“I invented it. I’ll just write the patent application myself and save money.” But you would be wrong. So naive and so dumb and so wrong.
I’m a decent way through writing out a patent to find that this will cost thousand of dollars. You could potentially get it cheaper by doing it all yourself, but you have a high chance of being denied or not protected very well. How much cheaper? Well, USPTO lists dozens of fees, but it isn’t clear which will apply if you are a micro-entity looking for the cheapest option: https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/fees-and-payment/uspto-fee-schedule
There is a cheap $60 filing fee for a Provisional patent that is like a year long placeholder, but the point is to shop around for investors while you have the patent reserved – putting the power in larger entities willing to fund your idea. If you want to put your idea in the market yourself, you are fucked.
“You can deduct the patent costs from your taxes at the end of the year.” Sure, key phrase being “end of the year”. Which means you need to be able to front that cost.
“Just get a loan” That’s a good start, but again you are putting the power in the hands of a larger entity to sign off on your idea and make sure you are a good citizen with a matching credit score. If you don’t make enough to recoup the cost? (I certainly won’t since a game could take years to hit the market) Well, you’re fucked again.
There is a whole industry of patent attorneys and illustrators held up by how obtuse the application process is to navigate. Here’s a short list of some things you have to do in just the application portion when writing the patent yourself:
- The Claims section has to be written out as one giant run on sentence.
- Don’t put anything about your invention in the Background section.
- Oh yeah, don’t actually use the words, “invention” or “is”.
- Make sure the Detailed Description section includes numbers that refer back to your drawings, but don’t you dare put those numbers in any other section.
I’m not even sure if the above list of do’s and don’t can be found on the USPTO website. This was just from scouring the internet to see how exactly to fill out the patent application.
This is what people are talking about when they say society has systemic failings. A lack of access to funds or time or knowledge for poor people is not a conspiracy, but the sum of the roadblocks presents the idea that you were born a worker and any attempt to escape will be met with headache and loss of much needed finances.
The purposefully obtuse patent process is yet another hurdle to make sure you are part of the big club.
-Ryan