patent questions

Hi
I live in MA and have come up with a new method to test an electronic component. I did a patent search my self at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/ and found five patents but none are utilizing my test method. I would like to patent this idea and perhaps sell the rights for 3 years to one of the big players in the test world. I inquired with lawyers in my locale and got pricing of $1100 for the search and $5-7 k for the patent process itself. I then found a US Govt. book "Patents and How to Get One : A Practical Handbook" U. S. Department of Commerce; Paperback; @ $3.55 each. My questions are:

Will this book provide enough info to file a patent ?

Will I be susceptible to patent infringement by doing this myself and not hiring a lawyer?

How much money would the rights to a new and more reliable technique then those currently used be worth to a GenRad or Teradyne?

Could I then after 3 years sell the rights to a second company?

Is a patent good for 17 years?

Thank You

[email protected]

I suggest having an experienced attorney with a full understanding of the subject matter write the patent.

It may very well happen that a large coorperation will have a fleet of attorneys review your patent for the disimiliar reasons of finding whether you forgot to dot an i which will open a door for a similiar design administered by themselves and/or to evaluate the idea's worth as it pertains to the edge it will offer as it relates to the strength of the patent. Another words, Selling Dell an idea on how to produce pentium 7 chips would be far more valuable if protected with a bullet proof patent. Otherwise Compaq and HP would catch up in a week and though the idea may still be good it will not be as valuable.

If your serious...Then first write a test patent for a similiar product that you understand and that already has a patent. It may take a month but it will be well worth it. If after reading the actual patent, you find yourself saying "Wow, I didn't think of that or that" then you'll know where your at. Remember that simply reading and understanding a patent is far from the same as being able to write a patent.

If your totally in the dark as to the value of the idea then you might think of hiring a consultant.

You can liscense to whomever for whenever. All the information has to be in the liscensing Agreement.


Good Luck
Stephen

I am not a lawyer. I offer this information as I thought it might be helpful to you. It may be correct and by the same token, it may be incorrect, I have based it on my true life experience and it simply makes sense to me.