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[fb]

After balancing several options, and also after having counsel draft and submit a dedicated PCT for our core invention, a game plan had to be developed to handle about one new additional invention every two weeks. There is a severe time crunch because the online community is posting them almost as fast as we are trying to file them. And we can't spend $10k on each one like we did with the core. So here is the plan:

1. Draw many (20 or 30) 3D color drawings, and a good description of each one, and do my best at some claims, and file it as a provisional ($125). This takes about a 40 hour week, and these drawings will be used for online marketing to licensees later. But if nobody posts it online in the next few weeks, then:

2. After the foreign filing license is granted, have a firm in India do the patent drawings with numerals, and possibly also a detailed description of the drawings, and maybe even new claims ($1250). File as a provisional. Now at least if someone posts online, we have a pseudo-useful application to claim.

3. Now, a month later, if nobody has posted it online yet, consider hiring a US firm to draft good claims, or to review/alter my claims ($850). File as a provisional. Now we would have a decent application to claim.

4. Begin online markeing. If a licensee can be found within 12 months, then hire US firm to draft complete application. If a licensee cannot be found within 12 month, then load several of these inventions into one PCT and hope that the drafting was good enough.

[bleedingpen]

sounds complicated

[fb]

Not sure what other options there are. In three days since posting only part of the PCT, they have already guessed 3 of the 6 or so embodiments in it.

[Evil In House Counsel]

After balancing several options, and also after having counsel draft and submit a dedicated PCT for our core invention, a game plan had to be developed to handle about one new additional invention every two weeks. There is a severe time crunch because the online community is posting them almost as fast as we are trying to file them. And we can't spend $10k on each one like we did with the core. So here is the plan:

1. Draw many (20 or 30) 3D color drawings, and a good description of each one, and do my best at some claims, and file it as a provisional ($125). This takes about a 40 hour week, and these drawings will be used for online marketing to licensees later. But if nobody posts it online in the next few weeks, then:

2. After the foreign filing license is granted, have a firm in India do the patent drawings with numerals, and possibly also a detailed description of the drawings, and maybe even new claims ($1250). File as a provisional. Now at least if someone posts online, we have a pseudo-useful application to claim.

3. Now, a month later, if nobody has posted it online yet, consider hiring a US firm to draft good claims, or to review/alter my claims ($850). File as a provisional. Now we would have a decent application to claim.

4. Begin online markeing. If a licensee can be found within 12 months, then hire US firm to draft complete application. If a licensee cannot be found within 12 month, then load several of these inventions into one PCT and hope that the drafting was good enough.

Nonlawyers preparing and filing anything = recipe for disaster.

To save money, your best bet is to have the inventor draft the best drawings and description that he/she can, and send those to outside counsel with the express directive that you want a low cost provisional. Competent, honest, non-lazy outside counsel will add value here, and will do this pretty cheaply.

Those Indian firms are god-awful by the way. We have tried them. For a provisional, you're better off at having the inventor draft the best drawings and description he can.

[bleedingpen]

Those Indian firms are god-awful by the way. We have tried them. For a provisional, you're better off at having the inventor draft the best drawings and description he can.

I think a high school senior hung over from spring break can do a better job than those Indian firms.

[fb]

Agreed. Just tried one, and am having to re-do from scratch.

One problem with going direct to counsel for a so-so provisional, is time. Second, is money. The online world is lighting fast at posting their own embodiments even while you sleep. Sometimes it's down to hours, not days, of lead time. New art areas of hobby products are going to be this way from now on. One guy sees my embodiment, and posts his own version on a few forums the next hour. I have to hope that I've already filed that embodiment.

The cost comes into play to, with so many. So what I'm going to do now is

1. Draft full PCT with claims myself, but with 3D drawings and no numerals, and file as PPA.
2. Send 3D drawings to counsel's draftman and tell him which ones to combine and label.
3. Get his drawings and incorporate his labels into the spec. File as PPA again.
4. Determine if needs to be filed as PCT.

If licensee can be found, then the PCT can be done properly by counsel. If not, then I'll file as-is before the PPA 12 months is up.

[fb]

Forgot the important part:

3.5. If still no online postings, and if budget permits, have counsel do a 2 hour claims-reviews.