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[IPJunkie]

What does a Patent Attorney want from me? I.e. how polished should my idea be before I approach a PA for some advice over whether we can patent the idea? Any templates or suggestions or helpful sites?

Thanks.

[JimIvey]

It's really hard to say.  For a practitioner with much experience in your particular technology, a brief description of your idea might suffice.  The practitioner might immediately understand your idea and have a fair sense of the closest related art.

Regardless, it would help for you to provide enough information that the practitioner can get the gist of your innovation (and by "gist", I mean fully appreciate the value your innovation adds to the art).  It would also help if you have some information about the most closely related art that you're aware of.

Just understand that no one can say for sure that you're idea is patentable.  You can only get a general sense of your odds. 

Regards.

[klaviernista]

Jim is right.  Its hard to know what an attorney will want.  The background and experience of the attorney also have an impact.

That said, a lot of patent attorneys invite clients to fill out an "invention disclosure form."  Typically, the form includes myriad questions that arer aimed at teasing out details that are relevant to patentability, determining bar dates, etc.  If you have a patent attorney in mind, ask them if they have an invention disclosure form you can use.  If the attorney needs more information, they will ask.

[BobRoberts]

Your invention should be polished enough that one skilled in the art (i.e., another person practicing in that technology art area) can practice the invention from your description of it.  I recommend (if it is practical) that you try to build a prototype or otherwise implement the invention.  Though there is no requirement that you do this, you may find out that sometimes things work out different on paper than in actual practice, so actually implementing the invention may point out weak (or unworkable) parts of your invention.

Good luck.