[dahblah]

i am in the process of starting an export company. i have several good ideas that i have pitched to other exporters that have a lot of experience. they agree that my ideas are good, but when i develop the idea, i need to patent it. is this possible? to patent a trade idea? my " contacts" say that the best way to do this would be to develop a business plan and then patent it. then they said this would be the best way of getting capital from investors

[pandacrystal]

You can patent the business process, how your business works.

[Just1More]

I would get hold of a lawyer, and then see what they suggest.

[2gould]

Business method patents are generally thought to be pretty weak and in a lot of cases worthless. To easy to get around and obtaining them is quite expensive. However, the best advice I can give is to go and see a patent lawyer.

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From the USPTO:

"Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof."

"A patent cannot be obtained upon a mere idea or suggestion. The patent is granted upon the new machine, manufacture, etc., as has been said, and not upon the idea or suggestion of the new machine. A complete description of the actual machine or other subject matter for which a patent is sought is required."

"In order for an invention to be patentable it must be new as defined in the patent law, which provides that an invention cannot be patented if: “(a) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for patent,” or “(b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country more than one year prior to the application for patent in the United States . . .”

If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere in the world, or if it was known or used by others in this country before the date that the applicant made his/her invention, a patent cannot be obtained. If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere, or has been in public use or on sale in this country more than one year before the date on which an application for patent is filed in this country, a patent cannot be obtained. In this connection it is immaterial when the invention was made, or whether the printed publication or public use was by the inventor himself/herself or by someone else. If the inventor describes the invention in a printed publication or uses the invention publicly, or places it on sale, he/she must apply for a patent before one year has gone by, otherwise any right to a patent will be lost. The inventor must file on the date of public use or disclosure, however, in order to preserve patent rights in many foreign countries.

Even if the subject matter sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the prior art, and involves one or more differences over the most nearly similar thing already known, a patent may still be refused if the differences would be obvious. The subject matter sought to be patented must be sufficiently different from what has been used or described before that it may be said to be nonobvious to a person having ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention. For example, the substitution of one color for another, or changes in size, are ordinarily not patentable. "

You can find further information at United States Patent and Trademark Office Home Page. If you still want to pursue a patent, speak with an attorney.