Some may think that brilliant men like Thomas Edison and Nicolai Tesla are rare these days but I know better. As a matter of fact I have a friend who is a certifiable genius inventor, inventing things like an engine that runs on tap water and a device that increases gas mileage by nearly 40%.

By law, any person who makes, uses, offers or sells something that is protected by a current patent, or who imports into the United States anything that is protected by a current patent, is guilty of patent infringement.

If you work for yourself the best way to protect yourself from patent infringement is to hire a patent infringement attorney.

Creating a new product, a new machine or launching a business with its own distinct lines is a crapshoot. It's hard to tell what ideas will take off and sell and which ones won't. But the odds in an inventor or businessperson's favor can be greatly reduced if their products and/or ideas aren't protected. This is where the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can make a real difference.

If you're of the creative type, it's quite likely you've made something you'd like to protect from others. Whether it's the creation of a novel, a new fabric softener or you're trying to launch a new business that will have its own unique brand, hiring an attorney to help may be in order.

For an inventor, getting a patent on an idea can mean the difference between finding good investors that will help launch a company or a design or running into a hornets' nest of people who would prefer to grab the idea, run with it and leave the inventor empty handed.