About $330. Thanks for reading, hope this was helpful.

Not so fast, that was too easy. Actually that is about the cost to file a patent. There is a problem though, especially if you’re an amateur. Sure it only costs that much to file, and that could have easily have been the end of my blog, but for most filers it just does not work out that way unfortunately.

What happens is when you write out your patent description, you have to go to great lengths to describe in detail your invention. Next, you file your patent and if all goes well within about 3 years you will get it. But it never really works out that way. For one there are millions of patents out there. More than likely there is another patent out there close to yours. You will then get a rejection later saying your description of your patent was too close to another. Here is where the costs start to pile up.

You now need to find a patent expert/attorney. They will need to rewrite your patent in a way that it will pass where the other failed. That also may not be it either, this process can continue over and over until it makes it through the system.  So if you’re not a technical writer, or if your invention is so unique that there is nothing else like it on the planet, the costs of getting the patent could cost you thousands and thousands of dollars.

Check out the US Patent Office website here for more information.

Believe it or not, people are out there just waiting to pull a fast one on you. Shocking isn’t it! OK, it’s not that shocking, but either way, people are getting scammed out of thousands of dollars daily by companies professing that they can help you with your patent and invention.

Here’s what to look out for:

1) Slick TV and Web ads. There is nothing wrong with having a solid ad, but these ads are designed to lure you in with empty promises. Also, keep in mind if you do respond to one of these ads, say you email or write for information, you will never get a response back in writing from a company official. Always get in writing responses back to your questions signed by someone from the organization.

2) A bit of truly worthless advice that many companies give is writing your idea down on paper, sealing it in an envelope and making it back to yourself. WORTHLESS! It does nothing for you and they know that. They tell you this to make it sound like they know what they are talking about.

3) They guarantee you a patent or you will get your money back. NOT going to happen. It is impossible. Also patents can take years to get. Imagine trying to get your money back from one of these companies 3 years from now.

You will more than likely need to search for a real law firm to help you here. For example, if I got a Maine DUI, I would not go to a divorce lawyer to represent me now would I. Do some homework, and be careful out there.

So, are you still waiting for the approval on your patent? According to this article help may be on the way. For some people once you file a patent the wait can be over 3 years! Yikes. So what are you to do til’ then? Well once you have filed, that is the main key. How many times when buying a product have you seen patent pending? If everyone were to wait for their patent to be approved, it would take years before the product would even make it to market.

Apparently the US patent system has not had a good over haul since 1976. Employee moral is down and it took 6300 employees a year to go through 450,000 applications. That comes to 71 applications per employee. Whether or not they should do more remains to be seen. But some feel that their work overload is causing the employees to make mistakes when reviewing patents.

So sit back and relax once you file your application. There will be no running to the mailbox daily like a child looking for money on a card. By the time you get the approval you will have probably forgotten about it. But read up on the laws when using the patent pending idea, it could help you to get your idea to market faster!