As I mentioned in many of my articles, I am fascinated by the creation of products, whether it is something I design like the stickers I sell on my Amazon store, creation of websites, or creation of other technology products like the VR headset I helped design.
The idea for a patent came to me out of frustration with my parents always barging into my room. Sometimes it is ok for them to come in, for example if they are telling me the dinner is ready or just to chat, but some other times I do not even want to hear a knock on the door. I am sure many kids and teenagers can relate to this. I came up with the idea for an electronic door lock that signifies to my parents that I am available with a green light indicator, I am only interruptible for urgent things with an orange light, or I am heads down on something and not interruptible with a red light. I thought there may be some sensors at my desk, chair, bed, playstation that can connect to the door knob and automatically set my status. The more I thought about this idea the more it made sense. I searched the Internet to see if something like this existed and I couldn't find it. I thought it would be a good idea to build and sell this product on my Amazon store, but first I needed to protect the idea before I put in so much work. That is when I thought that I should patent it.
Good news was that as a minor I can own a patent. Similar to my trademark application, the patent application is submitted through USPTO, the US Patent and Trademark Office. Similar to my trademark application though, a non minor needed to be on the patent application, which I will be able to remove after I turn 18.
Patent application requires much more hands on work and is different than the trademark application. You need to describe your invention, you need to have block diagrams describing the steps, and also what exactly you are claiming as an invention. Normally it can cost something like $20K to apply for a patent through lawyers. Obviously, I do not have that kind of money nor would I spend it on a patent at this stage of my life.
I first searched for any related patents. I tried using the USPTO patent search but found it super difficult to conduct research with. I ended up using Google Patent search instead. I found this book useful as well.
I wrote and submitted my application looking at several example patent applications I found via Google patent search. I also got some good feedback from an adult who I know applied for patents. Patent submission process through USPTO was fairly painless once I had the actual doc. I would normally include my patent application on here but I am not sure what the rules are for that. I was assigned USPTO Application No:18/050,466. I will put updates on my blog as there is progress but I read that usually it takes several years for a patent to be issued.
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