To protect an invention for yourself and your employer, it is important
to take a few simple steps. We have made some concise suggestions
below that we hope will be helpful. This information is very generalized,
and may not apply in your specific circumstances. Therefore, it
is important to consult with your patent attorney at an early stage
in the invention process.
The United States awards patents to the first person to invent,
while the rest of the world generally awards patents to the first
to file for a patent application. To be patentable, an invention
must be novel and non-obvious. Publication or disclosure of an invention
may jeopardize the patentability of an invention. With these thoughts
in mind we first recommend that you thoroughly document your invention,
preferably in an inventor's notebook, in regard to both the conception
of the invention and the efforts that you undertake to reduce the
invention to practice (i.e., make one). Keep dated photographs and
receipts as a part of this documentation. Have all of the inventors
sign and date the notebook and other materials, and also have them
signed and dated by a witness who understands the invention.
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