What to Do When Your PPA is About to Expire

[@julast6658]

I like it when this guy tells me not to Panic.

[@tonyryan3721]

Thanks again Stephen this information is exactly what I have been searching for.My year is about to expire and due to health issues everything has stalled.That said with too much "rest time"over the past year I have come up with two excellent modifications which will enable me to re submit.Thanks again Stephen you are the best

[@inventRight]

Thank you for watching! If you haven't read Stephen's book about provisional patent applications, "Sell Your Ideas With or Without a Patent," it's a very useful tool: www.amazon.com/Sell-Your-Ideas-Without-Patent/dp/1507885733/

[@leeroycastillo2912]

Same here health issues former inventright member.

[@inventRight]

Read licensing expert Stephen Key's latest article about intellectual property strategy for Forbes: "Don't File That Patent Yet. File A Provisional Patent Application First." www.forbes.com/sites/stephenkey/2018/01/08/dont-file-that-patent-yet-file-a-provisional-patent-application-first/#78243c6857fe

[@alexandrevaliquette1941]

Idea worth nothing without execution. Idea are quite easy to come with. In fact, this is probably the step that need the least amount of time and ressources. What is long is to protect and sell your idea. But this is a fun adventure and I'm hooked to the "licensing business model". Alex from Montréal

[@Mursaat100]

Same here! I am particularly interested in the Product Scout concept that Stephen Talks about in the last chapter of One Simple Idea. I would love to discuss it with you; please send me a message through my channel: kzbin.info/door/kCpfUyIuP6oT_9L45wkyEQdiscussion

[@rayazand967]

Great Video. I also think there is another alternative. Write the real application yourself and hire an agent to write legal claims (do quick sloppy work). As long as the description and images are complete and show all the variations/improvements (you had 1 year to think about those), the claims can later on (perhaps a year later) be re-rewritten by an attorney in response to an office action.

[@basschin9950]

Stephen thanks for your information.You are good. Here's a question , ok, the year is coming to an end, your video says, fine, just file another PPA, show improvement, but, what if there is also a design patent filed the same time as ppa filed, now if a new ppa is filed with imrovements, 1 year later, how will this affect that design patent that was filed with the original ppa? understand what I am saying? 1 product, a design patent filed and provisional patent (1 yr ) filed for the same 1 product invented. any info would be great, thanks Barb

[@inventRight]

There's always another question, isn't there! We'll be having a patent attorney on soon to help us answer questions. In the meantime, you point out why design patents are not as strong as utility - designs change, and often do. Thanks for watching.

[@alexandrevaliquette1941]

If you have publicly disclose your invention about 11 months ago and you are not on final negotiation for a licensing contract. Well, instead of spending 10-30+K $$$ on a non-provisional patent. I will simply find another idea to sell. I will work harder to get a deal and not make the same mistake of public disclosure again!

[@P272-e9k]

Is showing your invention to Angel Investors and/or VCs considered public disclosure?

[@BadHammerProductions]

Awesome info, thank you

[@rogergalingganajr4384]

Hi Stephen, Andrew, Thank you so much for these wonderful tips on all of your videos. It is quite educational and inspiring as well.

[@doronbenbenisty1430]

Thank you short to the point you helped me a lot

[@goodtimes3081]

Thank you Stephen!

[@scottriddle7840]

Hello Stephen I have a product I've designed, I have completed the PPA, sell sheet is 90% complete, now it's time for the rest of the process to take place and thank you for the well needed insight on the process. My question is, could my product not be wanted by companies of interest that would potentially decrease the sale and profets of their other products? My product idea could potentially do that. This makes me hesitant and nervous about proceeding. Please shed some light on this .

[@tonyamulligan5656]

Hi Stephen Hi have a question regarding a design patent. Should a attorney be hired to file a design patent and why? What should I look for to make sure I have the best attorney for the job. Thanks again for all of the information you provide and I love your videos!

[@hawsshaw]

I learn a lot from u Sir... u r right we r talking yr or yrs here... almost 2 yr now waiting for my Patent to be issued i filed Track One prioritized...

[@BulletSpoung]

So the most important thing is to hit it hard as soon as you have the PPA. Doing the work soon gives you more time at the end of the year for possible licensees to drag there feet. Good video that's packed full of good info, thanks Stephen.

[@pdub2762]

Ty sir

[@ogreycloud]

If I sent my idea by email to a professor for accessing it is considered a public disclosure?

[@Cyrus2569]

And you aren't giving legal advice! you forgot that. lol

[@quickpatents4581]

Stephen, good advice. But where did you get that $20,000 price for a non-provisional? I know you can pay over $10K with a patent attorney, but $20K seems excessive even for attorneys (unless you're doing a large family of patents or something). You might be interested to know that we charge $3,995.

[@inventRight]

He got that figure from the 20 patents he has. With rounds of office actions, the cost quickly escalates. What does your cost of $3,995 include?

[@quickpatents4581]

That includes the patent application writing, up to 3 sheets of drawings, but not the PTO filing fee. See www.quickpatents.com/utilitypatents for more info.

[@inventRight]

Ah yes. You can spend far less than $20,000 filing a patent - but to actually get a patent issued in your name, $15,000-$20,000 was about what he paid. (This was working with a Silicon Valley firm.)

