Book Review: How to Make Patent Drawings

 

This is a companion to the great book Patent It Yourself. I have the 7th edition, which was published in 2015. This edition put the focus on drafting the drawings on paper, which is hardly ever done now, and had a focus on drawings for actual mechanical devices. The one thing it was lacking was a good discussion of how to do drawings for computer-related inventions (which a lot of times are block diagrams and/or flowcharts) in which a lot of times you are patenting a method or an algorithm and may or may not also be patenting a physical system or device. The book does, however, give a good breakdown of the various Patent Office rules regarding drawings, which can be a pain to deal with. Given that any patent application that requires drawings (which is almost all of them) is not considered complete until the drawings are turned in, they must be done correctly.

There is a decent discussion (although it hopefully has been updated in the new edition) on using computer programs to create the drawings. There is a basic discussion for using CAD programs and the authors do provide the names of some programs to use. Hopefully, an updated edition will have a chapter about creating drawings using Visio (which is a program that many professionals use) and what software is better for different types of drawings than others. For example, some software programs are better for mechanical drawings and some programs are better for block diagrams. 

The more you can do the drawings yourself, the more money you will save. Drawings tend to take a lot of time even for patent attorneys, and there are some drawings that even attorneys who like to do their own drawings have to send out to professional drafters. As I said in my review for Patent it Yourself, I would not begrudge anyone who wants to save money when trying to obtain a patent. It is a very long and expensive process even if you do it yourself. Likewise, I would not criticize anyone who makes the decision after reading Patent it Yourself that he or she does not want anything to do with tackling the patent process on their own. If you are going to try it yourself, I definitely think reading through this and the book Patent it Yourself is a good idea. Going through that material will, at the very least, give you an idea of what to expect and allow you to make an informed decision. And, if you do decide to hire a professional, the more you know about the process and can provide helpful input, the easier (and less expensive) the process is likely to be. And, the better drawings you can provide the professionals up front, the easier and less expensive the process tends to be.

Book Review: Patent Ease: How to Write Your Own Patent Application

 

This book is mostly useless. It does have a couple of good tips (like how to differentiate your invention from what already exists), but it is not anywhere near detailed enough to sit down and write your own quality patent. While the author does give some wording tips for the specifications and roughly describes how to do things like diagram the invention, the author only scratches the surface. And some of the advice in the book (like the "post office patent" idea which the author admittedly says is a long shot that the courts may not accept (they will not)) is not even worth considering. There is no in-depth discussion about how to write claims. The claims are the most important part of the patent and something patent bar study prep courses spend multiple sessions (2-3 hours) discussing. Nor does he go into enough detail about what can and cannot be patented, or how to do a sufficient prior-art search. Prior art searches are not something that you have to do before writing a patent, but it is a good idea to know what it is and how to do one so you can decide whether you want to look for prior art before you spend the time to write your own patent. 

It seems that this was originally an ebook which was then printed in hardcopy because he references a lot of blank forms (some of which are reprinted in the book) and his sample patent (parts of which are reprinted), but there is no information about how those purchasing the book can get access to them. On a more picky point, the font that they used when printing the book is horrible. The type is so small, that if you have poor eyesight at all, it will be difficult to read.

While I do think the book is mostly useless, I would not call it completely useless. The main issue with the book is that it is not nearly as detailed as what you would need to successfully write your own patent application. Certainly, patent agents and attorneys are very expensive and I would not begrudge anyone who does not want to spend the kind of money that it would take to have a professional write the application. That said, the process of applying for a patent is very detailed and mistakes (even minor ones) can lead to the application getting rejected outright or, even if the patent is granted, still make it very difficult, if not impossible, to enforce your rights. There is a lot that goes into the process and it has to be done right. 

If this book is paired with the much more detailed and substantive DIY book, Patent it Yourself, some of the information in this book, when used in conjunction with Patent it Yourself can be helpful. But, this book alone is not going to give you everything you need to know to write a quality patent (or anywhere near it). Nor does it give you enough information to make an informed decision about whether you actually want to attempt to write a patent application on your own or whether you want to seek out professional help, whether through a law firm or one of the pro-bono services inventors can use. 

Book Review: Patent Searching Made Easy

 

It is a good book for the very basic introduction to searching for prior art. It is focused on the various systems available through the PTO to search old patents by keyword or classification number(s), and goes step-by-step through the process for doing that. It makes passing mention but does not go into any great detail, on the other available services, both free and paid, to search patents (such as Google Patents). Nor, does it go into detail on other non-legal sources like trade or industry sources for finding prior art. Although most prior art comes from previously issued or applied patents, it is not limited to prior patents or patent applications.

The book is an easy read and you can get through it fairly quickly. It is a good companion to the book Patent It Yourself, which walks through the entire patent process from the time you invent something, to actually getting a patent. While this does not tell you everything you need to know about patent searching, it is a good primer for those who want to keep costs down and not have a patent attorney or agent do everything for them (for those who are brave enough to tackle trying to tackle a DIY patent). It can also be helpful for a novice patent attorney looking to get a leg up on learning how to do a part of the job (if you search art before writing claims and/or do a lot of freedom to operate work) and your firm does not farm out the work to a prior art search firm. I definitely recommend it.

Book Review: Patent It Yourself

 

The process to get a patent in the US is very long and very expensive if you use a patent attorney or a patent agent. And, the process of writing a patent is complicated and it really takes years of practice to get comfortable with it and good at it. But, for anyone who does want to try writing their own patent, this is probably the best guide out there. At least the best I have come across. I have seen others that are, frankly, not worth the paper they are written on, but this is head and shoulders in quality above those.

This is a comprehensive guide that explains the patenting process, breaks down the different parts of a patent, describes the various ways to write patent claims (which is the most important part of the patent), and actually has the text of a sample patent so you can see how one should be laid out. And, it explains some of the basics of patent law, which you will need to understand during the prosecution of the patent (the back-and-forth with the patent and trademark office that occurs after the patent is filed) that will be helpful after the patent is written. Ultimately, it goes through all of the basics that you will need to know when it comes to how to write the patent. It has some discussion about patent drawings, but that is not comprehensive. Nolo has a patent drawings guide that can be used as a supplement to this guide that will give you details about how to deal with patent drawings.

I used this guide as I was finishing my engineering degree to learn the basics of patent law before I took the more comprehensive patent bar prep course. This will not get you the skill equivalent to a patent agent or attorney with years of experience, but it will give you the understanding you need to either try to write your own patent or figure out that you want no part in trying to do it yourself. I would not blame anyone for making either decision, but even if you do decide you do not want to write one yourself, this will help you when working with a patent attorney or a patent agent because the better you understand the process, the better communication you will have and ultimately, the more money it will save you.

Product Review: Velleman Sa Electronic Decision Maker Kit

 

During my introduction to electrical engineering class, we had to do a couple of small soldering projects. This is a small kit that requires a push-button, some capacitors, resistors, etc to be mounted/soldered to a very small circuit board. The instructions are okay, but not the most well-written instructions. But, they are not impossible to figure out. Basically, you push the button, and either a green LED (representing "yes") or a red LED (representing "no") will light up, randomly. The board is so small that it can be difficult to work with to get the components mounted, and you will need to be careful to keep your fingers out of the way when you are soldering. It is a fun project that can be put together fairly quickly.