November 2019
Patenting an invention can give an inventor a competitive advantage in the marketplace. But preparing and prosecuting a patent application takes time, money, and expertise. Some energetic inventors who can’t afford to hire a patent attorney or patent agent take time to acquire the expertise needed to prepare and prosecute their own patent applications. Michael Pugel (patent attorney, Eurekovation, LLC ) described resources available to these pro se applicants. “ Patent It Yourself ” by patent attorney David Pressman is a good general introduction to the topic. Step one is to keep an inventor’s notebook in which ideas, the invention process, experimental tests and results, and observations are recorded, dated, signed, and witnessed. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) grants a patent to the first inventor to file a patent application for a particular invention. The notebook helps to establish that persons listed as inventors in a patent applicat