Clients often look surprised when I tell them it would be better not to apply for a patent. But sometimes that is the smarter strategy. Here is my top three reasons why not to yet.
1. It is too soon
Filing a patent application the moment you have a great idea or concept usually means jumping the gun. An application needs the invention worked out in real detail, normally with drawings and sometimes test results. You have to describe it well enough that someone else could make it.
2. You are better off keeping it quiet
Sometimes it is better not to apply at all. Your application is published online for everyone to see eighteen months after filing. So if nobody could ever see your invention in use, because it is a process that happens inside your factory or a device only you operate, ask yourself what a patent really buys you. A patent also expires after twenty years, and you lose your exclusivity at that point anyway. Keeping the invention to yourself can be the stronger play. An i-DEPOT lets you record what you knew and when, without publishing anything.
3. Your money works harder elsewhere
However good or patentable your idea, always ask why you want to protect it. There are good reasons, starting with the protection itself. But if your product is a short-lived trend, interest may already have faded by the time your patent comes through. In that case you are better off spending the money on marketing and earning as much as you can while the demand is there.
