When engineering students enter a competition do they loose their right to patent their inventions?
823600
The first thing you should do is check the competition rules associated with submission of your invention.\n\nNormally the submission of an invention does not mean that the inventor will lose the right to obtain a patent.  Despite what has been answered by others, in the United States you do not lose the ability to obtain a patent once the invention has been made public.  US patent laws give the inventor a 12 month grace period from the time of certain activities within which to apply for a patent.  If you publish an article describing your invention, sell it or use it publicly you have 12 months from the date of the particular trigger event within which to file a US patent application.  If it is revealed prior to filing a patent application you would, however, lose any right to file a patent application outside the United States.  Similarly, if your invention included a trade secret you would lose the trade secret upon the secret being made public.  For more information on patent law see:\n\nhttp://www.ipwatchdog.com/patent.html\n\nFinally, although the US is a first to invent country you are always better off filing a patent application sooner rather than later.  I always encourage inventors to file before entering competitions, seeking funding or submitting the invention to companies.  This is the safest thing to do because by filing an application you lock in your rights to your invention.
27147
Let me bet on this one:\n\nI bet one goes and tries to get a patent for it, and realizes that ideas can not be patented. And eventually tells a friend, and that friend steals the idea pitches it to one of the lottery firms. The lottery firm likes the idea, steals it, and makes money out of it.
1053239
Do you have the patent already? Otherwise don't proceed any further til you've done that.
672360
A patent is just a way of registering an idea or invention that you thought of so that no one else can make money off of your idea.\n\nNo one can patent a person or idea of a person.\n\nYou can patent ideas through your countries patent office. In the U.S. its the U.S. Patent office.
343348
Copyright is not that difficult for a person to research for himself.  But patents require a well-trained, experienced patent attorney.  It's quite a specialty, and an important one.  If anyone who has an engineering degree, hardware or software, wants to go to law school, the intersection of that education should make you very, very wealthy.  And justly so, for it is a very important specialty.\n\nBut copyright, as I say, you can research for yourself pretty well.  Here's my all-purpose recommendation for questions having to do with "people's law," if you will:  Nolo Press.  They've been doing it for a lot of years, and they are good at it (like me?).  Their web site includes a free "shark talk" dictionary, which is their somewhat biased (or at least defensive) term for legal dictionary.  That will get you on the right track, I am sure.
637905
Patents are for actual devices, substances, inventions, processes, etc.  Ideas fall into the realm of copyrights, not patents.  There is an implied copyright on nearly anything you write.  You can also get official copyrights on nearly anything you write.
838401
In the US a patent must be applied for in the name of the inventor.  If you are an employee of a company and have been hired to invent you have almost certainly signed an agreement that turns over any and all inventions to your company.  Your company would then apply for the patent in your name, and you would cooperate with the company and its attorneys in attempts to file and obtain a patent.  In this situation the company would pay for any and all cost associated with filing the application, including attorneys fees.\n\nIf you are an independent inventor that is looking for a company to be interested in your invention it is likely going to be necessary to first file a patent application to protect your rights.  If you just tell others your ideas you will not be protected and they could use them without your permission.  The only way to get around this is to have them sign a confidentiality agreement, but most companies will not do this.  So, what you should do is first preserve your rights by filing a patent application.
668519
The patent is probablely out of this question.  I know that Price Line and others have gone that route, but it is expensive and a tough row to hoe. Furthermore, the US Patent Office does not play games; they just send back your application and they keep the money.\n\nIf you go this route, you will need a patent attorney.  There are not too many of them around - and they don't work cheap.\n\nCopyright is easy, and free.  Now if you wish to file with your states Attorney General of Sec. of State that will cost a couple of bucks (usually $25 - 50)\n\nGood luck -- DAVE
790565
It is not possible to protect ideas but rather the representation of that idea. \n\nTo protect an original invention OR a significant improvement to an existing product, a patent would be filed. Here's the USPTO's definition: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#patent \n\nNOLO is a great, free informational site. Also, be sure to read what the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office) has to say about patents.\n\nAssociations may be a good avenue to explore. These organizations will address many of the thoughts, questions and concerns you'll inevitably have as well as many you haven't anticipated yet. See the source box for some relevant links. \n\nResearch, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:\n\nGetting a Patent:\n* Patent It Yourself (11th Edition) by David Pressman\n* Patents and How to Get One : A Practical Handbook by U.S. Department of Commerce\n* How To Make Patent Drawings Yourself: A Patent It Yourself Companion by Jack Lo\n* The Inventor's Notebook: A Patent It Yourself Companion by Fred E. Grissom\n\nThere are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.\n\nHope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!
