Expert: George H. Morgan, P.E., Patent Agent - 2/1/2009

Question
In order for a new device to be patented,must the device work?

Answer
Devices that cannot be made to work, such as "perpetual motion macines" cannot be patented. The patent office will not issue a patent on such a device.

However, you do not have to make a model to prove your proposed invention works.

That said, in your disclosure, (i.e. patent application specification) you must have sufficient information to enable someone with ordinary skill in the art to build it and make it work without excessive experimentation.

Those are some basic guidelines to help you decide if you have enough of an invention to secure a patent.

A patent is an exchange with the government. In return for a full disclosure, upon award of a patent,  you get a 20 years from the filing date exclusive rights to make and sell  your product. i.e. a head start on your competition.

To apply for a patent for an unworkable device, to me, implies fraud. i.e. someone is trying to sell something that can't be made to work.

So, beware of products that sound to good to be true, marked "patent pending" or "patented" where there is no patent number listed where one can check it out.

Also, beware of the firms that run ads here on "Allexperts" as some notorious ones advertise, such a Davidson. Another to be wary of, is "Absolutely New" which is the former "New Idea" out in San Francisco, which was bought out by a venture capitalist and renamed. The former president of "New Idea" is now president of "Absolutely New". There may be a tie in with IP&R, in the same area, which is also a doubtful firm. There is quite an endorsement of "Absolutely New" by United Inventors, i.e. UIA, which used to be highly regarded. They lost credibility with that endorsement. There is a link to the Ron Riley web site which exposes many of these sharks on my inventors resources page on my web site at http://www.evansville.net/biz/patagent

Hope that helps.

Best wishes,

George H. Morgan
Professional Engineer (since 1958)
Patent Agent, Reg. #26,959 (Since 1973)