Can Your Idea Be Patented

It's very likely that you've dreamt vividly about interesting concoctions, and might have had a fleeting desire to take the idea into reality. It's also very likely that during one of your couch potato moments, you came across a commercial for a product that you wish you had thought of. And, it's also likely that you have thought about how you could create something to make your life or your family's life easier, and then had seen someone else capitalize on the idea afterward. If all three of these phenomena have come true, then you might benefit from thinking about trying your hand at invention.

Great inventors are both perceptive - they recognize when and where an improvement could be used - and resourceful. One of the world's most famous inventors, Dean Kamen, watched people close to him go to the hospital regularly to have drugs delivered over a period of hours. This led him to develop the drug delivery pump, which is widely used today. Although not every idea is going to be well-received - many inventors go through a number of inventions before they have a successful one - just the practice of inventing something can increase your skills with originality.

Nevertheless, an aspiring inventor must be realistic about what he or she can patent. If the inventor is looking to reinvent the wheel, he or she will most likely be disappointed by failure. Things like time travel, teleportation, and other science-fiction advents aren't things that can be patented. If the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has not put regulations in place for a particular invention, you won't be able to get the idea patented. Since science has not come far enough to allow for things like teleportation machines, it's safe to say that the USPTO has not set up regulations for them. In addition, although genetic engineering has brought about a whole new world of potential creatures, the USPTO has no regulations set up for patenting clones, and will not accept them.

This leaves a veritable cornucopia of things you can patent. The amateur or professional physicist or engineer may create something that could be considered a machine or a product that can be manufactured. An example of a successful machine that has been patented is the surge protector: it takes a technology that's already in use, and compounds on it. Keep in mind that if a new paradigm in power is invented, this cannot be patented.

The chemists who play it safe but can create new substances used in cleaning, lubricating or just about anything else can get a patent. One very recognizable name in substances is Oxyclean, which is heavily advertised on television. Even the popular drink Gatorade was patented in 1967.

Finally, a particular process or method can be patented. This could be a chemical method to treat wood so that it can be used for a particular operation, or it could be a process that cleanly prints on unorthodox surfaces.

In addition, if you invent the next big product and want to 'reinvent' it so it's got more appeal, the enhancement can be patented. One example of this is the recent generation of the sweetener Splenda, which was recently released with added fiber.

In any case, the opportunities the aspiring inventor has to patent something are as endless as the drive for the inventor to create.