Writing Your Own Patent

Writing your own patent is sometimes worth considering, especially for relatively low value inventions where you do not expect to enforce, sell, or litigate the patent.

In other words, writing your own patent application is only useful if you already believe that the patent will be worthless.  I don’t mean this to be harsh, but the facts remain: 95% of all patents are worthless – and these are the ones that are professionally written.  The statistical likelihood that a first time applicant can write something useful is very low.

Often, I consult with inventors who are considering writing their own patents or those who have already done so. In general, these pro se patentees are looking to save some very valuable cash and are willing to invest their time and effort into learning how to write and file a patent.

I have a rule of thumb for pro se applicants, and that is if the patent is protecting a product that could generate up to $100,000 per year in revenue, go ahead and write your own patent because the likelihood than anyone would sue over the patent is very small. If the product is generating over $1,000,000 in annual revenue, there is an increasing likelihood that a patent contest may involve enough money to spark a lawsuit, and the inventor really should have an investment-grade patent to survive.

Because a pro se patent applicant does not have the experience, it is easy to make a simple mistake that appears harmless at first glance, but may be an easy target to invalidate a resulting patent in a subsequent lawsuit. Simple things like failing to properly disclose search results to the patent office, improperly characterizing prior art, making improper admissions in a response to an Office action, or inadequately describing the invention may make the resulting patent much more difficult to get and more vulnerable to attack.  For example, one of the easiest ways to kill the value of a patent is to use patent profanity.

Cost Should Never Be A Factor – Finance Your Patents

An option to consider is BlueIron IP. BlueIron IP finances patents, which can be used to obtain a patent prior to getting funding. BlueIron IP professionally curates your patents to give you solid business value at an affordable cost.

With BlueIron IP Financing, you can get your patent filed and underway at a minimum cost, then go out and raise money. If you would like more information, please contact me at russ.krajec@blueironip.com.