Fig. 1 — first steps
ThornCrest Law· Hawaiʻi Tech Week 2026

Patent Your Invention & Innovation Archipelago

So you have an invention.
Here are your first steps.

A plain-English guide for young inventors and their families.

For keiki & familiesMade with ThornCrest Law
This is education, not legal advice. Reading it does not make anyone your lawyer. Every invention is different, so for your own situation talk to a patent attorney or agent registered to practice before the USPTO. This guide's panel is moderated by Matt Bottomly, a patent partner at ThornCrest Law and a former USPTO patent examiner.21 Fees below were checked against the USPTO's current fee schedule in August 2026; confirm at uspto.gov.

What a patent actually is

A patent is the right to stop other people from making, using, or selling your invention for a set time.1 Think of it as a right to exclude, a fence around your idea. It does not hand you a product or a profit, and it does not give you the right to build the thing yourself.1 What it gives you is the legal power to keep copycats out.

Utility patentHow something works or is used. Lasts up to 20 years from filing.2
Design patentHow something looks. Lasts 15 years from grant.1
Plant patentA new, distinct plant reproduced without seeds. 20 years from filing.2,3

And they are not the same as a trademark or copyright. A patent protects an invention; a trademark protects a name or logo (also at the USPTO); a copyright protects creative work like writing or music (at the U.S. Copyright Office, automatically once it is fixed); a trade secret protects confidential information for as long as you keep it secret.5,6

Is it patentable? Four gates

The right kind of thing. A process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter. A bare idea or a law of nature is not patentable.4
Useful. It has a real, specific function.4
New. It isn't already in the prior art.4
Non-obvious. It isn't an obvious variation of what exists.4

Your first steps

Tap each step as you go.

Search it yourself, free

USPTO Patent Public Search Google Patents

Myths worth killing

Tap each one to bust it.

“You can patent an idea.”Tap
No. You patent a specific, described invention, not a bare concept.4
“I have to build a working model first.”Tap
No. The USPTO rarely requires a model. A clear written description is usually enough.1
“Mailing myself a letter protects me.”Tap
No. The “poor man's patent” has no legal effect. Since March 16, 2013 the U.S. is first-inventor-to-file, so only filing counts.15
“A provisional is a patent.”Tap
No. It's a 12-month placeholder that is never examined.9
“Patents are cheap and fast.”Tap
No. A full patent commonly costs thousands and often takes two or more years to grant.10

Free help — tap to call

USPTO Pro Se Center13
1-866-767-3848
Hawaiʻi State Library · Patents16
(808) 586-3477

If money is tight, the Patent Pro Bono Program offers free volunteer attorneys for those who qualify; Hawaiʻi inventors are served through the California Inventors Assistance Program.14,22

Hawaiʻi resource box

A little local inspiration

You don't have to leave these islands to invent something the world uses. The three Hawaiʻi inventors on this panel prove it: John Ogawa Borland in semiconductors, Olin Kealoha Lagon — who patented the world's first online crowdfunding service — and Hoala Greevy, founder of the HIPAA-compliant email company Paubox.21 Ask them how they started. Everyone starts somewhere.

Patent Your Invention & Innovation Archipelago · Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 6:00–7:30 pm · Inspiration Hawaii Museum, 900 Richards St, Honolulu.20,21

Keep it on your phone, like an app

iPhone / iPad · SafariTap the Share icon, then Add to Home Screen.
Android · ChromeTap the ⋮ menu, then Add to Home screen (or Install app).

Liked this take-home?

This was researched, written, and designed by RN Collins, a law student and creator-analyst who turns technical work into things people actually keep and use: explainers, briefs, interactive resources, and small tools, tailored to your brand and your audience.

If you'd like one built around your practice, I'd love to talk.

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Made for ThornCrest Law · Hawaiʻi Tech Week 2026 · RN Collins

Resources

Every fact on this page is sourced. Tap any title to open the original in a new tab. Every link and fee figure was re-checked on 29 August 2026 against the USPTO fee schedule then in force; confirm current fees at uspto.gov.

