Buying Time

The question I get asked the most is, "If I don't have enough money for a patent, what else can I do?" In the long run, a patent is the only way to protect your invention. However, in June 1995, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) created another way to protect your invention and buy you some time. For a small fee, you can file a provisional application for a patent.

Tomima Edmark, the woman famous for her Topsy Tail invention has now turned her creative talents to the competitive retail arena of intimate apparel, HerRoom and HisRoom.

This article was originally published in the March 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Buying Time.