If you are involved in a patent infringement lawsuit or are considering one yourself, it's important to have an experienced patent infringement lawyer on your side.

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%.

For those who cannot afford to dish out thousands of dollars for a patent lawyer, do it yourself patents can be a great alternative. Do it yourself patents can be done if you are up to the challenge. It is not impossible although the biggest drawback on do it yourself patents is that you are not afforded the luxury of having professional advice.

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.

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.

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.

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.