3. PERFORM A PATENT SEARCH

OK, so you have an idea and it meets all of the requirements. So congratulations, you've come up with a great idea! So great, in fact, that there's a possibility that someone has already patented it. A good possibility. A REAL good possibility, because for every idea that you have, 200 other people have probably thought of it already. Hey, we're not your mother; we tell it like it is, and the fact is that it's extremely rare for an inventor's first idea to not have been thought up by someone else already.

But there is a chance that your idea is completely unique. And since you've come this far, you should absolutely give it a try and find out if someone has already filed a patent for the same idea. In other words, you should perform a patent search.

To perform a patent search, visit the USPTO's website, where they offer a free database that includes the names and the front pages of all patents since 1971. The front page includes an abstract that describes the invention, so if you enter search terms that describe both your invention and a previously patented one, your chances of finding it are good. Just go to the database and enter every search term that describes your invention, and see what comes up.

Naturally, people have been patenting things since long before 1971, so if somebody patented your invention prior to that, you won't be able to find it on the Internet. If your invention is something that couldn't have been created prior to 1971 (such a new-fangled video game), you're home free. But if your invention is a special kind of comb or a bowl or something that could have been invented by a caveman, you should check earlier sources. You can find such sources at a Patent and Trademark Depository Library. They will allow you to search their electronic database of every patent ever issued for an hourly rate (this varies from $30 to $80 per hour), or you can search on microfiche readers for free. You can find the nearest library to you by looking through this search data base.