From an investment and legal standpoint, a patent provides great competitive advantages. As a patent owner, you can legally exclude others from making, using or selling the invention and thus be the first on the market with a new invention, which greatly increases the chances of success. In addition, patents also allow you to generate revenue by licensing the right to make, use or sell the invention to other third party individuals or companies who in return will pay you a royalty.

From a marketing standpoint, once you file a patent, you can use the term “patent pending” on any promotional or advertisement material. “Patent Pending” is also a great marketing tool that many businesses use to drum up publicity and increase value in the eyes of the general public. You can read more about it on – How to get a patent with InventHelp.

There are three types of patents: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents. Of the three, the utility patent is the most common as it protects how an invention works or functions. If a product has a unique ornamental appearance or design, then a design patent can be obtained to protect the overall appearance of the invention of product (e.g. Apple’s iPod design). Utility patents are granted a limited monopoly of 20 years from the date of its earliest filing (14 yrs for Design Patents). After that, the patent falls into the general public domain.

Due to the complexities and intricacies of the U.S. Patent Laws and the procedures of the USPTO, there are a myriad of potential pitfalls that await a laymen or even a general practitioner attempting to maneuver a patent application through registration.

Obtaining a quality patent for your invention is one of the most important things you can do to protect your investment and is a complex procedure. You should consult a Registered Patent Attorney or a patenting agency, like InventHelp to handle this and to advise you on the patent registration process as you can see from – How to patent a product with InventHelp.

In addition, unlike invention promotion companies, patent attorneys are held to higher ethical standards and bound to confidentiality and attorney-client privileges, in addition to be legally and technically trained. Lastly, and most importantly, the objective(s) of your patent attorney is solely to write the best patent application as possible to obtain the best protection on your invention.