Efficiently Protecting Your Idea - for $199.* Taking the First Step in Patent Protection Are you concerned that your ideas cannot easily be expressed to others without fear that they may be stolen?  If you are, we would encourage you to obtain a Provisional Patent Application to ensure that you legally protect your idea, locking in an early filing date and giving you confidence that you can now share your idea with other i4e members.  Protecting the Core Idea In contrast to a utility patent application, the requirements for a Provisional Patent Application are somewhat relaxed.  Although we recommend you include as much detail in the Provisional Patent Application as possible, you have the ability to expand upon your research and refine your idea while working with others prior to finalizing and submitting your innovation using our IdeaServiceTM. ‘High Speed, Low Drag’… The Provisional Patent Protection service is provided to enable you the opportunity to establish your rights in your idea. We provide you with an easy to follow process and fields to fully describe your invention and assist in filing a provisional patent application.  As a result, you can more freely expose the idea to others, spend time researching the market and the invention’s technical viability and performing the patent research needed to understand its novelty.  The Provisional Patent Protection service protects you, but you will need to do more work to finalize your idea and materials prior to submitting. Short Comings Innovation’s fuzzy front end is tough to predict.  As a result, investing any money, even $199, may seem premature, particularly when a Provisional Patent Application is not required to access or utilize i4e's platform.  In appropriate situations a Provisional Patent Application can be advantageous, permitting you to fully explore the boundaries of your idea at the time of the filing of the Provisional Patent Application. Is This the Right Service for You? Answer the Following Questions: Do you need further technical assistance from the i4e network? Do you want priority over others who may independently discover this concept? Worried about telling people about your idea? If you’ve answered a solid ‘yes’ to one or more of the above, then you should use the Provisional Patent Application service. If not, then you're ready to submit your idea for i4e’s IdeaService or begin collaborating on i4e. * i4e (or its affiliates) is not a law firm and it does not provide legal services. The price quoted above is for small entities only.  The filing of a patent application has certain ramifications and various restrictions and obligations may apply;  learn more in our User Agreement.