How to Patent a Safety Program

Patents award inventors with recognition of originality and exclusive rights to profit from their ideas. U.S. patents protect the intellectual property rights of the inventor for twenty years. Patents issued in the U.S. protect rights in the United States only. Patents are granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for processes, machines, manufactured products, and designs. A patent for a safety program would receive a utility patent.

• 1

  Search the patent database at the USPTO website to determine whether a patent for your invention already exists. If your invention has not already been patented, you may proceed with a patent application.

• 2

  Confirm whether you have already publicly disclosed your invention or made it available for sale. If so, confirm the date that you either publicly disclosed the invention or made it available for sale. The USPTO allows inventors to file a patent application no more than one year after the invention was publicly disclosed or made available for sale. Patents cannot be obtained in most countries outside of the United States if the invention has been disclosed.

• 3

  Decide whether a provisional patent application is worthwhile. A provisional patent application can be filed quickly and inexpensively. The provisional patent does not require the volume of information required of a standard patent application. A provisional patent application is worthwhile if you are close to that one-year deadline from the date of disclosure, or you want to market the invention as patent pending to attract investors. The provisional patent will expire after 12 months if a standard patent application has not been filed by that time.

• 4

  Obtain legal advice from a patent attorney. The USPTO recommends filing a standard patent application with the aid of a patent attorney.

• 5

  Gather supporting documents and fees. The supporting documents typically include a background of the invention, summary of the invention, a description of the program or process, a flow chart where appropriate, pictures where appropriate, drawings, and claims.

• 6

  File the patent application and wait for approval. The approval process can take 2 to 4 years.