Lock It Up and Throw Away The Key!

 

 

Week 2 Day 2

 

     Some things in life should remain a secret until just the right moment. When my wife was pregnant with our first child, she swore me to secrecy until she was a certain amount of time along in that pregnancy. When I have something big I want to share or talk about with others it is very hard for me to keep it a secret. I have never kept a secret well. I couldn't be a great poker player because I couldn't keep a poker face when I am holding aces in the hole.

 

     As I mentioned earlier, when I spoke with Troy he asked me what kind of protection I had on this idea. I didn't have any at this point and from what I had heard about getting protection or a patent on something is a difficult and costly process. So I spent most of the day searching for the right fit. There are attorney's that file patents as a secondary part of their practice and I didn't want a attorney that would treat my project or idea in a secondary fashion. I wanted every T crossed and every I dotted. Filing and gaining a patent is a difficult and detailed process. 

 

     There are a few things you have to think about when thinking about getting a patent:

1. Is my idea unique? If it is, you are good to go.

2. Does your idea improve a product that already has a patent on it?

3. Do you have the money budgeted in your project?

4. Is your project a short term or long term project? Is it something that will be a quick fad?

 

These are a few off the top of my head, please contact an attorney when thinking about a patent on a project or idea.

 

     So on the last call of the day, I called a law firm in Jackson, Ms. I spoke with a very helpful young secretary. She said they did file patents, but it was something they didn't do very often since their main patent attorney had left the firm. I asked if she knew where he went to and she told me had moved to North Carolina to open his own law firm. She gave me his name and I did a search on Google. He opened a practice in North Carolina with the main focus being patent law. I gave him a call and we spoke in depth about the idea and what I hoped to accomplish with it. He was a very intellectual person that went into great detail with his questioning. With him living in Mississippi for a while he knew a little about hunting and hunters. He walked me through the process, projected cost, and time frames.

 

     The first thing he would have to have from me was a very in depth description of the idea. I told him he would have it from me by the end of the day. I have always been a person that when asked for something, I will get it for you and as soon as I can. There is a negative in being that way. It is easy to forget important things if you rush. The lawyer said he would use my description and do a patentability search. Also he would need me to send him the money for patentability search to get started. I felt really strange sending a large amount of money to a lawyer I had never met, but the professionalism vibes I got through the phone eased that feeling. I told him I would have it in the mail first thing in the morning.

  

     The lawyer asked one last question before hanging up the phone. He asked, "how many people have you told about this?" I thought about it and told him just a couple. There was a silence on the other end. This is something I found the lawyer to be very particular about. He told me he would email me non-disclosure agreements for each of the people I had told and any future people I told to sign. Until your name is signed on a patent application and it is postmarked, you have no protection. So that is why it is important to get all, even your best friend, to sign a non-disclosure agreement if you tell them. I felt like things were starting to come together with this new idea after I hung up the phone.