Why Seek a Patent?
Because if you don’t, someone else will before too long!
Coming up with a unique and practical concept certainly isn’t easy. It can take time to develop, refine and perfect your idea until you are comfortable with its final specifications.
Patenting your concept can be even harder to accomplish, especially if you try to do it yourself. Our company can definitely provide you with needed advantages to earn your patent protection status, but even with our professional assistance, and as our advisors have already told you, there’s still no guarantee that a company will manufacture it or that the public will buy it in profitable quantity.
So, you may be asking yourself, why even bother going through the time, trouble and cost of patenting your idea? The answer is simple: you must at least seek patent protection for the concept, because not patenting your idea can actually be a personal risk. If you don’t file for patent protecton of your idea, someone else could. Simply looking at the history of creation and invention can verify this need. Consider the examples offered below:
Bell DID NOT Invent The Telephone
 Alexander Graham Bell will live forever in history for his famous words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want you,” which are believed to be the first words ever spoken on a telephone. But Mr. Bell did not invent this product – he simply patented it.
Philip Reis invented this device 15 years earlier, but never bothered to seek patent protection of his intellectual property.
Another person, Elisha Gray, tried to challenge Bell for credit with invention of the telephone, and even filed for a patent of the device on the same day Bell did. However, Bell had moved faster, filing a few hours before Gray, which resulted in Bell receiving the patent.
Gray even attempted to sue Bell for rights to the device, and all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Alexander Graham Bell will forever be known for – and his family will always continued to profit from – his patent on the telephone, despite the fact that someone else actually invented it.
Edison DID NOT Invent The Light Bulb
 Thomas Alva Edison patented the idea of the electric light bulb long ago in 1879, but the light bulb had already been used for 35 years at the time.
It was Humphrey Davy who first created the concept in 1804. It was Jean Foucalt who first made the device, and actually used many of them to light up one avenue in Paris in 1844. And it was Joseph William Swan who made light bulbs in the exact same format that Edison made, and 10 months before him.
But it was Edison who actually patented the idea, which awarded him with fame, millions of dollars, and a place in history.
Fulton DID NOT Invent The Steamboat
 Robert Fulton patented the steamboat in 1807, earning him a name almost as big as the bank account he filled with money he earned for this invention. But the steamboat was actually invented by a gentleman named John Fitch.
Fitch sailed his steamboat on the Delaware River carrying passengers and cargo back in 1785, and even entered contracts with several states for use of his invention. But Fitch never patented the idea. Fulton did, and got the money and the fame.
Still undecided about whether or not you should at least seek a patent for your idea? Then consider this modern story:
The game of Pai Gow Poker was first created in 1986 by a dealer at Huntington Park casino in California. He Contemplated patenting the game, but didn’t think it would be worthwhile. In less than one year, the game was played in every casino in Nevada, and today at all U.S. casinos. It’s so popular that some casinos have more Pai Gow tables than Black Jack tables. But it’s creator never patented the concept, and never got paid a dime for it. How much do you think he could’ve earned if he took the time to patent the game?
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