Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Re: patent lawyers

Go to the Patent & Trademark Office web site (uspto.gov), where there's lots of information. Read one or more of David Pressman, Patent it Yourself (Nolo Press); Calvin D. MacCracken, A handbook for inventors: how to protect, patent, finance, develop, manufacture, and market your ideas (Scribner); Fred Grissom & David Pressman, Inventor�s notebook : a "patent it yourself" companion (Nolo Press).

Re: patent lawyers

I will add to Mr. Burstyn's excellent answer: Make sure you tell your patent lawyer about any disclosure you may have made of your invention. Have a good estimate of the date of that disclosure. I don't care if the disclosure was to your mother, your kids, your friends, your neighbors, or through public use of the invention, your lawyer needs to know about ANY disclosure.

Also, make sure you have some sort of a record of when you came up with the invention.

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