How do i get my invention started, and what steps should i take?

[Jake]

Some professional inventors will tell you "Good ideas alone are a dime a dozen" having the determination and skills to turn it into a reality is harder part of the process.

Those sometimes predatory, paid inventor assistant services tell you right up front in their disclaimers that most inventions fail, consider that before hand over hundreds of dollars.

Typically an invention is patented after the feasibility is proven to the patent office and is not found to be already thought of and patented.

At least having a working prototype to shop around would greatly increase the chances of success, some poor man solutions I have heard: mail a detailed documentation of the invention to yourself in a registered letter keep it sealed until you have to prove your invention date in court, this might be more suitable for copyrighted writings, I hear the first to bring a product to market effective has 1 year or protection in which to patent it.

One of the first patent steps is to do a search, (a surprising number of ideas have already been patented) you can use the U.S. patent office:
http://patft.uspto.gov/


Comprehensive article on Invention services by Patent Attorneys
http://www.bpmlegal.com/pinvmktg.html
http://www.wini2.com/ Unbiased evaluations
"Invent Land" davison.com

A complaint and company response.
http://www.getpayback.com/inventions-inv...inventing/
http://www.complaintsboard.com/byurl/davison.com.html complints
http://www.similarsitesearch.com/alterna...avison.com
just know the vast majorities of invention ideas cost people thousands with nothing to show in the end, hence it's easy to find complaints against such companies