Customer Reviews

Patent It Yourself

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Excellent book, but be careful ordering from Amazon.
I put two books in my shopping cart, and cancelled the order, when I saw this same book on Amazon for much less.
Amazon sent the two cancelled books immediately. I complained, but kept the two books.
2 weeks later, they sent the cheaper book I originally ordered, so now I have to send that one back.
Amazon screws up orders real bad, but at least they come good for it.

After going through a long process where I was informed by an attorney that drawing up a patent with his aid would be at least $15,000 I took it upon myself to learn a basic amount of legal jargon on my own and write my own patent.

If someone reading this has an idea which needs immediate protection, I recommend that they first file a US Provisional Patent Application [PPA] using the book "Patent Pending in 24 hours" which was a great help for me. The PPA goes on record and gives you a year of protection to get your act together and file a proper patent, which takes more preparation.

Although it took me several months to get the official patent together, I did it spending only about $30 on this book and $655 on the patent application. Far better than the minimum of $15,000 had I not done it myself.

It is painfully slow going to read through all of the information in this book to write your first patent on your own, so if you know someone who has already done this independently, I highly recommend that you seek their help to get you through writing the patent. Then you will only have to read about 100 key pages throughout this lengthy book.

As I said, it was a slow process to draw up my own patent but now that I've read this book [or most of it] I am able to do many more patents in the future with only a glance at this material again.

All the best with your inventions.

Noah

One area where I see this book being extremely helpful is in understanding what an attorney needs from the inventor. With a new inventor it can take forever to get the right language to put into an application. If you've read this book though you have a clearer understanding that the whole idea is taking technical language and creating a legal document. If you know the specifics and the structure of the application, preparing yourself to be most efficient with your attorney time is a great way to save on attorney bills the smart way. Having the examples ready, knowing what drawings might be required and understanding what others have already done is nothing but helpful in the process.

That being said, the intellectual property world has many twists and turns through the process that really only someone with experiences can accurately assess. The slightest mistake in a fork in the road can mean the difference between success and failure, spending a fortune or losing it. So although this book really is excellent (spoken from experience) it cannot replace good counsel. Filing patent applications and engaging in the process of prosecuting them can be expensive anyway, with or without a lawyer. For many steps in the process having a lawyer can save you money by steering you away from expensive, unnesessary searches. Once you have a patent it doesn't mean you're free and clear to market your invention either. Licensing and cross licensing can be tricky. International circles of intellectual property law have even more hidden quagmires to circumnavigate. Many lawyers are so highly specialized that negotiating license agreements is all they do. Royalty structures can be complicated and only experience can provide the most comprehensive contracts. Having an attorney provides great leverage just in presence as well. They know how to ask the right questions and for the most part won't waste alot of time. So bottom line is this helps immensely in making the process smoother and more efficient but don't fire your lawyer if you want to be sure you make the most of whatever you created.

Most highly recommended, this new edition has important, substantive additions that reflect changes in the law.

If you're thinking of filing a patent, David Pressman's Patent It Yourself is an absolute must! The patenting process is fraught with legal pitfalls that can trap even the savvyest, most experienced inventor. This book translates all of the complex, circuitous legalese that lawyers use to make law inaccessible into plain english. Chock-full with diagrams, step-by-step instructions, and tear-out forms, Patent It Yourself is a one-stop guide to patent success.
I have no legal backround and have successfully filed four patents with this book, saving thousands of dollars in lawyers fees. If you're thinking of hiring a lawyer, think again! The average lawyer charges upwards of $5,000 per patent! Why pay all that money when you can buy a book and do it yourself for only $50? From evaluating how well your idea will sell, to preparing the actual application, to understanding international patent protection laws this book covers all of the bases. Pressman has over 40 years of experience as both a patent attorney and a patent examiner and it really shows! Buy this book, it won't let you down!

This is a truly excellent Book. The author guides the applicant carefully through every step of a patent application, unscrambles the legalese into easy to understand terms, and then provides the legal vocabulary again to create professional sounding patent applications. This book is very useful for inventors whith any level of legal knowledge, from the total beginner to the seasoned inventor with multiple patents. Even professional patent attourneys might learn a few new tricks from this book. The author also covers all aspects of securing inventions, from the decision to patent with respect to the financial benefits, to the patent application, marketing, international patents, and licensing and infingement problems. He points out frequently made errors and gives lots of tips and tricks. A truly excellent book for inventors of all types. (This review refers to the 8th edition)

An exceptional guide-book for the inventor-entrepreneur. From epiphany to prototype to royalties, this book tells you how to keep yourself safe and maximize your chances to sell-thru to your target market.

If I had to recommend a quality book for my clients, "Patent it Yourself" would be one of them.

The author has consistently demonstrated smart and useful patent application development strategies for everyone. Small and medium sized businesses need a book like this since the patent process is full of expensive and time-consuming risks.

For instance, it is well known in the patent industry that 99.5% of patent applications are rejected in the first round of patent search and analysis. This does not mean the patent application process has stopped, but the patent application requires changes and continuous negotiation in order to comply with patent office rules and regulations. Despite the fact that large amounts of money and time have been spent to reach this part of the process, there is still a 50% failure rate. A patent application can cost anywhere from $2,000 - $50,000 and take hundreds of hours of development before it reaches the patent office. 'Freedom to Operate' search and analysis services provided by legal firms can easily cost $100,000 per patent (no kidding!).

