Thoughts to Paper
Questions & Answers

Reggie, we'll take all the information you have such as any written descriptions, drawings, photos, you may have. The more you give us the better as we can understand your invention better to prepare a better application. You then work with one of our engineers with a background in the type of invention you have who will ask questions to help us understand anything of your invention that may be unclear. Then, we can assist in writing the technical specifications and preparing the drawings needed for the patent application. The key to a strong patent application is to have full disclosure of the invention with no ambiguity or vagueness. Therefore, our goal is to help create complete, detailed descriptions and drawings after our discussions with you. Feel free to call us during normal business hours and one of us will be happy to assist. If you have very little time before the provisional app expires, we can move quickly with a non-provisional application. Or, there is a way to extend the provisional patent application with a PCT application which we can discuss with you. You can read about PCT application on our website at this article page: http://www.thoughtstopaper.com/knowledge/what-is-a-pct-patent-application.php

Karen, sorry for replying late. If anytime you have an urgent question, give us a call during normal business hours. We have a full team of consultants who can answer most questions. For questions they cannot answer, well get the right answer from our engineers, patent practitioners, or someone who does have the answer. To answer your main question, you will be assigned to one of our engineers with a background in the type of invention you have who will ask questions to help us understand your invention fully. Then, we can assist in writing the technical specifications and preparing the drawings needed for the patent application. The cost is lower as we dont need to utilize our patent attorneys and agents for all matters. For provisional patent applications, we can help prepare the documents needed and help submit them to the US Patent Office. For non-provisional patent applications, our engineers work in conjunction with our patent attorneys and agents. Reach out to us and well be happy to help.

Jeff, as we are not an invention promotion company, we do not perform services such as actively searching for and attempting to sell or license your invention to companies. If however, you need some assistance in creating marketing material such as a sell sheet or a cover letter to pitch your invention to companies, our marketing team would be able to create this material for you. You would then use this material to solicit companies and pitch your invention to interested companies or investors. If someone is interested in buying or licensing your patent, we can refer you to an attorney who can assist you with reviewing the sale or licensing terms.

Our website lists our current prices for provisional patent application and the lowest amount is just a few hundred dollars. However, choosing the lowest cost is not always the best option as you need to choose what services you need to receive optimal protection. A provisional patent application is only as strong as the content that is included. Namely, good technical descriptions of the invention along with good drawings of the invention are critical for proper protection. If you are able to provide a strong technical writing and drawings, there is less technical work required and you can choose a lower dollar amount application. However, if you need help preparing a strong technical writing and invention drawings, you should aim to spend time preparing these on your own or paying slightly more for us to have technical work prepared. A provisional patent application protects only as much as is included. The more detail that is included, the more protection. Feel free to chat with us more about these concepts.

No, a patent search is not a requirement before filing a provisional patent application although it is a highly recommended first step taken by most inventors. As so, you should make sure a good search is performed before starting a patent application, done either by yourself, someone else, or through us. Any corporation filing a patent application would do a patent search before doing so and as individual inventors and small businesses, we want to mimic these strategies. The reason for doing a search is twofold: First, you want to get an idea of patentability. If someone has done something similar already and your chances of patentability are low, don’t waste any more time and money moving forward with a patent application. Second, and more importantly, you want to learn from existing invention. Even though nobody has done an invention exactly the same as yours, you want to study even the similar inventions because these similar inventions are your competition, so to speak. By studying these similar inventions, you can determine how to work around them, invent around them, and how to make your invention more unique in light of these similar inventions. Then, once you maximize your uniqueness, file the patent application so that your invention will have the best chances of eventual patent success when you convert to a non-provisional patent application.