Your idea must meet the following criteria to be patentable:

* It must be new. This means that it has not been known or used by anyone before.

* It must be useful. This means that it can actually do something.

* It must be nonobvious. This means that it would not be obvious to someone who has ordinary skill in the art to create.

Step 2: File a Provisional or Non-Provisional Patent Application

The first step in applying for a patent is to file a provisional or non-provisional patent application. A provisional patent application is a less expensive and less detailed way to stake your claim to an idea. It gives you the right to use the "patent pending" designation, but it does not give you the same protections as a non-provisional patent application. A non-provisional patent application is more detailed and requires more information, but it gives you the full protection of the patent law.

Step 3: Respond to Office Actions

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) will review your patent application and send you office actions that request more information or changes to the application. You must respond to office actions within the specified time frame or your patent application will be abandoned.

Step 4: Get Your Patent Published

Once the PTO has determined that your patent application meets all the requirements, it will be published in the Official Gazette of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This gives the public an opportunity to see your patent and to oppose it if necessary.

Step 5: Get a Patent Issued

If there are no oppositions to your patent application, the PTO will issue a patent. A patent gives you the exclusive right to make, use, sell, and import your invention for 20 years from the date you filed your patent application.