I get asked this question all the time, “Can I patent it myself?” Technically, yes, you can. However, my answer is always No. No! and Absolutely NO!! Doing your own patent work is like doing your own brain surgery. By the time you realize you’ve made a mistake, it’s too late to fix it. Let me explain.  I do recommend that you read about the patent process.  The book “Patent It Yourself” is a good one.  You don’t want to pay the Intellectual Property (IP) attorney to educate you.  That you can do yourself.  However, that said, there is a reason why these professionals go to school for years and take several exams.  Writing a good patent is a unique and specialized skill set.

I had a gentleman call me last week and ask about filing his own provisional patent application and then his own utility patent application.  If you’re going to bet your financial future on an invention, why wouldn’t you get the very best help and follow the steps that will give you the best opportunity for success?  Why would you risk everything on doing something that you are not trained for or had any experience doing. Would you really do your own appendectomy?

Honestly, unless you have the money to pay for a professional to file that patent application for you, you shouldn’t be going down this path at all.  Inventing is expensive and hard work.  Don’t cheat yourself by cutting corners on the important steps.  There are other ways to “bootstrap” that won’t put you at risk.