Prospective Inventors

Inventor Eligibility

To register for PatentConnect services:

1. Consult the table below to determine your eligibility for The Matching Program and The Marketplace.

2. Complete the USPTO basic training for independent inventors and small businesses.

3. Fill out the online Inventor Registration Form and wait to hear back from the program administrators.

table
Category	Requirement	The Matching Program	The Marketplace
Training	Complete the USPTO's basic training for independent inventors and small businesses	Required	Required
Patenting	Not named as inventor on more than four patents (as a solo or joint inventor)	Required	Not required
Income	Below the USPTO's income threshold for micro-entities	Required	Not required
Location	Inventor must reside in the State of Indiana or Commonwealth of Kentucky	Required	Not required
Invention eligibility and timing	Both invention-based requirements relate to the timing of your application with PatentConnect. You cannot: (1) have an office action response due within two months, or (2) be within two months of needing to file a non-provisional application.	Required	Not required

Expectations

Please be aware that while PatentConnect may be able to help connect you to a patent lawyer who may recommend that you file a patent application, you should not assume that obtaining patent protection is a guarantee of commercial success. In fact, while patents can be important to many types of businesses, most patented inventions do not succeed. It is important to have realistic expectations about what patent protection can, and cannot, do for your business.