As July approached, so did my anxiety about filing my “official” patent application.
I had filed a provisional application for a patent on July 9, 2013, and you have exactly one year to file the real thing.
This is a good time to re-evaluate whether you really want to go all the way with something.
By the end of April, I pretty much knew that I wanted to complete my filing, and that my design was final. So we went ahead and tidy-upped the application with real illustrations and important words that covered the bases from a multitude of angles, and then we submitted it.
I actually had fun reading and editing my patent application. It made my lazy brush cleaning idea sound so dignified. …
After we filed it, I was told to be prepared for a long wait, followed by a rejection from the government, followed by some legal wrangling and then, most likely, a patent.
The application should be what my lawyer called “published” in early 2015, which is when there is a public notice about my application.
And then, if things go right, I should maybe, possibly have an answer on this filing sometime in, say, 2016-2017?
My patent application covered all aspects of the bottle itself, the angled drying mat and the process of shake-cleaning brushes, among a whole bunch of other things.
We’ll see how it all goes. And thank goodness for good lawyers, because we will aggressively pursue anybody — grrrr — who tries to steal this crazy idea from me! And to all you scammers out there: that includes the angled mat, too!
By Sarah A. Webster
Founder
My Brush Betty