To accomplish a task successfully, the first thing the partners should do is sit down and plan what it is they are going to do. The Initial Activity Team Checklist and the Agreement Between Partners Checklist will help them remember key items. I like checklists. Pilots, regardless of the number of hours they have logged on a certain type of aircraft, always complete a preflight checklist before taking off. It’s wise to do the same with any important activity—and the initial activity in a partnership falls into the category of “important activity” for me. After all, you’ve spent time, energy, and money to identify your needs and find a partner. When you use these checklists, you and your partner must work together and talk through the issues to gain consensus.
I recommend that you write down your agreements—not to use them as a club should things go wrong, but to clarify issues as the planning proceeds. Sometime during the initial activity or immediately after, set a meeting to discuss with everyone involved how well the partnership is working. The key document you’ll want to review is the Agreement Between Partners Checklist.You’ll also want to address the relationship issues.Use the Partners’ Trust Assessment and/or the Partnership Stressors Checklist to assess the Stages of Relationship Development. Be sure the agenda you send out in advance has been written down or approved by the partners.
How do you determine what it will cost if you wish to hire a professional for your utility patent? We have obtained some ballpark ranges from several patent professionals to give you a feel for what your patent might cost. The cost of obtaining a good, strong utility patent can have a wide range, based on such variables as the complexity of the invention itself, the amount of prior art involved, and the number and complexity of the Office Action responses required. Each time you receive a letter from the patent office, taking some official action on your application, this is referred to as an Office Action. Obviously, if your invention is highly technical, it will require more of the patent professional’s time to write the application. If there are a large number of similar products or patents, it will likewise require more work to prepare the patent application. And, when the patent examiner returns the application for changes in the claims, there is a charge each time for handling the response.
Independent inventors, small businesses and non-profit organizations are entitled to what is known as small entity status. This qualifies you for reduced filing and maintenance fees, usually half of the cost for large entities.
Business communities across the country are beginning to recognize the value of independent inventors and offering research and development (R & D) money to inventors in a variety of ways. The Amarillo, Texas, inventor club has partnered with the Small Business Development Center and community leaders to establish a fund from which they award grants to deserving independent inventors. The State of Oregon also recently offered grants to deserving independent product developers. There are similar programs in other parts of the country. The availability and requirements for each of these programs varies from community to community. Contact your local inventor club or Small Business Development Center to see if such a program exists for inventors in your area.