Sometimes, we all fantasized about the idea of creating something great to solve a personal or collective problem, but how do I know if my “invention” is really something new or if I am just replicating something already invented?

Fortunately, there is a whole protocol to know it, but first it is important to ask yourself some basic questions to find out which direction is taking the development of your idea:

• Is this solution really a novelty? (because if you are developing a metallic stick to hold your cell phone while you are taking a selfie a certain distance from you … well, we have some bad news for you).

• The “invention” we are working on did actually required our commitment to research, thinking and demonstrating that it will contribute to solve a problem?

• And, if the answer is affirmative to both previous questions, it must also be affirmative for the next one: has it any practical use in the daily activities of the people or companies?

In that case, we certainly have an idea that could become an invention that could be patented and commercially exploited soon.

To assure that our invention is kept as a novelty until we become really owners of the same we must:

• Be as discrete as possible regarding our idea, without disclosing it, so as to avoid that someone else develops our idea before we do.

• Be sure there is no a similar invention anywhere in the world. The first approach is making a search in the internet via Google, and despite we know this is not enough, we will get an idea if our work is going in the right direction.

• Ask for advice to conduct a more professional search. Here, in Clarke, Modet & Co. we deal with it conducting an specialized searching in the databases of all the patent and trademark offices over the world which allow us to determine if your idea is in fact novel, if it already exists, if the invention complies with the requirements to be patented or if it is possible to apply for more than one patent for said invention. This can take from one day to several weeks.

If the search results are successful, then what we once thought could be a novel idea now it is a global, attainable and, therefore, patentable idea … Congratulations, your invention is really an invention! But this is just the beginning, now you must file the patent to become the owner of this important asset for your future and be able to commercialize it exclusively and obtain profits from that original idea you were working on. And about this we will talk at the next opportunity.