Ever due to the fact law school I have been asked about the "Poor Man's Patent". And ever since then the answer is the identical now as it was then: there is no such factor. According to the "Poor Man's Patent", the inventor basically writes down his invention on paper and sends it to himself in the mail. Supposedly, this sealed envelope with the postmarked date will signify the date of invention and will somehow accord monopoly rights in the invention. The concept of a "Poor Man's Patent" is an enduring myth with the staying energy of urban legends such as Elvis sightings and UFOs. These urban legends may sound "truthy" but are specious.
The only way to defend the novelty of an invention such as novel devices, company approaches, and one of a kind styles via patent law is to file a patent application. Now, it is accurate that establishing a date of reduction to practice is necessary in some situations, a "Poor Man's Patent" is probably not the way to go. A improved method of establishing a date of invention is a lab notebook. In this lab notebook, the inventor would record his experiments, date and sign it in every single entry. Having said that, you need to note that a lab notebook would NOT give you patent rights either. It would basically establish a date of conception or reduction to practice for the invention which may perhaps be crucial in subsequent patent prosecution or patent litigation.
Now, if someone is searching for the cheapest way to protect intellectual property, Copyright law could be applicable in limited circumstances. 1 example could possibly be source code or object code in software program. Because software code is protectable below each patent law and copyright law, a Copyright registration could possibly accord some intellectual property protection. But, you should note that the $45 registration fee would not protect against reverse-engineering and other various fair uses which could not totally protect your invention. Note that Copyright law will not defend inventions such as devices, novel approaches, etc. Copyright law only protects the expression of tips, and not the underlying suggestions themselves.
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