i have a very interesting design for a fishing lure. i have searched all over the net trying to find one like it and i cant so i have decided to patent it. how do i go about doing so....

NO I WILL NOT TELL YOU WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!!!

You find yourself some professional legal advice, and not take suggestions from non-lawyers on fishing forums

You'll hear all sorts of things like mailing yourself  a letter with your idea, maybe even a sample in it to get a postmark, proving you were the first, which has been disputed over and over again, to even more crazy ideas. The fact of the matter is you won't get ANY good advice other than to speak with a professional.

Good luck with your idea

You find yourself some professional legal advice, and not take suggestions from non-lawyers on fishing forums

You'll hear all sorts of things like mailing yourself a letter with your idea, maybe even a sample in it to get a postmark, proving you were the first, which has been disputed over and over again, to even more crazy ideas. The fact of the matter is you won't get ANY good advice other than to speak with a professional.

Good luck with your idea

Very good advice.

I just went through it.  If you have a lot of $, you might be able to get a lure patented...but the japanese companies will most likely rip you off anyway.  I used a "poor man's patent" on a lure I released here a few weeks ago.  Just mail it to yourself and don't open it.  Include design specs and whatnot.  This can hold up in court, but it's best to get a real patent.

And thus the debate begins.  I have heard of the poor man's patent for years but have also heard that it won't hold up.  Maybe I don't understand it very well, but how am I supposed to know that some guy came up with the same idea if it's stuck in an envelope in his basement.  I can't help it if I sold something that I had the same idea and happened to sell the same thing or get a patent for it the legal way.  It would definitely proves when you came up with the idea, but how am I supposed to know you came up with it.  That's the whole point of the patent office.  You don't sell something without proper dues that someone else has the rights to.  I hope I'm wrong about this, which is extremely possible, but I would love to use this if it truly would hold up in court.  Sorry for the book I would just love to know for sure.  There has to be a lawyer who fishes on this forum.  Surely their not all to good to bait a hook or touch a slimy fish. ;D  Just kidding lawyers.  let us know if you can.

Getting a lawyer is good advice.  

However, you can fill out the forms for a provisional patent.  I believe it lasts one year but extensions can be granted.  You should be able to fill out the paperwork yourself.

This is how you see the phrase "patent pending".  It means there isn't an official patent yet but the idea is still protected.

J

thanks that sounds good. im gonna go get a lawyer this week. maybe once i get the idea protected i will post some pics.

thanks that sounds good. im gonna go get a lawyer this week. maybe once i get the idea protected i will post some pics.

well HURRY UP I WANNA SEE IT!!!!! ;D

how does this "poor man's patent" work anyway? could someone elaborate?

thanks that sounds good. im gonna go get a lawyer this week. maybe once i get the idea protected i will post some pics.

That's mistake number two. Don't give someone else a head start on copying your design. Show pictures of it when you're done. If you showed it to me, for example, and I liked it, tweaked it a bit, then sold it, you wouldn't have a leg to stand on, especially if I got a patent before you did.

Edit: I didn't read it very well, and that's what you wanted to do, but still, if you intend to protect it, I guess I should say don't release it until you're ready to sell, or others might sell it before you.

Get an attorney that specializes in patents. Dig out your wallet and hope is has $10,000 plus in it. Once the attorney files for the patent, you are protected. This is a long process that costs big bucks. Good luck.

Many lures are tough to patent to begin with as they "imitate a living organism"  "Lure patents" are one of the trickier areas when it comes to filing.  The search will cost roughly 1k, the filing is $350 now I think.

The biggest thing behind applying for a patent is do you have the money to protect it if someone were to infringe? Big companies count on the fact that most don't.  These big companies are out there and they are waiting for your designs.

Check out their website.  Good luck dealing with them, I had to sit through a lecture in a law class on Patent Law given by someone from the USPTO, the worst 75min of my life!!!

http://www.uspto.gov/