It involves documenting and mailing yourself a description or drawing of your invention in a sealed envelope, to use the postmarked date as the date of invention. Unfortunately, a poor man's patent has limitations because it is not legally recognized and will not hold up in court should a dispute arise.
If you ever transported groceries from the store, or packed a lunch for work or school, chances are you're familiar with Margaret Knight's invention—the flat-bottomed paper bag. This was the most famous of several inventions that Knight patented at the end of the 19th century.
To get a Patent, you need to file a patent application under the USPTO Patents Act. The USPTO looks after patent filing services in California like any other part of the country. USPTO has a Silicon Valley Regional Office. It is the USPTO West Coast regional office.
The five primary requirements for patentability are: (1) patentable subject matter; (2) utility; (3) novelty; (4) non-obviousness; and (5) enablement. Like trademarks, patents are territorial, meaning they are enforceable in a specific geographic area.
To get a Patent, you need to file a patent application under the USPTO Patents Act. The USPTO looks after patent filing services in California like any other part of the country. USPTO has a Silicon Valley Regional Office. It is the USPTO West Coast regional office.
It is possible to formally register packaging with the USPTO although it is not very common. Most will rely on their common law trade dress rights to enforce against others using the same or confusingly similar product packaging on their products.
You absolutely can get a patent on a bag. There's even an entire classification in the IPC (International Patent Classification) just for backpacks (IPC A45F).
Format of a Patent Application The Specification. The Title. The Description. The Claims. The Drawings. The Abstract. Sample Specifications. Minimum Requirements for a Filing Date.
You absolutely can patent a bag design, as well as components like hooks, fasteners, buckles, etc. You can also patent sub assemblies of the overall bag design, such as a strap or belt. , you can patent near anything.
A single product may be granted both a design patent and a utility patent. One of the primary distinctions between the two patents is their duration. A design patent may last 14 or 15 years, depending on when it is filed. A utility patent is valid for 20 years and requires regular maintenance costs.