File a Patent
16 weeks · 3 milestones
File a provisional or utility patent application for your invention.
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Document the invention specifically enough to be patentable and conduct a prior art search to assess whether it is novel. A patent protects a specific invention — not a business model, not a software category, not an idea — but a novel, non-obvious, and useful implementation. The prior art search is not optional: filing a patent without searching for prior art wastes legal fees and typically produces a narrower or rejected patent. Free tools for prior art searching include Google Patents and the USPTO Patent Full-Text Database.
Proof required
Share a written invention description covering: (1) what specifically the invention does, described technically enough that someone skilled in the field could understand it; (2) what makes it novel — at least one specific difference from existing approaches; (3) the results of a prior art search: name at least 3 relevant prior art references found, and describe one sentence on why each does not anticipate your specific invention.
What gets checked
- Invention description is specific and technical — not 'a better way to do X' but the mechanism by which it achieves a result.
- Prior art search references 3+ specific patents or publications found, by name or number.
- Why each reference does not anticipate the invention is explained — the distinction must be technical, not commercial.
Resources
Enroll free to unlock learning resources →Mastery
USPTO — Patent Full-Text Database
Primary authority for US patent prior art — required alongside Google Patents for a thorough search.
Unlocks after completing Foundation + Depth