  1. USPTO — Patent essentials Official · USPTOThe government's plain-language overview of what a patent is. Source for “a patent is a right to exclude,” the design-patent 15-year term, and the point that a working model is rarely required.
  2. USPTO — MPEP §2701, Patent Term Primary · USPTO rulebookThe rulebook section on how long patents last. Confirms utility and plant patents run 20 years from the filing date.
  3. USPTO — Types of patent applications Official · USPTOThe official breakdown of utility, design, and plant patents. Source for the three-types section.
  4. USPTO — MPEP §2104, requirements for patentability Primary · USPTO rulebookThe examiner's guide to §§101–103. Source for the “four gates”: patentable subject matter, usefulness, novelty, and non-obviousness.
  5. USPTO — Trademark, patent, or copyright? Official · USPTOThe USPTO's own side-by-side. Used to keep the patent-vs-trademark-vs-copyright-vs-trade-secret distinctions accurate, since families mix these up constantly.
  6. U.S. Copyright Office — What is copyright? Official · U.S. Copyright OfficeThe primary source for the copyright half of that comparison, and the reminder that copyright is handled by a different office (the Library of Congress), not the USPTO.
  7. USPTO — MPEP §2152, prior art and the grace period Primary · USPTO rulebookThe rule behind the most important warning here: the U.S. one-year grace period after your own disclosure, and why most other countries give none. This is the “file before you show” citation.
  8. USPTO — Patent Public Search Official tool · USPTOThe free official search tool. Linked so young inventors can check what already exists before spending anything.
  9. USPTO — Provisional application for patent Official · USPTOThe official page on provisionals. Source for “locks an early date and patent-pending for 12 months,” that it is never examined, and the non-extendable 12-month deadline.
  10. USPTO — Fee schedule (current) Primary · USPTOThe live fee table. Source for the $325 / $130 / $65 provisional filing fees and the reality that a full patent runs into the thousands.
  11. USPTO — Micro entity status Official · USPTODefines who qualifies for the deepest discount. Source for the ~80% reduction, the income limit, and the four-prior-applications rule.
  12. USPTO — Save on fees Official · USPTOExplains the small-entity (60%) and micro-entity (80%) reductions in one place. Backs the “claim your discount” step.
  13. USPTO — Pro Se Assistance Center Official · USPTOThe free help line for people filing without an attorney. Source for the 1-866-767-3848 tap-to-call button.
  14. USPTO — Patent Pro Bono Program Official · USPTOThe national free-attorney program. Confirms that income-qualified Hawaiʻi inventors are served through the California Inventors Assistance Program.
  15. USPTO — First-inventor-to-file resources Official · USPTOExplains the 2013 shift to first-inventor-to-file, which is why the “poor man's patent” myth is dead. Backs that myth-buster.
  16. Hawaiʻi State Public Library System — Patents & Trademarks Government · HawaiʻiConfirms the Patent & Trademark Resource Center is at the Hawaiʻi State Library (not a UH library) and provides the (808) 586-3477 number in the resource box.
  17. University of Hawaiʻi — Office of Innovation and Commercialization University · UHThe current UH tech-transfer office. Included because inventions made using UH resources may be subject to UH's IP rules.
  18. USPTO — Kids, students, and educators Official · USPTOThe USPTO's free youth learning hub. Linked as a next step for young inventors and their teachers.
  19. National Inventors Hall of Fame — Camp Invention Nonprofit · NIHFA K–6 summer STEM program that runs in Hawaiʻi. Included as a hands-on option for younger keiki.
  20. Inspiration Hawaii Museum Host orgThe venue, at 900 Richards Street in downtown Honolulu, and the source for the date and time of the panel. The museum is not open to the public day to day; it opens for events like this one.
  21. Patent Your Invention & Innovation Archipelago — event listing Event · Hawaiʻi Tech WeekThe panel's own listing. Source for the three inventors and what each of them patented, and for the moderator: Matt Bottomly, a patent partner at ThornCrest Law and a former patent examiner at the USPTO.
  22. USPTO — Resources for Hawaii inventors Official · USPTOThe USPTO's own Hawaiʻi page. States directly that Hawaiʻi inventors are served by the California Inventors Assistance Program, which is the basis for the pro bono line above.