Some ideas are great ideas. Some ideas have already been done, sort of. Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Understanding how to patent an improvement on an existing product without infringing on the patent or patents on the existing product can be tricky. But it can be done. Read on, to patent the next big improvement.
How to Patent an Improvement on an Existing Product?
In the case of patenting an improvement on an existing product, the most critical aspect is to prove to the USPTO (the United States Patent and Trademark Office) that your idea is something new or unobvious as compared to the existing issued patents and/or patent applications. First, you can file a provisional patent application. This will protect your idea for a year while you work on filing a nonprovisional patent application. While retaining a patent attorney is voluntary in this case, it is recommended that you at least consult with one.
Second, you will need to perform a prior art search to see exactly how significant your improvement really is to the existing product. More on that below. Third, you must begin to list and diagram the improvements you want to present prepare in both your Provisional and non-provisional patent applications. In doing this, you can divide the contents of your application into four sections. These include descriptions of your improvement, drawings showing your improvement, a description of how your improvement compares to existing ideas and just how your patent improvement on an existing product idea is an innovative improvement of the existing product.
What is a Prior Art Search?
In order to determine how your patent improvement is an innovative improvement of the existing product, a prior art search can be conducted to determine exactly how new your patent improvement on an existing product really is. This search will typically uncover any existing patents covering your improvements to the existing product. A prior art search won’t only help prove the originality of your improvement but check on patents and patent applications your competitors own or are filing on to help you decide if there is a need for your improvement in the marketplace.
There are many kinds of prior art and various ways to search for them. You can perform a patentability search to give you ideas to make yours truly original. You can perform a clearance search to make sure you don’t infringe on someone else’s rights when you sell your product. You can perform a validity search to find out the scope of the existing prior art when a patent application was filed by your competitor. This is best used to invalidate a competitors patent. You can also do a landscape search, to see what competitors are doing in your field.
What are the Best Prior Art Databases?
There is a wealth of resources at your fingertips to perform a thorough prior art search. Using a select group of keywords, you can mine the world wide web to start. The best places to look are scientific journals, academic papers, dictionaries, videos, blogs, product journals, and books. Google Patent Search is another helpful tool. You can also use the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) where they’ll provide you with a list of top-notch databases for your search.
How Do I Get My Patent Improvement Application Accepted by the USPTO?
Unfortunately, to patent, an improvement on an existing product is not necessarily easy. Likely, during examination of your first patent application, the claims will initially be rejected by the Patent Examiner. But not to be discouraged, this is common in almost all cases. The reason for this is usually due to the fact that the patent examiner finds one or more claims already covered by previous patents. This can be overcome by changing the claims to distinguish over the prior art cited by the Examiner.
Note that this can be a difficult aspect of obtaining a patent, best left to an experienced Patent Attorney.
It’s important to keep in mind that to patent an improvement on an existing product, your improvement must include these two aspects: originality and unobviousness.
Work on your improvements, file a patent application and with luck, it will be approved in no time!
Contact your Patent Attorney to learn more.
