Should you ever result in court over your invention, you'll need conclusive evidence of whenever you thought of your idea. In the usa the rightful who owns a patent may be the one who looked at it first, not the individual that patented it first. So that you must be capable of prove whenever you considered it.
One way to protect your idea is to write down your idea as simply and plainly as you can, then have 3 or 4 credible non-relatives witness your document proclaiming that they understand the patent an idea and dating their signature. It's often best if you include drawings or sketches too. Down the road, if you have any dispute as to once you developed your idea, you have witnesses that can testify in the courtroom, concerning whenever you showed them your idea. Proof positive is exactly what you need.
You might want to consider writing it in a approved inventor's journal - a magazine engineered with numbered pages so that it is challenging to add information later. There are several sources, just search the internet for the kids. It his harder a minimum of in theory to later modify the items in the journal, making it better evidence while in court.
When you have established the date that you looked at your idea, you have to follow a few simple rules to avoid losing your protection. If you don't do anything whatsoever to build up your idea within one year, then your idea becomes section of the public domain and you also lose your to get yourself a patent. So keep a file to put notes, receipts, etc. in, and a minimum of make a move that leaves a paper record you can file away just in case you find themselves in court someday. Have the ability to prove in the court that more than a year never passed which you didn't in some way work with the concept.
If you disclose your idea inside a publication like a newspaper or magazine, that starts a 1 year period that you must file a patent, otherwise you lose your directly to file.
Because you have never seen your idea in the store doesn't mean it's patentable or marketable. Based on the patent office, less than 3% of issued patents ever get to the marketplace. It's quite possible your idea was invented but for numerous reasons never was marketed. Automobile invention has ever existed, anywhere, whenever you want, produced by any person, you can't patent it - it's recently been invented! And also the U.S. Patent office searches worldwide once they process your patent application.
That can be done your personal patent search using several online learning resources, however if you have determined that you have a viable and marketable invention, I recommend which you employ a competent patent attorney to possess a professional prior-art patent search done, to ensure your idea has never been considered, costing you energy and money.
I've tried doing patent searches alone, and that i was stunned when I saw the final results a real patent examiner found. They are professionals and they know very well what they do.
Watch out for patent clubs and organizations that offer discount patent services. Any patent search must add a globally search, because it is exactly what the patent office does.