The author clearly gives useful self-development strategies to reduce the costs of patent development. Patent attorneys will always be needed, but it is the inventor/corporation that truly knows the value of their innovations (provided they do some useful prior art searches).

Tonis Kasvand
PatenTrust Corporation

This book inspired me to take and pass the Fundamentals of
Engineering Examination which is the step precedent to
qualifying for the Agent exam or employment in the Patent Office.
The author explains how to draw an invention to statutory
specification and claim the "unobvious" elements. The
definition of unobviousness is a legal nightmare. Pressman
facilitates understanding of the concept.
He explains that:
1. An invention must succeed where others fail.
2. It must solve a problem never before recognized.
3. It must solve a problem thought to be unsolvable or
impractical to implement.
4. It must attain or be capable of attaining commercial success.
5. It is classified in a crowded art where even a small
improvement means a lot.
6. It omits an element without losing functionality or
engineering throughput.
7. It contains a modification not suggested in prior art.
8. It provides an advantage never before recognized.
9. It provides an operative result where past attempts failed.
10. It successfully implements an ancient idea. i.e. time machine
11. It fulfills a long-felt need in practice or industry.
12. It runs contrary to the teachings of prior art.

i.e. It defies gravity or teaches scientific principles
which contradict known principles i.e. Newton's laws

Usually, art must have at least one or more of the above
characteristics. In addition, the examiner must be convinced
that the implement can be built or converted to
commercialization. Applications qualifying on these criteria
are approved provided that a rigorous search does not turn up
prior art. Pressman provides copies of the relevant
Patent Office forms and fee schedules. In addition, he
lists the patent library collections in each state together
with the contact numbers.There is an exhaustive section
on patent vocabulary and claims formulation. This book is
a gold mine. It is worth 5 times the price of admission.
I recommend writing your patent application and showing the
first try to a patent attorney until you become proficient.
In complex cases, you may need to file continuation in part
applications to get an allowance. In any event, this work
will help you deal more effectively with the PTO or an attorney.
In addition, this work will help you argue in court utilizing
the precise "unobviousness" terminology of the PTO.
You must know that a case is rarely allowed by the PTO in a
first review. Usually, there is at least an initial report
disallowing specific aspects which must be overcome. This process
requires that you "dig" into the unobviousness rules and
prove your case to the examiner. If you can't prove the case
(usually after two tries) , a continuation in part application
may be necessary to add more features in order to distinguish
your invention from the current art. The author teaches
how to write the optimal claim which encapsules your
invention into the most all-inclusive mode in practical
application. Lastly, you may be required to describe the
operation of the invention in its preferred mode. Pressman
helps you to formulate any device into a working model or
prototype which can be emulated in practice by an ordinary
practitioner in the scientific art. If you look on the internet,
there are engineering firms which will build a model to
specification for a price.

After having stated all of the above, you must realize that
there is absolutely no way you can read the legal code and
glean all of these rules yourself. Hence, it is easy to see
why Pressman's work is so valuable. It is valuable to
an inventor, law school student or even a patent attorney.
Good luck and don't file a patent application without first
reading this book or one like it.

As another reviewer of this book aptly pointed out, the downside to making a mistake on this most complex part of the law (patent law) is too high. Hence it may be better to use this book for becoming an informed person and let the experts (lawyers) take care of ensuring that there are no holes in the application filed. Personally, it has given me the minimum understanding of patents that I need as a business person to know what I need to patent, when to patent it, how to patent it, and the advantages/disadvantages of patenting.

There are also ways to save on legal costs by doing some of the obvious research yourself. My favorite chapter in this book is Chapter 5: What is Patentable? It outlines and explains the four requirements of patentability - The statutory classes, utility, novelty, and unobviousness. There is also an accompanying flowchart that you can use to guess whether your patent application will be approved.

I found the first three chapters of this thick book to be most informative for my purposes. The first chapter contains an introduction to patents and other intellectual property (like trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, etc.). The second chapter explains what an invention really is. The third chapter is all about documentation (needed to prove invention).

The book does contain tear out forms you can use to do your own filing but as mentioned above, I wouldn't do it as I prefer relying on a lawyer to do it right.

Overall, this is the best book I found on patents. Nolo guides are known for their plain English explanation of the law. This guide is no exception. I haven't regretted buying this book even though it's a bit on the pricey side because of the value it provides. Good luck!

I ordered this book to educate myself on the process of obtaining a patent. I don't plan on writing my own application--I believe pretty strongly that, even with a good book of this sort, self-filing is a very bad idea.

I know from some work that I have done that patents are regularly thrown out in court because of technical defects in their language. I am personally familiar with a case in which a major patent was overtuned because it misused insurance industry jargon. But if that's not enough to make your hair stand on end, consider this: Who is going to license or buy a do-it-yourself patent? Probably not Microsoft, GE or Ford.

So why am I buying this book? I suspect that the second major cause of patent failures is the inventor who turns the process over to a lawyer and isn't involved. I want to know the process so that I can be a more intelligent, actively involved client. I rely on my patent lawyer for his legal expertise, and he relies on my for my subject matter expertise. The better I understand the process, the easier it is for him to communicate with me.

'Patent It Yourself' is a good text to use for that purpose, even though it is aimed at do-it-yourselfers. If I know the process well enough that I could do it myself, then I know enough to work with an expert in the field, and to respect his or her expertise.