By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

It has been said that everybody has a million-dollar idea at least once in their lives.

The question is: How does a "regular" person navigate the murky, shark-infested waters of the patent world and protect their invention without having it stolen out from under them?

Professionals from the legal side, as well as medical researchers, say solo inventors make up a small piece of the puzzle locally and that many patents come from larger corporations, universities and hospitals.

Buffalo attorney Vince LoTempio says that although he represents some solo inventors on patent applications, they remain in the minority. LoTempio recently shared some of his thoughts on what it takes for solo inventors to successfully take a big idea from their head to the marketplace.

"The problem with the independent inventor is they usually don't have a lot of money," he says. "So they are often going to be looking for a bigger company that will put up the money to manufacture the invention, or they want to license it to a big company."

Putting something out there unprotected while seeking investors or companies to distribute it is asking for trouble.

"You are probably going to want your idea protected so they don't steal it through either a provisional patent or a regular patent," LoTempio says. "The provisional patent essentially protects your filing date and buys you time (one year) to look for investors, manufacturers, etc., without the fear of your idea being stolen. A provisional never turns into a patent; it is just simply a provision so that you can say you are patent pending and it scares away the riffraff."

There is another option for solo inventors who can't afford it or for another reason choose to forgo the patent route, according to LoTempio.

"He can have a nondisclosure agreement signed with the company he is going to pitch his invention to," he says. "That way, at least you have a contractual protection against the person you showed it to."

Even then, he warns, if a company with some proximity to the one you showed your idea to begins producing it before you, it can be difficult - and costly - to prove.

He offered some advice on the patent process for those who think they have the latest medical miracle in their basement studio and are wondering what to do next:

• The three keys for a small inventor are marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Somehow, someway, you must get those things done by hiring someone or by convincing a company that your product is good enough and deserves a licensing agreement.

• It can be costly. Federal filing fees for patents are reasonable - $100 for a provisional patent and $462 for a standard patent. But the amount of detail the government requires in a patent application, including specific drawings and wording, is going to take many hours to prepare. Depending on the complexity of the product or service, lawyer fees can quickly add up.

• Be patient. Thanks to a shortage of patent examiners in the United States, there are currently more than 700,000 patents already filed and yours will go to the end of the line. The process can take as long as two years, in some cases.

• Even with a patent filed, you may not be protected. LoTempio says in the United States, the law says it is the first person to invent - not the first person to patent - who holds the rights to an invention. So you may file on June 3, 2011, but if a competitor can prove he had already invented that product, even though you were the first to file, you could lose your invention (and more cash on lawyer fees to fight the case).

Vincent LoTempio is a partner in the Buffalo Law firm Kloss Stenger and LoTempio. He can be reached at 716-883-1111.