Ever thought you might need a “media cartridge autoloader?” How about a “quick release coilmaking machine” or a “holographic adaptive optic system”?

These are among the nearly 5,000 patents issued in the last 30 years to inventors in Colorado Springs.

But having a great idea is only the first step toward getting a patent to protect that idea.

Patent agent Richard Huffman with Huffman Patent Group said he and about 10 other agents in Colorado Springs help inventors get their concepts patented, and not all their clients are local.

Huffman represents people from the West Coast to Denmark and from Texas to Taiwan, and he’s not even an attorney. That’s because the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office doesn’t require a person have a law degree to seek patents on clients’ behalf. Rather, agents must be a licensed patent practitioner, which means they have to pass the Patent Office’s bar exam.

Huffman works as an agent in Colorado Springs and offers some insight into the world of patents.

Question: What is a patent?

Answer: A patent is a contract with the U.S. government. Think of it as a property deed. You stake your claim. If you’re the first person to invent something that’s never been done before, then you’re entitled to a 20-year monopoly in exchange for totally disclosing that to the public.

Q: Disclosing it?

A: Yes. Not only do you have to tell them what it is, but you have to completely show how to make and use the best embodiment of it. The idea behind patents is that innovation is great. We don’t want people inventing things and keeping them secret.

Q: What happens after 20 years?

A: Then it’s dedicated to the public good.

Q: How long does it take to get a patent, and how much does it cost?

A: Three to five years and $10,000, which pays for fees to the Patent and Trademark Office, fees related to preparation of the application and drawings.

Q: If you don’t have to be a lawyer to apply for patents, what background is preferred?

A: Filing patents involves a heckuva lot of science and engineering. I practiced engineering for 30 years. You have to be prepared to do all the argumentation with patent examiners.

Q: Why do you have to argue?

A: The patent examiner will reject all claims as not new or being obvious in view of what’s been done before. They will site former patents, textbook articles. So what the patent practitioner’s job is to craft the claims and/or argue with the examiner. It is my job to educate the patent examiner about the technology he has before him and show him the application under scrutiny is distinct.

Q: Isn’t there a lot of opportunity to seek patents in behalf of corporations?

A: No, because only an individual inventor, not a corporation, can apply for a patent. Some individuals who work for corporations then sign over their patents to the corporations they work for.

Q: Can an inventor develop a product before a patent is issued?

A: Yes. In the United States, you have one year from the date of public disclosure to file for a patent. That means if you have developed a better mousetrap, you can sell it to one person and the clock starts ticking.

Patent applications get published within six months after filing. Somebody can steal it and use it, but if it eventually gets patented, you can recover damages back to the date of publication. To sue for patent infringement, you’ll need a patent attorney.

But the United States can’t set the laws of other countries, so somebody in Mexico can steal your ideas.

Q: How many patents that are issued actually pan out to be a business bonanza?

A: Very few turn into silver bullets. Patents usually are procured as a defense strategy.You don’t get just one patent, because a judge or jury could poke a hole in that. So you have a strategic collection of patents. Think of it as circling the wagons around your product line, which might have 100 inventions in it. Very, very few are silver bullets, but they’re all important.

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Call Zubeck at 636-0238

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