File Before Sharing With a Prototype Shop?
· 5 min read
Before giving a prototype shop detailed designs, assess whether your invention is ready for a US provisional and use appropriate confidentiality terms. A physical prototype is not always required, but the application must adequately explain how to make and use the invention.
What if important technical questions remain?
Do not replace missing engineering with speculation. Describe what is genuinely developed, identify unresolved issues, and ask whether more work is needed for a sufficient disclosure.
Who owns the shop's contributions?
Clarify deliverables, assignments, confidentiality, and improvement rights in writing. Inventorship follows actual inventive contributions; paying an invoice alone does not settle every ownership question.
What happens after the prototype changes?
New subject matter may need another filing. A provisional lasts 12 months and grants no enforceable patent rights, so review coverage and follow-on deadlines with a patent attorney.
Organize the invention before the handoff with GetQuickPatent: draft your provisional in minutes and review its technical sufficiency before filing.
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