Patenting a product.

[bushwacker]

Anyone ever patent anything? Is there any way to do it without a patent attorney?

[XPays]

yes, the patent system is designed to enable inventors to file without an attorney. if there are office actions (questions from the examiner), then it is helpful to involve an attorney but not mandatory. also for your prior art searches, it is helpful to involve an attorney.

[ArsewithClass]

I was going to a few times. In the UK, patenting is made simple, just lots of paperwork and a bit of cash.

Logos, names, Products & designs.

[bushwacker]

Originally Posted by XPays

yes, the patent system is designed to enable inventors to file without an attorney. if there are office actions (questions from the examiner), then it is helpful to involve an attorney but not mandatory. also for your prior art searches, it is helpful to involve an attorney.

Have you patented anything? If so, long does the process take?

[DBS.US]

Patents Process
A patent for an invention is the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Generally, the term of a new patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in the United States or, in special cases, from the date an earlier related application was filed, subject to the payment of maintenance fees. U.S. patent grants are effective only within the United States, U.S. territories, and U.S. possessions. Under certain circumstances, patent term extensions or adjustments may be available.

Acquiring a Patent can be broken down into five simple steps
There are three types of patents
Acquiring a Patent can be broken down into five simple steps

Search the Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT) to see if an idea has already been patented.
View Fee Schedule for current fees and information related to the patent process.
Apply for a patent using the Electronic Filing System (EFS-Web) as a Registered eFiler or Unregistered eFiler.
Check Status of a current patent application or any published application using the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system.
Maintain a patent by paying maintenance fees using the Revenue Accounting and Management (RAM) system.
There are additional optional steps that you may encounter in the patent process:

Appeal the decisions made on your patent application with the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI).
Assign Ownership of a patent using the Electronic Patent Assignment System (EPAS).

There are three types of patents

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;
Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and
Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant.

http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/index.jsp

[XPays]

Originally Posted by bushwacker

Have you patented anything? If so, long does the process take?

4-6 years in my experience