119725
When you work for a company, the inventions you come up with are not yours they become the property of that company
884149
When you have a new idea for a product or service, there are 5 crucial actions you must take to assure your success. Getting a patent is not one of them. Typically, 70 percent of patents filed are granted. But, only an estimated 2-3% actually makes money. Many inventors and entrepreneurs whose products failed didn't follow these 5 actions.   \n\nYou need to think of yourself as more than just an idea person. Think of yourself as a product developer and marketer. To improve your chances for success, perform the following actions for your idea before filing a patent. I ve used the acronym IDEAS to guide you.\n\nThe 5 Actions\n\nI - Inventor's Notebook:\n\nProtect your idea by documenting all your ideas and plans in an Inventor s Notebook. In the United States it s the first person who documents their idea that gets patent rights rather than the first to file a patent. Use a notebook with a stitched binding and numbered pages. When documenting your idea, get a witness, who has no financial interest in your idea, to sign and date the pages.\n\nD - Determine Competition:\n\nWho is your competition? Find out what they re doing and develop your product with benefits and features that are better than the competition. For example, if your product is meant to save time, it must save more time than other products. If you have a completely new idea, it must perform better than the product that you re trying to replace. While we often like to think there is no competition, there are possible similar products. For example, you might have a new type of toothbrush that is unique. But people might be satisfied with their simple $2 toothbrush or Listerine strips.\n\nE - Evaluate for Marketability:\n\nBefore you invest in a patent or go into production, evaluate your product idea for marketability. Your product must solve a problem or satisfy a need or want. It must also, be better than the competition. Ask yourself if there are large numbers of people who would buy your product other than your friends and family? Also, visualize your product in a finished state and sketch an advertisement. What are the compelling benefits to excite people to buy your product? If none, why build the product?\n\nA - Analyze for Profit Potential:\n\nHow much are people willing to spend for your product versus your costs and expenses? How many will you sell? What are the unit costs and expenses related to developing and marketing your product?\n\nS - Select a Target Market:\n\nOther than everyone can you identify a group of consumers or businesses who will benefit most from your product? You can earn a lot of money by serving a particular group of people. Find a segment of people who have the greatest needs and wants for your product. You must tailor your product and marketing messages to a specific market group based on consumer demographics, business type, or location. You can select a market based on benefits sought such as safety, saving money, improving health or others.\n\nConclusion\n\nOften people rush to get a patent, prototype, and go into production only to find the product is not selling. They later find that there is really no need in the market for the product. Or, the product benefits don t outweigh the selling price. Once you perform the above IDEAS and are satisfied with the results, then consider filing a patent, creating a prototype, and going into production. By getting a patent too early, inventors find themselves committed down a path and find it difficult to change course when new knowledge of the market is gained. Or, by spending all your money on patents and production, there s nothing left to perform the necessary marketing.
237508
As long as no tournament business is conducted on school grounds, no. The school's authority stops when you leave their doors. As long as you maintain it at home, the school has no recourse of your actions, that's your parent's jobs.
690784
they have contests for this?
335098
Oh, man, tomorrow!? I have not ideas for an invention (actually, I'm working on something, but don't' want to share because it does not have a patent yet).\n\n Ask your parents for help. Can you ask your teacher for an extension on the project? \nThink of some problems (besides this one) and how you can solve that problem. Does it have to be realistic, or can it be futuristic?  \n\nGoogle "inventions".  Maybe you'll get some ideas.
792695
It means that under the confines of the law, that all their rights to proclaim and maintain their patent, copyright, or ownership of the advertised product is legally theirs to reserve to pursue action against those that infringe upon their rights.
169787
You should first do a free search at the US Patent and Trademark office website.\n\nSearch for keywords and find it.\nhttp://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/search-adv.htm\n\nThe European Patent Office covers many countries. It is at\nhttp://www.european-patent-office.org\nand also has free search capabilities.\n\nHowever! Thorough patent searches are often done by specialized Patent Searchers.  They are most always highly credentialed in specific areas of technology.  If you just file at the USPTO they'll charge you around $500 for the patent search.  But, history proves that if your idea is good, somebody will take an interest during the period your invention is open to public inspection. Many patents have been quashed during this period cuz someone does a more thorough search than the USPTO patent examiners.  Worse yet, they let your patent get approved, then they watch how your product faires in the marketplace.  If it does well then they conduct a thorough search and kill your patent, costing you plenty.  Why?  Cuz they can rewrite the patent and file their own, taking your idea. Even if they cant file their own patent, at least they can kill yours and sell your idea unhindered by patents. Do a 'patent search' on google or yahoo.  You might want to get a thorough search up front.
487677
You have a grave misunderstanding about protecting inventions.  Copyrighting is only designed for communications media like books, photos, DVDs, etc. you cannot protect inventions with copyright.\n\nPatenting an invention is one of the most complicated and difficult and expensive things you can do, unfortunately.  A good honest patent attorney is a must, good luck.