The process of invention registration is important if you want to protect your invention and restrict others from using the idea. Before you can register your invention and file for legal protection, you must meet several requirements.

Requirements to Be Fulfilled Before the Statutory Invention Registration

One of the requirements to file for registration of an invention is following all printing requirements outlined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Another requirement is disavowing the rights to publish the invention for a certain period of time. Upon publishing the registration of the statutory invention, the waiver goes into effect. Before registering an invention, an inventor must all pay all required fees.

How to Register New Inventions

When you come up with an invention, the first step is solidifying the idea by writing out a description. This description should be as detailed as possible and include illustrations, such as technical diagrams and drawings. When you create this description, you are taking the first transitional step to transform your idea into an invention. As you write the information and create drawings, you can think through the invention in more detail and you could pinpoint shortcomings or weak points that need to be revised.

Do Some Diligence

Before you go through the process of submitting an application for patient protection, you need to perform a thorough search of existing patents through the USPTO. You can search online for free on the USPTO website. As you search, include keywords and phrases that could relate to your idea. As you review the search results, you can determine whether anything similar exists and is already protected under a patent. If you don't find anything in your search, you can move on to the next step of the process.

The Filing Process

The next important step in registering an invention is filing for patent protection. You can start this process through the USPTO website:

  • On the navigation menu, click on “Patents,” which will take you to a submenu with information and options related to patents.
  • From there, click on “File Online in EFS-Web.” This will bring up a form that you must fill out to register your idea.
  • After you complete and submit the online application, the USPTO will assign an officer to review your idea. During that time, another individual or company can file an opposing claim to your registration request.
  • If anyone registers an objection, an independent arbitrator will review the claims and determine the outcome. If the objection is rejected or no one objects, your idea will be registered, and you may qualify to receive patent protection.

How Much Is the Cost of Filing For a Patent?

Filing for a patent can vary in cost. The average cost to patent an idea is around $300, but the variance depends on the classifications selected.

What Is a Statutory Invention Registration (SIR)?

A statutory invention registration is a process that can restrict someone else from obtaining a patent, but it is not a patent that offers any protection. It is an alternative to registering for a patent that is facilitated and permitted by the USPTO. When using the SIR process, the USPTO will publish information about an invention that was previously the subject of an application for patent protection. The purpose of publishing this information is to benefit the public and occurs at the request and with the permission of the inventor who would have applied for patent protection.

This process exists to provide an option to inventors in patent application cases that do not go well for the applicant. When going through the SIR process, the invention becomes available for public use instead of falling victim to the process of registering an idea and filing for patent protection. When the USPTO recognized that an inventor couldn't always secure a patent for an idea or may choose not to pursue patent protection, officials started offering the SIR process.

SIR helps to place a device or process that could otherwise be stuck in the patent application process into the public domain, using a copyright term and removing any rights to benefit from the use of it due to authorship privileges. Another reason to use an SIR includes the option to modify the assertion of the rights held under patent protection. These rights are often hidden in the language that can be perceived as negative, stopping others from using the idea without permission from the patent holder.

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