Getting a Patent is relatively difficult compared to a Research Paper or a Journal getting published. If you have the correct guidance, then you can easily get an Patent issued to your name.

The major challenges to getting your first Patent are:

• Filling a Patent Application and getting all required permissions can take up to 1 month.
• Filling a Patent Application requires significant money ($1000 in USA and Rs 5000 in India) and if you hire a Patent Attorney to help you, the cost goes up further ($3000 in USA and Rs 30,000 in India)
• Getting a Patent issued to your name may take another 1.5 to 2 years.
• Writing a Patent is completely different than writing a Research Paper.
• Not everything can be patented but you can write a Research Paper on practically anything.
• Research papers are published by Private Companies and there are many options. On the other hand, Patents are accepted by National Governments only.

So,

• Be ready to wait 2 years to know the result.
• Be ready to spend some money to get your Patent Application filled.
• Be ready to spend a significant amount of time preparing your Patent Application in correct format.

Stay Patient

If you are thinking for getting a Patent to strengthen your resume for getting a Job or apply for University Admissions, then you may rethink.

If you already have a Patentable Idea, then go for it now. It will help in the long run.

In general, you will have to wait 1.5 to 2 years to get a published Patent and call yourself an Inventor.

Get a Patentable Idea

Not all ideas can be patented. Moreover, Patent Rules of every Country is different so one idea may be Patentable in one Country but not in another Country.

For example, Patents on Software are limited in India where you must have a technical application. The restrictions on Software Patents are less in USA.

In general, for your idea to be patentable, you must ensure that:

• Your idea is not intuitive / common approach. It should be innovative.
• Your idea must have a specific partical application. It should not be general.
• There should be a feature of your idea using which you can detect if your idea is being used in a product.
• There is no existing patent on similar ideas.

This can be challenging at first but if you are deeply involved in your field, then you will eventually come across new ideas that can be patented. The key is to identify such ideas as many may miss such ideas by thinking it to be simple ideas.

Invest Money up front

If you are filling a patent by yourself that is not linked with a Backing Organization, then be ready to invest some money to fill your Patent Application. These involve:

• Fee to get permission from your Native Country to fill a Patent in another Country.
• Fee to fill a Patent Application in the Country of your choice.
• Fee to prioritize your Patent Application if you want the Government to review and take a decision on your patent application quickly. This will still take 6 months.
• Fee for a Patent Attorney if you choose to take help. This will be a major chunk of investment but will increase chances of acceptance as your application will be structured in correct format.

Now, if you are associated with a University for example, you are pursuing your Bachelor's degree or PhD, then you can contact your Advisor and the University may bare the cost of filling a Patent Application. In this case, you will have co-authors in your Patent Application including your Advisor.

If you are associated with a Company, then you can submit your idea to your Company's Patent Committee and then, will review and take a decision to fill. In this case, you will be paid:

• Paid on Filling a Patent Application
• Second Payment when Government accepts your Patent Application.

Every company is required to give something in return to the inventor of a Patent Application.

Conclusion

It may take time to get your Patent but it is definitely worth it. You will officially become an Inventor.

Having a Patent will give you a significant boost in your career. Go for it.