Patent designs are frequently technical. As a result, prepping them can be a daunting undertaking. If you're not a skilled draughtsman, engineer, or brilliant artist, can you complete the designs yourself? In most cases, the conclusion is "absolutely yes." There are various advantages to doing so, including significantly lower cost and greater control over the timetable and output. But, specifically, what do you need to accomplish? So, here in this blog, we are going to explain simple remedies, shortcuts, tips, and tricks - roughly, everything you should know before jumping into the world of Patent Designs.

Tip#1: Professionalism Comes Handy!

Many innovators hire a professional draftsperson to prepare their patent drawings. Such businesses can easily be found on the internet.

The benefits of hiring a professional are self-evident. Firstly, these people and companies are usually aware of what must be shown in illustrations and how to visually explain inventions in a way that the USPTO would approve. Second, they could save you effort and time if you don't want to do the job yourself.
However, there are drawbacks. Professional drafters, for example, might be quite costly.
Typically, patent drawings cost $100 to $200 per sheet. You can easily pay a lot of money per patent application because most patent applications comprise two or more sheets of drawings. However, depending on the type and sophistication of your idea, prices will vary dramatically.
Another negative is that you might lose all control over the process of drafting, which may necessitate paying extra money to go through numerous rounds of editing.

Tip#2: Use Drawing Software

Modern CAD applications are near-miracles for those who are artistically and photographically impaired. Even if you're a certified drafting dunce, they'll allow you to make accurate drawings. And you can simply rectify errors with a word processor, just as you do with typos.
CAD gear is not cheap. Several hundred dollars can be spent on this technology. An HD scanner and video recorder are optional but useful devices. Only if you plan on filing several patent applications over a significant time, rather than just one or two, are these purchases likely to be beneficial.
You can print a photograph and transfer the scanned picture into a CAD program if you have a scanner. On the other side, if you have a digital camera, you can take a picture of the object and transmit it to your computer via a cable. Tracing the image after it's on your computer is simple (and because you're using a mouse instead of a pen, you don't even need a steady hand).
You can also utilize a CAD program to create your design. You'll need a program that allows you to create a three-dimensional depiction of your idea by combining and changing geometric building elements for this. The model can then be tweaked to provide various insights and perceptions.

Tip#3: Don’t Forget to Use a Camera!

Instead of drawing your innovation, you could take a photograph of it to save effort and time. Photographs, on the other hand, are not a replacement for patent drawings. However, images are rarely utilized and will only be permitted in cases where the innovation cannot be shown with an ink drawing or when the invention can be seen more precisely in a photograph. Photos of gels, cell cultures, animals, plants, or crystalline formations are examples.

Tip#4: Black & White or Colored – It’s Your Choice!

Creating patent illustrations with a pencil and ruler, usually in black and white, is the traditional way. Although the fundamental instruments are cheap, drawing is tough due to the requirement of using Indian ink. Except for very small marks, there is little space for error, and misplaced ink lines are difficult to fix.
You'll need to acquire fundamental drawing methods, particularly perspective views that display all of your invention's aspects. Tracing images onto paper is a useful approach for some innovations.
Color illustrations (and color photographs) might well be presented to the USPTO with an application if they are required to effectively illustrate your invention. (Color filings are possible since patent applications are submitted electronically to the USPTO.)
To go there, you must first:
1. Three sets of color illustrations should be filed with the USPTO.
2. Prepare a petition stating why color is required, deposit a petition fee, and declare in your patent filing that color drawings are included.

Quick Turn-Over Tips:

• Determine the important aspects of your invention (the ones that make it operate), as these will be the ones you'll be looking for.
• Think about all of the possible areas to hunt for prior art. Patents are obvious, but where else can you look? Non-patent material, such as research papers, textbooks, corporate publications and advertisements, youtube, Google photos, and so on, may contain inventions.
• When searching for patents, search globally rather than limiting your search to specific areas or countries, as this may result in you missing out on the best patents (e.g. the best patent may be a Korean patent).
• When looking for patents, start with the essentials of "bang-on" terms and only add more if you're getting too many results. You can also search the title and/or abstracts to find the best invention. Then experiment with different phrases.
• From the patent results in the previous one, determine the optimum patent classes. Try combining these patent types with and without terms in the title/abstract once you get them. Only use keywords that aren't in the class description/s when combining classes with keywords.
• After you've completed description patent searches, attempt full-text patent searches with and without patent classes.
• Examining the inventors on them to check if they have filed any additional patents near to them can lead to improved patent findings
• By checking forward and backward citations, good patent results can lead to improved patent results.
• When browsing the internet for information outside of patents and journal articles, be cautious. Browsing on Google, for instance, can offer up your idea to opponents if you check their website from the search results. It's best to keep your keyword list to a minimum.
Have any further queries? Drop an email to info@thepatentdrawing.com, our patent expert will reach out to you soon

Related Links :

1.The Importance of Patent Drawings for Low-Tech Products
2. What patent should we apply A Design or Utility Patent? And how is Design Patent different from Utility Patent?
3. What can Patent Attorneys do in COVID-19 Pandemic disruption on the patent filing?