about the structure and format of good claims (I'll add some links), but if you're unsure of yourself this is where a patent attorney can be helpful. Read the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure (MPEP) section 600 for detailed information about your specification and the claims.
d. The USPTO had software that you could download with some half-ass visual formatting (spacing, etc.) called ABX (it's a Microsoft Word macro), but apparently all links to download ABX have been removed from the USPTO's web site (don't worry, you're not missing much, I tried using it: didn't have the right formatting and caused more harm than good). If you're happily anti-Microsoft like me, you can instead write your specification with LaTeX using the template files I wrote for this purpose. It's nothing fancy, just a few modifications to the article class to get the correct formatting that the USPTO wants. Download the tar archive template.tar.gz here. I've included simple instructions and a sample patent specification with figures to get you started. When I have more time I'll write a proper LaTeX style file (but this template is what I've been using for years and it works great). I only ask that you please send me an email or sign my guestbook if you download the template or find this information useful.
5. Fill out the necessary forms, which are cryptically stated in the above-cited guide as: a. PTO/SB-01.
b. PTO/SB-05.
c. PTO/SB-17.
d. and optionally PTO/SB-08A and PTO/SB-08B.
6. Cut a check for the appropriate fee (see the Fee Schedule) (Fees are always changing, if this link leads nowhere then a new fee schedule has come out: go to the UPSTO web site, follow Patents->Fees for the new schedule). You calculated your fee on above-cited form PTO/SB-17. 7. Print out your specification and the forms and mail them in with your payment (I prefer mail over the EFS electronic submission). |