Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I've read so much in this past year about patent applications--the ups and downs, insides and outs of doing it yourself vs. hiring a patent attorney.  My provisional patent (which I secured myself) is coming to an end and I would very much like to finally have the official patent for my product.  My product is no Dyson vacuum--it's a small entity, a special hair accessory.  I would like to hear from anyone who has successfully filed an application themselves, received their patent and how they went   about doing it.  If you receive a patent, why would it be any less valid if you applied for it yourself vs. filing your application via an attorney?  Thanx in advance for all of your ideas!

It may or may not be any less valid if you do it yourself.   What it really comes down to is would you rather defend a patent you did yourself or one a skilled attorney has written?

Great advice. If you really believe in your idea... then invest in protecting it properly.

In theory, it doesn't matter to the USPTO if you file a patent application yourself (this is called "pro se") or if you use an attorney.  In practice however, patent applications are complicated, and the chances of inadvertently making a mistake, especially on the claims, is quite high.

Keep in mind also that essentially 100% of the time, the patent examiner will initially reject all of your claims, and to get a patent, you have to be prepared to both amend the claims and offer sound arguments as to why the rejections were incorrect.  This again requires a lot of practice, and one of the best ways to handle this is to think about various rejections at the time you write the patent.

At the risk of being self-serving, there is an intermediate step between "do it yourself" filing and hiring a patent attorney.  That is to hire a patent agent.  Patent agents are fully certified by the patent office to do patent drafting and prosecution, but do not do litigation or other legal matters.  They charge about 1/2 the price of patent attorneys.

Patent agents are less well known because usually after practicing for a few years, they realize that they can charge more with a law degree, so they usually go back and get one.