NextgenMkr

This happens to be my first post and certainly not the one I intended to be my first but given the implications, time, money, risks, timing (deadlines) and options to formulate your application, well I could not stay silent and believe what follows will be of assistance. But before getting into this important topic, I would like to say that I feel right at home with the community and I highly appreciate the openness and generosity in discussing topics and how-to’s… not to mention the creativity of a lot of members… thank you for sharing and saving us time and frustration. I’ve read a few posts (so many topics of interests) since I joined a few days ago (did have time yet to finish my profile) and I am impressed by the details and devotion you guys bring to make this site very interesting, educational,professional, well-structured and internationally accessible. Kudo! I’m from Canada (hey!) where everything is more expensive and where we also have a Patent Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO). I am far from pretending to know everything but reading the thread there is one thing that resounds sadly true is that it is questionable to proceed with a patent in the fishing industry. Reason being is the limited degree of improvement someone could do and get a patent from YOUR idea after it I is made public. That said a formal application gives you time, in Canada its 18 months and I believe it is the same in the US and actually in every country that signed The International Patent Treaty (PCT). Patent is expensive and attorneys well I don’t know about the States but in Canada they charge on average $400 per hour and a ‘’simple invention’ ’like lures could run up to $10K and take up to five years. It is a very demanding and is a tedious process but before you even think of preparing an application… you shall do research on the Patent Office’s website of each country that you’re planning to obtain patent rights. This is easily a two months activity. Researching the net only gives you an idea if it is commercially available, a step perhaps but of no significance other than telling you to pursue your objective. One word of caution, if you go public before having a ‘’patent pending number’’, you will not be able to patent your idea anywhere in the world. About Intellectual Property, if you are seriously considering patenting your invention you must follow the strict procedures of the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). There are options like the provisional approach which is cheaper and allows you to test the market before dishing a lot of cash. You must also search WIPO’s website because you have to be certain that your idea was not already someone else’s. I wish you the best of luck and in no way am I trying to burst your bubble but rather save you disappointment, time and hard earned $$$. Cheers