Legal Question in Business Law in Illinois

Invention help

We have some ideas for inventions and can't find out in plain English where to go from here. We can't make a sample ourselves. We need to know what the steps are to protect our ideas andwho we can trust with the information. The Invention sites will only go so far and the they want $900 - $1000 to take it to the next level. Is there someone that can explain to us how and what to do in this process? Even the Government sites are hard to understand. Some of our ideas would need to involve improvements to existing products and others are unique. Is there an Attorney or firm that will give us a free consultation? Thank you.


Asked on 3/28/07, 8:13 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Patrick Tracy Patrick J. Tracy, Esq, P.E.,

Re: Invention help

You need to contact a patent attorney in your jurisdiction who can assist you. Most will give an initial consultation of about 30 minutes for free. If you really have concerns about your inventions, seek a non-disclosure agreement with your attorney even though there is an attorney client privilege with any attorney that you speak re: your inventions.

Good luck!!

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Answered on 3/28/07, 8:17 am
Noelle Ansley Noelle Ansley

Re: Invention help

I do not recommend that you use one of those companies that will take care of the patent for you -- often you end up assigning your rights to the company and you miss out. It would behoove you to take Mr. Tracy's advice and find a lawyer that specializes in intellectual property and patents in order to protect your invention(s) and your ideas. Unfortunately, you're going to have to pay someone if you want to do this the right way.

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Answered on 3/28/07, 10:35 am


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