[@quickpatents4581]

Right... there may be one or two rounds of office actions, or even an RCE (Request for Continued Examination) if the PTO Examiner is stubborn, or if your idea turns out not to be that novel. But we charge $1,000 to $1,500 for office action responses (written by one of our former PTO Examiners). So assume 2 rounds with the Examiner for $3,000 total, plus issue fees of $400 to $600... you're still only at $7K to $8K over a 2-3 year period of time... the point being that there are less expensive options than Silicon Valley firms.

[@inventRight]

Absolutely and thank you for clarifying; that's helpful to know. What would you recommend an inventor do to try to determine which firm to go with?

[@Peter926545]

Thank you...Very Helpful

[@ginap2761]

What do you do if your PPA is expired, and you have been selling your product online for years already? I want to try to license my product now, but I am concerned that if I send my sell sheet to a company, they might run with my design on their own.

[@inventRight]

Hi Gina. Good question. Some companies care about patents; others don't. It really depends. Give us a call to see how we can help you: inventright.com/contact-us-today.

[@lauramccutcheon6315]

Thank you! This has been one of the MOST helpful pieces for me that you have done. I am sitting right at the edge and wondering what to do. Perfect info!

[@inventRight]

Thank you for the feedback! :)

[@esam7865]

great knowledge

[@davidaustin6962]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if before you file the PPA you publicly disclose it (assuming you're crazy enough to do such a thing ... I'm not saying this is a good idea, just that it works), and I think it has to be a public disclosure, then you have 1 year to file a PPA, and then the clock starts for the Non-PPA at that point ... so you can have as much as 2 years from the day you publicly disclose it. Of course the problem is that the cat is out of the bag when you publicly disclose it ... everyone knows about it and can try to design around the idea and get something out there your PPA doesn't cover before you ever even file your PPA, and in fact they have 2 years to do that if you take the time. Yes?

[@inventRight]

We've heard this line of thinking before yes. Consult with an attorney to get the best advice! We are not attorneys and cannot give legal advice. But we are going to have an attorney on with us soon so we can dialogue about questions like this. Thank you for watching and commenting.

[@davidaustin6962]

I think the danger therein is that you are only covered for the claims you make in your public disclosure, which when disclosed publicly you are rarely afforded the opportunity to explain things as carefully and cognitively as one can in a PPA.

[@joshuadiaz289]

Im going to file a Ppa, If I make the product myself and don't need a company to manufacture it..can I begin to sell it after filing? no NDA's to any company will this affect my patent application process. Do i really have to wait a year then more years to begin selling it myself?

[@inventRight]

Hi Joshua. From your comment it sounds like you're a little bit confused about the relationship between provisional patent applications and go-to-market strategy. You do not have to wait to begin manufacturing and selling your idea for a new product after you file a PPA. Filing a PPA is a way of establishing ownership over your idea while you wait to determine if your innovation is worth protecting further, like with a non-provisional. Thanks for watching! Intellectual property is tricky so please keep reading and watching.

[@joshuadiaz289]

thank you very much, huge fan! helped motivate me.

[@RayFunRelax]

According to my google search, Less than 0.30% of active patents get litigated. So my suggestion is to skip hiring a patent attorney, hire a patent agent or do it yourself. There are plenty of books that teach you how to write up a patent (including claims) and you have million of granted patents to copy from (find patents in your field similar to yours. The odds of ending in court arguing your claims (if your patent issues) is way < 0.30%. Also if Examiner cannot find similar prior art and rejects it, you can ask the Examiner to help you write your claims for you (it's the Law. They are required to help inventors if they ask for help).

[@inventRight]

Good statistic. We think writing strong intellectual property is important because when you choose to share yours with a potential licensee, part of our strategy is to get them to think: It's going to be easier to work with this inventor than around him, given he's already thought about so many variations. Yes, it's unlikely you'll end up in court. But that's not really why you need to write thoughtful IP. At the end of the day, for simple ideas, patents are not that relevant. And for the record, the very very successful inventors we know - inventors who have created hit products - usually do end up court, or settling out of court.

[@quickpatents4581]

Ray, the one caveat is that if you have to show your patent application to a potential licensee (because presumably they want to see what they're licensing), the do-it-yourself applications may stick out and be a red flag. But if you're starting your own venture and will not be licensing then perhaps you're right. With regard to your comment about the Examiners being required to write you a valid claim, that's true... but they don't have to write a good claim (ie., broad). So just beware of that. Your competitors will be looking at your patent claims down the road to see if there's something they can take out of the claim and then compete with you without infringing your patent. Generally speaking, the shorter the claim the stronger it is.

[@tylerdebo2467]

LegalZoom submits provisional patent applications for $250

[@prestonchristesen9883]

Can you keep refiling a ppa on an idea woth out anything like you just keep paying 65$ each year?

[@inventRight]

Hi Preston. You cannot keep refiling the same PPA over and over again, but if you make improvements, you can file another PPA on those. Please read Stephen's article on "What to Do When Your Provisional Patent Application is About to Expire": www.inc.com/stephen-key/what-to-do-when-your-provisional-patent-application-is-about-to-expire.html. Thanks for watching!

[@prestonchristesen9883]

Thanks for the response and the timing 👌 sounds good thanks for the link il check it out 👊

[@steverooney1660]

Stephen, you have to stop pausing and swallowing, we can hear it.

[@inventRight]

Hmmm. That seems unreasonable, no? Stephen is only human. Thanks for watching!