Guides Index
Patent Guides
Practical, USPTO-cited guides to patenting your invention — plus deep dives into the strangest, most valuable, and most historically significant patents on record.
Patent strategy
- How to Patent an Idea — The complete inventor's roadmap: from documenting your idea to filing a provisional application, conducting a prior-art …
- How to Patent an App Idea — Why most app ideas aren't directly patentable, what *is* patentable (the technical architecture, novel algorithms, UX fl…
- Cost to Patent an Idea — Provisional ($65 micro / $130 small / $325 large) through full utility issue ($1,200+). Plus attorney costs by invention…
- Provisional vs Utility Patent — The 12-month priority window, why startups file provisional first, when a non-provisional makes sense from day one, and …
Patent trivia & history
- Weirdest Patents — Curated catalog of legally-granted absurdities: the dad saddle, the motorized ice cream cone, the chocolate teapot. Each…
- Famously Rejected Patents — Studying rejections teaches more than studying grants. Common reasons: prior art, indefiniteness, abstract-idea doctrine…
- Most Valuable Patents — Bell US 174,465. Edison's lightbulb US 223,898. Google's PageRank US 6,285,999. Each entry shows the patent claim langua…
- Celebrity Patents — Hedy Lamarr (frequency hopping, US 2,292,387). Marlon Brando (drumhead tensioning device). Michael Jackson (anti-gravity…
- History of Patent Law — Patent Act of 1790. Patent Office established 1836. Plant Patent Act 1930. America Invents Act 2011 — first-to-file repl…
- Famous Patented Products — Velcro US 2,717,437. Post-it US 5,194,299. Spanx US D429,386. Each entry shows the patent number, filing date, and the c…
- Black Inventors and Their Patents — Lewis Latimer (carbon filament US 252,386). Garrett Morgan (traffic signal US 1,475,024). Sarah Boone (ironing board US …
- Pet Product Patents — Kong toy US 4,802,444. Litter Robot US 6,082,302. Furminator US 7,077,076. Each entry shows the live USPTO record so you…
- Kitchen Gadget Patents — Tupperware US 2,487,400. Pyrex US 1,304,623. K-Cup US 5,325,765. Each entry shows the live USPTO record and the acquisit…