Patents are an authority or license that enables the owner to exclude others from replicating the invention. Patents are important in the current world since they allow renovation while protecting them from infringement.
The patent being filed could cover one country or more. The application is usually made at the patent office which has the jurisdiction to grant a patent the designated geographical area. If the specifications are met as required by the laws governing the office, a patent is usually granted for the invention. The act of negotiating with the patent office for the grant of a patent is called patent prosecution. Note it should not be confused with patent litigation which involves legal proceedings for infringement of a patent after it is already granted.
In this case, we check the process of patenting a bike helmet. We all have come across bike riders on the roads or in the neighborhood wearing a foldable helmetwhich is meant for minimization of the effects in case of accidents or falls. They are quite many types in the market, and if you walk to your local store or supermarket, there is a good chance of finding such They are also available in online stores like Amazon, Jumia. Most of them look fancy with good designs, but what are they made of exactly? Well most of them are made using composite hard shells, with layers of fiberglass or even Kevlar fiber laid up in epoxy. The inside is usually soft foams that offer protection for the head while on the outside a hard plastic. Another common characteristic is that they have air circulation inside so as to prevent heat buildup unless of course, it is very cold.
Disadvantages include.
Hindering the riders vision which is risky (depends with the design though). Some people argue that in most accidents the head is not much affected compared to the rest of the body. Unfortunately, there is no solution to this However, we can advise you to be very keen and avoid over speeding literally.
So assuming you have a nice design of your own helmet and you would like to file a patent but do not know what to do you are in the right place. It could feature new technology not currently implemented, who knows. So the initial and important step is to choose the right patent. There are various types of patents such as utility patents meant for new or useful inventions, provisional patents which secure temporary patent status (usually one year) and design patent which secures an ornamental design. After that initial stage carry out the following steps
Stages in patenting
- Step 1: Document the two stages of the invention which are; conceiving the idea (the helmet in our case) and development of the idea. Document each stage. Explain how your new helmet will do what it is supposed to do clearly. Keep all documents safely as it is better than having nothing to show for it
- Step 2: Keep your idea as confidential as possible. Unless you want someone to steal your hard thought ideas for their own merit, it happens.
- Step 3: Conduct a patent search just in case. Someone could have had a similar idea as you earlier and decided to publish it
- Step 4: Find a patent office and make an application. Be sure to make no mistakes as it could be costly. The process involves legal minds. You could do it yourself or hire an attorney to do it for you though it may be costly. However, you will lose the benefit of having an experienced lawyer help. Choose wisely depending on the situation.
- Step 5: Note that patents are expensive and you might want to make returns of the investment. Talk with investors worth your time.
Tip: Even if your investor turned you down you would have valuable information concerning what your patent is worth and what is next.