Tips for Creating Quality Patent Drawings

You've been inspired by many famous inventors - Thomas Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, and even the Segway inventor, Dean Kamen - and you've finally crafted an idea that you're positive will be patent-worthy. You'll need to put together a significant amount of paperwork to convince authorities that your creation should be issued a patent. One of the most important aspects of your paperwork is the drawing of your object. You'll need to create a visual representation of your item and show how it works. This is imperative so that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) knows exactly why your creation is special.

Drawings must be detailed, accurate and easy to interpret. You'll have to be sure not to leave out any functionality or characteristic. These responsibilities can be very intimidating, so you may want to consider hiring a draftsperson to do the drawing. Doing so can guarantee that the drawings will be of quality, but there are some drawbacks. First of all, draftspersons can charge $100 and up for every drawing they put together. They can also miss out details, or may not be able to properly show what your invention can do. In addition, because you're working with someone else, you have to be sensitive to their schedule and ability to follow deadlines. Finally, if you're an aspiring inventor who sees a future creating more inventions, you may want to be able to take on the project of drawing yourself, so it'll be easier the next time around.

There are many options available for the inventor that wants to construct his or her own drawings. First of all, it's very important that you are familiar with the documentation rules that the USPTO requires you follow. You can familiarize yourself with these rules by visiting the rules database on the USPTO website, or consulting with your patent lawyer.

Once you've familiarized yourself with patent drawing rules, you'll need to consider how you're going to construct the drawings. The best way, for many, is to use old fashioned pen and paper. If you do it this way, you have the option to create drafts of each drawing in pencil to make sure you don't have too many errors. Keep in mind that when you construct these drawings, the final draft must be in India ink, and should be relatively clear. Shadowing, lighting and small details will be important to display in the drawing, so you may want to do some reading up about proper black and white art representation before you complete the drawing. In addition, color can further describe what your invention can do. Nevertheless, the addition of color is a bit more complicated, as you need to produce three copies of the color representation, explain why color is needed, and pay a nominal fee. Still, doing this may be useful if you plan to use the drawings in brochures for your invention. If you really don't trust yourself to draw freehand, you can take photographs of your invention and trace them onto paper initially. Then you'll have a black and white replica of what your invention looks like.

Those that really don't want to use their hands to draw out what they created can purchase Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) programs. There are many on the market and they are very easy to use. They're also geared toward strict drawing rules, so you can feel safer that you won't make a regulatory error. Still, like all things that make life easier, the programs are expensive. You may find that hiring a draftsperson can cost just as much.

No matter what, by using one of these methods, you can feel a bit more confident that your patent application will impress those it needs to. With a little bit of practice or monetary investment, you can try your hand at preparing your patent drawings yourself and be ready to jumpstart your inventing career!