Looking for a second opinion from a Patent Attorney.

A quick summary of where I'm at.

Contacted "Leavitt and Eldredge" out of Fort Worth, paid them $750 to do a patent search, received positive results, but now the bill is $4,250.00 to complete a patent application.

I don't have the time or experience right now to file an application myself, so hiring a patent attorney is my plan right now.

The patent attorney I spoke with was nice enough but when I kept hearing "we make our money on litigation" and then feeling some pressure to proceed with the $4,250.00...idk, just feels weird.

I'm just wanting to talk to someone I can trust if anyone has a recommendation or willing to help.

Thanks!

Shannon Warren is your guy.

https://www.shannonwarren.com/

TXTransplant - thank you for the feedback.

The product I'm trying to patent is actually semi already being made and sold on pinterest, but nobody is selling it mainstream yet and there were no existing patents that we found....also, my version of the product is better than what's already out there. My plan was to gain a patent pending status and then start marketing/selling this product. I was unaware that my patent wouldnt be protected if I try to start selling it first. I assume I'm still good even though others are trying to make and sell a similar product on the side, but they'll have to stop if I get a patent granted?

Are you selling your version on Pinterest or are others selling something similar? As long as you haven't offered your invention up for sale, your patent eligibility status is intact. Now, that doesn't mean you'll get a patent. Just because no one else has a patent, doesn't mean your invention hasn't been disclosed. And there is an obligation to disclose to the PTO any "prior art" that is relevant to your invention. Prior art includes any public disclosure.

As far as others being able to continue to make and sell the invention, that all depends on how your claims are worded. Infringement comes down to what's described in the claims. If someone else is making/selling/practicing a version that is somehow different from the version described in your claims, then they might still be able to practice.

Mason Gross, have worked directly with him before and he was very easy to work with.

http://www.masonagross-iplaw.com/index.html

TXTransplant - Thank you. I'm not selling anything on Pinterest. I just so happened to see other people making and selling my product after doing some research online. So there is definitely public disclosure with my product. I was told the inventor of a product is whoever files the patent first? Lets say my idea is "patentable", but that other people have been making a very similar product for a couple of years and selling their own custom versions of it online (mostly through Pinterest)....am I just spinning my wheels then? The product/idea isn't a household item yet and you wouldn't know anything about it unless you saw someone with it or googled it specifically. I think I could literally sell thousands and thousands of it....but was advised to file a patent on it first, so that's where I'm at. If dont think I'd try selling this product without a patent as there would be no way to protect our product once we start marketing it.

If no one else has a patent, and you are willing to see this through, then go for it. Just understand that there is an ethical obligation to disclose those similar products to the USPTO when you file.

Hopefully you have also told your attorney/agent about them and explained how your version is different. Your agent/attorney should then draft claims to distinguish your invention from the others. Then it's up to the patent examiner to determine if your invention is different enough to allow the claims.

A good attorney/agent should talk you through all of this once you agree to move forward. An experienced one should be able to anticipate how an examiner might compare your invention to similar ones and prepare an application that takes that into account and gives you room to amend the claims.

The examiner is going to evaluate your invention from two perspectives. The first is anticipation - meaning has the exact invention been disclosed before (anywhere, not just in a patent).

If the answer is no, then the examiner moves on to obviousness - meaning would it be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrive at the invention based on previous disclosures.

The latter is where you need a good attorney/agent who really understands your invention, especially compared to what's already been disclosed.

The on sale concern is called the "on-sale bar" if you want to google it. Basically, you have a year after the first public disclosure or sale to get a patent. But the US is now a first to file system, so we usually recommend people to file first.

I agree that $4250 is reasonable for a one-off patent, particularly if it includes the filing fees.