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How Do I Put an Invention Into the Public Domain?
Nefarious Wheel writes "I have a couple of inventions — mechanical devices, based on physical principles — that I believe could transform certain aspects of industry. The trouble is, I can't afford to file patents, and even if I could, I'm not sure that would be the best way for these devices to be made available as widely as I'd like. Is there some way to publish the details of these innovations in the public domain in such a way as to protect them from being snaffled away by some patent troll? I'd be happy with a contribution (or simple attribution) model for recompense, which could be zero to whatever, but that's not as important to me as getting the ideas out there for anyone who wants to use them. This isn't copyright, and I know of no patent equivalent to Creative Commons. In short, what's the best way to protect an invention against someone filing a patent on it, short of patenting the device yourself? Can this be done?"
You some kind of commie?
Once something is published, it becomes "prior art" and someone else can't patent prior art and obvious extensions to prior art.
And also once you publish it, you can't file for a patent on it outside the US, and you can only file for a US patent within a year.
Test your net with Netalyzr
You can put an invention into the public domain by simply publishing it and then failing to file a patent on it. The main thing here is to find a low cost forum that will preserve your publication for a long time.
Send me all the plans, complete details, drawings, and figures. I'll file everything for you and everyone will be happy.
Honest. Really.
The check's in the mail.....
mechanical devices, based on physical principles
Here is the invention.
But patent examiners aren't likely to find such published prior art unless you publish it in something that patent examiners actually read. Google defensive publication brought me a Wikipedia article explaining the concept and a short guide.
You could write an open letter to the major companies in the relevant industry (and make it clear that several companies are receiving the letter) explaining your inventions. One company may still try to patent them, but the other companies will have signed, dated, and carbon-copied letters from you stating prior art. Hmm, too far fetched?
While publishing it, and making it prior art would be nice, the only way for you to totally place it into the public domain would be for you to patent it yourself.
Sure, in a technical sense making it prior art would bar others from patenting it, effectively placing it into the public domain. However, in reality, people could still apply to patent the invention, and the burden would be on them to notify the patent examiner about your prior art.
Guess how much that will happen.
So, assuming they don't talk about your publication, and the examiner doesn't know, they get a patent. Once that happens, then it's up to an enterprising soul to file an appeal with the patent board... and sure, the patent would probably be revoked, but it would take time and money. During this time, people would be afraid to use the patent, etc etc.
Since a patent is a right to exclude others from using your invention, the easiest way would be to talk to your local law school, see if there's any sort of IP clinic, and ask them to help you file the patent. They will probably have someone student that has passed the patent bar early, and can help you file as a patent agent. Then you would just pay the fee, get the patent filed for you, and some law student would get some nice experience. After you get the patent, simply let people use it for free.
All you need to do is publish your designs somewhere. Who knows maybe people may offer suggestions that will improve them. Open sourcing hardware is certainly something that has been done before. As long as you don't care if companies potentially exploit your ideas and not compensate you then by all means go ahead and make the world a better place. I admit I am mildly disappointed that you did not even share any details at all. Maybe your invention is really cool and now we may never know.
zosxavius photography
File a statutory invention registration with the patent office.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Statutory_Invention_Registration
Alternately, you can file a provisional patent application, and then just abandon it by not filing anything else for a year.
Either of these will become part of the patent office's database and thus will be searched by patent examiners.
Once they read about your invention, they would be legally obliged to disclose it to the patent office as prior art. So legally, they can't read it and then patent it. However since we are talking about patent trolls here, they can read it, write a patent application, don't tell the patent office about the prior art, forge papers demonstrating that they had the idea before you published it, and sue someone including yourself for the invention, and act very astonished if you show the prior art. Even with the prior art in someone's hands, it could cost them lots of money to defend against the case, even when they win. And whoever is sued might not know the prior art.
You could ask at the patent office, or someone here might know, how much it costs to _attempt_ to get a patent. In your situation, you don't need a patent. A failed patent application is good enough for you, because then it is prior art that is know to the patent office.
The idea is simple; invent something, patent it, and allow no-one to use it until someone pays the fee, but once it is payed, everyone can use it.
Even though you don't plan on turning this into a real patent application, it will establish a baseline date AT THE PATENT OFFICE for your invention. Someone else would have to prove that they invented before that date.
You will certainly want to publicize it widely, for it to count as prior art, but having an official date from the patent office itself couldn't hurt.
I've used Research Disclosure publications which I'm pretty sure U.S. patent applicants are required to look through in their search for prior art.
Greetings all, First off, this is my first post to /. so please bear with me. Also, IANAL; your mileage may vary!
When I researched some ideas I had at a patent depository library, I was depressingly amazed by how many clever ideas I had, that others had already had (sometimes long before), and this was primarily US prior art. There are lots of clever, industrious folks in other countries, too.
For the past ~30 years, the US patent office has been underfunded, and in consequence, the USPTO often doesn't do a good job of searching for prior art (they are under pressure to process a patent in something like 8 hours, AFAIK.) In consequence, the USPTO often grants patents for ideas that aren't novel at all. So, publication would not guarantee that a troll could not read your publication, and then try to patent it (as a previous commenter suggested.)
I admire your desire to put your ideas out there, and I humbly suggest the following:
Get ahold of the book _Patent it Yourself_ by David Pressman, published by Nolo press:
http://www.nolo.com/product.cfm/objectID/139AEDE9-69A0-4810-A7A87D2AD5422664/310/
Since one of your goals is to prevent others from patenting, then the "publication" that would really count is to convey your ideas to the patent office (in whatever country/ies) you want to prevent patenting. As a previous poster points out, even if your patent application is unsuccessful, it will be in those patent offices' databases, with an established date. I haven't followed the recent patent law changes, but I suspect that (in the US, at least) a provisional patent application might serve your purposes, and would be easier/cheaper.
HTH,
Larry
Filing a Statutory Invention registration costs $920, with no discount for small entity. It's much cheaper to file an application and abandon it. Filing costs $330 or $165 for small entity (you are almost certainly a small entity). The filing fee can be higher if your application has a rather large number of claims or a complicated claim dependency structure. Here is the current fee schedule at the US PTO: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee2009january01_2009jan12.htm
Either way, you must conform to the required format for the filing. Special attention must be given to drawings, so that labels and textual descriptions in drawings match the associated descriptions in the text specification (and all drawings must have descriptions). Drawings may NOT be in colour, or employ shading to distinguish areas - only cross-hatching or other fill patterns are allowed. The application must be accompanied by copies of any references or prior art cited. This is to ensure that your disclosure will be interpreted in the correct way later, even if you abandon it. Before it is printed, there may be requests for formal changes.
I recommend you become familiar with the Manual of Patent Examining Procedure: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/index.htm
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Go here and read up on it. It's free!
If it is a useful invention, and it's not easy to produce, you want to file a patent. Otherwise nobody will build it.
Let's say you invent a better wheel. If you publish it freely, then none of the car manufacturers will use it, because it will probably be too expensive to modify their machinery, and there is too much market risk (i.e. New Coke), and when they have done the hard yards to bring the new product to market their competitors will just copy it.
Patents are there to reward innovation, but they also reward the hard work in developing new markets.
Software is different (because it's trivial to implement), but real products need development.