Patent It Yourself: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Filing at the U.S. Patent Office

Have a world-class idea? Ready to protect your invention from copycats? Then turn to the best resource available -- Patent It Yourself.

Attorney David Pressman takes you through the entire patent process, providing scrupulously updated information and clear instructions to help you:

. determine if you can patent your invention
. understand patent law
. evaluate the commercial potential of your idea
. perform your own patent search
. file a provisional patent application
. prepare a formal patent application
. respond to patent examiners
. amend an application
. enforce and maintain your patent
. market and license your invention

Thoroughly updated to reflect the latest changes in intellectual property law, this edition provides the latest U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rules and forms. It includes up-to-date discussions of the new "first to file" rule, which promises to revolutionize patent law.

Whether you're new at the inventing game or a grizzled veteran, Patent It Yourself will save you grief, time and money.

Originally from Philadelphia, San Francisco Patent Attorney David Pressman is a graduate of Penn State University (BSEE) and George Washington University Law School (JD) where he was on the Law Review. He has over 40 years of experience in the patent profession -- as a patent examiner for the U.S. Patent Office, a patent attorney in corporate and private practice, a university instructor, a columnist, and as author of the Patent and Trademark entries to the World Book Encyclopedia. He is an expert on patent filing, prosecution, and licensing and his books have charted the path for over 250,000 inventors. Patent It Yourself is the most highly recommended guide to patenting an invention. David is also co-author of The Inventor's Notebook (with Fred Grissom), How to Make Patent Drawings Yourself (with Jack Lo), Patent Pending In 24 Hours (with Rich Stim), and Patents For Beginners (with Rich Stim).