By this evening ... hmmm , it should be ready . Editing the explanation of Play has been the last design thing to do .
I got out the instruction manual on game invention today . The chapter on marketing is of particular interest . I think all I can do is craft markets an 'etsy' , and speciality stores for books/games/gifts . It's a language game , but also of considerable invention . It should qualify as patentable . Since it is of Language , copyrights should protect it well enough . Well , that's enough work for one day .
You may want to be careful. Even if you can get a patent issued, something like 97% of patented inventions never make money. Since a patent lawyer's fees can easily cost $10,000, it's easy to lose money. Unscrupulous lawyers sometimes charge you a lesser fee, maybe 2 or 3 thousand, but the patent that they give you is worthless. If you have a disability, there may be vocational services available through the state that could help you get free legal assistance or other types of help. If there is a catchy name that you could associate with the game, you could get a trademark on it. I don't think you even need to file documents or pay fees right away to get trademark rights, but you may have to prove the date that your name was in use (and the name has to fit the legal criteria for a trademark). The game may have to be for sale in order to get trademark rights from a particular date. On the other hand, making the game for sale or otherwise publicly known could invalidate patent rights unless you've already filed for some kind of patent protection. There's also the possibility of filing the much less expensive provisional patent application. Then, if the game proves to have market value, you can get the actual patent later. The provisional patent application has to describe how to make and use the invention, and may be something that you can prepare yourself. It may also be worthwhile to do what is called a "prior art" search. You can look at issued patents at the USPTO web site. If there is anything that is too similar, you won't be able to get a patent. Hope your game is a success and lots of fun to play!
ah , the provisional patent . thanks . that may be very useful . it's not so much that i would protect the game , rather the invention that makes it function may have other applications .
