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OTHER RESOURCES
This is a short writing describing what the inventor should do in the very beginning stages in order to help protect your original conception date. free Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) Click here to receive a printable Confidential Disclosure Agreement for you to use in your communication with manufacturers and companies regarding your invention. The Agreement is in a format that we have used successfully for many years. It contains most of the terms preferred by companies. This is an alternative to using a CDA for those stubborn companies who just won't sign a CDA. Sometimes very well meaning companies follow the advice of their attorneys and they don't sign anything they don't have to. This Letter of Understanding is an alternative. This is a very subjective test and is meant to give you food for
thought about some of the factors that we consider when rating the
risk/reward ratio on a project. The results may not be that meaningful,
however, I think it is fun to take a test like this to rate your
invention. When you submit your invention to patent attorneys, invention brokerage companies and other service providers, you will normally be asked to answer certain questions. Overtime, Docie Development developed this questionnaire to address those issues that we feel are most pertinent with regard to potential commercialization of an invention. When you supply answers to the questions on this questionnaire, it will help your service provider to assist you more effectively. free Steps to Success (coming soon) The simplified steps to the commercialization process are excerpted from The Inventor's Bible. It is a general overview that gives you an idea of the order which you may perform certain tasks in a methodical way to reduce your risk as well as increase your chance for success. This sample contract illustrates the most common way, other than trade shows, that Docie Marketing and Docie Development works with its clients. Patent Searching Siemens Patent Services provide patent searches performed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Arlington, Virginia (Washington D.C. area). They generally offer quick turn-around; 5 to 7 days. Their services are inexpensive and for no additional charge they will send the duplicate of the results of your patent search to Docie Marketing for us to perform an evaluation of marketability and licenseability of your invention as it relates the prior art patents. While a patent agent renders an opinion of patentability from the patent search, Docie Marketing looks at it from the marketing standpoint. Combined, both perspectives help you to make informed decisions. Docie Marketing's opinion is free of charge. You must request in writing to Siemens that they provide a copy of your search result to Docie Marketing. Siemens offers a discount for services to those inventors referred to them by Docie Marketing if you mention our name. Phone them at: 888 685-5226 toll free. Although Siemens Patent Services provides a good straight forward patent search, in order to receive a more complete legal opinion, and for complex projects, we recommend that you work with a patent attorney who specializes in your field, or one that you are currently using and with whom you are satisfied. Most patent attorneys and patent agent are equipped to provide good and reliable patent searches. Docie Marketing is not affiliated with any single patent attorney or agent. Provisional Application for Patent Current cost to make a Provisional Application for patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is $75. You can do this on your own, with forms provided by the patent office. Another alternative is to purchase the CD-ROM program from Patent Wizard. (http://patentwizard.com) For under $500 you can use this software to fill in the blanks to complete your patent application in extremely simplified form. Included in the price of the CD-ROM is a consultation with Michael Neustel, Patent Attorney, who will review your application and advise with regard to its correctness. This is an inexpensive way to establish a priority date for your invention, which has significant ramifications with regard to your future potential patent rights and any potential foreign patent rights. The Inventor's Bible, or any patent attorney or agent can give you more complete information in this regard. Docie Marketing and Docie Development are not affiliated with either Seaman's Patent Services or Michael Neustel. These are just two services that we find to be reliable and a good value. There is a multitude of other patent services available throughout the world. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website offers a listing of patent attorneys and agents registered to practice in the patent office. Also see the yellow page listing for patent attorneys in your closest metropolitan area. This listing tends to show those patent attorneys and agents who are willing to work with independent inventors. Helpful Links
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