To prevent others from making, using, selling or importing your INVENTION you would need a patent.
The only other alternative is to keep it a trade secret until someone buys the idea/invention/blueprint.
Follow these steps-
1.Spend a few hours doing a good search for patents that are related to your idea. A patent search can be conducted online at the USPTO website, or at places like Google patents. What you find about other inventions like yours will determine the scope of your patent. Maybe there other inventions that do the same thing as your does, however, your invention does it in a better way or has an additional feature. Your patent will only cover what is unique about your invention.
2.Write Your Patent Application - In order to get a valid patent, you have to describe in detail to the patent office exactly how to make and use your invention. For this you can hire a lawyer.
3.The patent application is sent to your Patent Office, with a submission fee. Then you have to wait until a patent examiner examines your application. Most patents are rejected on first admission, then the dance begins as you lawyer makes amendments and resubmits the application until it is accepted (or not) and you have your patent.
4.After your patent application had been submitted do not waste time. You can label your invention as patent pending and start marketing it.
5.File Online at the USPTO.gov Website - Once you have your patent drawings and your detailed description (called the “specificaiton”) created, you then save these files as pdf documents and upload them to the patent office website at USPTO.gov.
You can get some education at the US patent office web site, as well as being able to to a preliminary search to see if it's already been thought of. http://patft.uspto.gov/
Professional inventors with their own prototyping shop will tell you that good ideas alone are a dime a dozen, often you have to provide a working demonstration, depending on the concept.
One clever site I saw profiled on PBS Quirky.com does "crowd sourcing product inception". They have 400k members, there's a $10 concept submission fee. Some inventors have done well, you can watch and contribute to their weekly product idea evaluation video meeting.
Get a book from a bookstore for about $20.
Such as: How to create and patent my own idea.
I would not trust the internet at all for your education on this. Not one bit.
I am not looking to get the product distributed through an agent yet. I just want to patent my blueprint so when I start selling it, no one can steal m y idea. How do I do that? And is there ant cheap way to do it?
