Some people want the protection given by a patent, but they do not want to go through the official process. This has led to the rise of something known as a “poor man’s patent.” You may have heard this discussed before, but what does it mean?
Typically, someone will write documentation that spells out their invention or idea. They will print this out in hard copy, put it in an envelope, and then mail it to themselves. This way, it is postdated to show when it was placed in the mail. As long as they do not open it, they then believe this is proof that they had the idea first. If someone else patents the same invention after them, they believe that this will give them intellectual property protections because they can show that it was their idea and it was stolen or copied by the other party.
Does it work?
No, the poor man’s patent does not work. It is just a common myth. Mailing this documentation to yourself does not give you the intellectual property protections you are looking for. It does not replace a patent.
You could argue that it does show evidence of the idea at a certain time. While that may be true, you likely have this evidence anyway. You may have copies of notes or documents you wrote on your computer, which can show when they were created. You likely have designs or blueprints, which will have the same information. Mailing the information to yourself does not change anything.
Instead of using a tactic like this, it is best to carefully consider the complexities of patent law and get the proper legal protections in place. This is a complicated process and not something that you should generally do on your own, which is why it can be so helpful to work with an experienced attorney.
