Have you come up with the next big invention?  If you plan on protecting it don’t wait or you could end up like Elisha Gray!

On February 14, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent on an apparatus that could transmit speech electrically, beating out his rival, Elisha Gray, by just two hours. Never mind that Gray’s design worked better. Timing was all that mattered. When Gray later filed a lawsuit, the courts awarded the patent to Bell, who went down in history as the official inventor of the telephone!

If you have the next big idea don’t wait for someone else to figure it out and cash in first. The United States Patent ad Trademark Office offers a low-cost solution for inventors called a Provisional Patent Application, or PPA.

A Provisional Patent Application secures an immediate priority filing date for your invention. In other words, it allows you to go on record as the first person to officially lay claim to your invention. Securing a priority filing date is critical because as far as the government is concerned, it’s not who came up with the idea first that matters; it’s who secured the rights.

For help filing a patent application contact us at New Product Consulting