I Would Like To Apply For A Patent, And Would Like To Know If I Can Do This Myself?

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I Would Like To Apply For A Patent, And Would Like To Know If I Can Do This Myself?

An applicant for a patent has the legal right to complete a patent application his or her self. However, it is important to consider that patent applications and the process they go through are often very complicated as compared to trademarks, or copyrights. In fact, only about 15% to 20% of the applications filed at the Patent Office are filed by the individual seeking the patent. An important criterion for obtaining a patent is that the invention must be novel in relation to any prior knowledge in that field of art, and it must not be obvious to others who work in that field of art. This makes it critical that an exhaustive patent search be conducted where the one conducting it must have a high level of expertise in that field of art or technology. This fact along with the high cost of the application process ($5,000$30,000) puts very high stakes upon not making any mistakes or oversights. This is why most patents are processed by patent attorneys or other licensed patent specialists.

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