Entrepreneur Seeking Patent & Funding Advice

My 2 cents would be talk to the small business administration. They have some real smart cookies there. Hope this helps!
S.

Its better to ask your patent attorney. A patent attorney has some major role to play in anyone who is looking to patent his idea or invention. He helps and supports his client to secure a patent for a particular kind of invention, discovery or any instrument. http://www.patentsusa.com

You can get free business counseling from SCORE in your state.
(...retired executives...)

Good for you for following your dream!

I have no real advice but a caution and an opinion.
I completely agree with being careful about sharing. I personally have a friend, who had a food idea stolen from him. The last time we talked about it, he was still in the middle of the litigation process (taking years) trying to prove that it was HIS idea, had asked someone for capital and idea was stolen by a major food manufacturer.
And my opinion. Without knowing what your invention is, but you said it's geared to the health field, I personally think having a company like Pepsi which really destroys health, fund a product/venture geared to health. I know the parent company, Pepsico, has items besides soda that is a little healthier but most people are not aware of that. But again, that is my personal opinion.
I do wish you the best of luck!

Seek out the advice of a Patent Attorney - he will help you.

I have heard of some things that may help protect...
1.Keep a journal - daily - date & time - put something in it that pertains to your idea (e.g. still waiting for more info)
2. Write your idea down - put in envelope and mail to yourself....
When it comes back to you - DO NOT OPEN IT. The postmark & date
will maybe help to protect you.

Hi again,

You can also take a look at kickstarter.com for funding ideas

L.

I was going to suggest the mail thing too. It's called the 'poor mans copyright'. Make a copy of your LLC paperwork. Seal it in an envelope, mark it with an identifier and mail it to yourself. When you get it back, DO NOT OPEN IT, at least until after you have your copyright.

I also agree with keeping a journal of all stages, dates, designs, etc. I work for a company that publishes Intellectual Property Cases. In one case a farmer run business took on a corporate business for copyright infringement. The farmer had dates, drawings, packaging ideas, etc. The coporate giant did not have all of those things, so they could not prove that their design team had thought of the design idea prior to the farmer. The farmer won the case.

Good luck on your idea.
M.

Just FYI--a copyright is not the same as a patent and doesn't require the same kind of paperwork and filing to secure. Check out the USPTO website for some tips on getting started. www.uspto.gov. But I agree that you will probably need a patent attorney. Good luck!

I really don't think Mamapedia is the best place for this question. Sounds like you really ought to invest in professional legal counsel to protect your business venture. I would get a patent lawyer and a good business accountant before you go much further. Good luck!

I've heard a lot of advertising for legalzoom.com, where you can file the paperwork for patents and other legal papers. From what I know, it's a secure and reputable place. I know absolutely zero about patents and LLC paperwork and all of that, but it may be worth looking into. Good luck, and I hope you are able to move forward with it!