royalflash

make sure you file the patent before disclosing the idea to anyone and that includes potential investors. Once you have filed you potentially have some rights to the invention and more bargaining power. Once you have filed then you need to move quickly in assessing the commercial potential of your idea. Accordng to the Paris convention you have one year from the initial filing to file further patents claiming priority from the initial filing. It is then too late to file further patents for the same idea. So the maximum territorial exent of your protction for the original idea is fixed at the one year point (though you can further restrict it as you notein your post). Filing a patent is relatively cheap but be warned that the fees rise steeply after that and you had better have deep pockets if you want to obtain granted patents and pay the renewal fees after that (which increase year on year). Professional fees for a lawyer are even higher higher but you will probably need one as private applicants rarely obtain a patent worth having.

As Dahon Steve as pointed out just getting a patent is the beginning of the problems. Defending a patent can cost millions. Patenting is a tricky expensive business and is largely the doman of large multinationals with huge r & D budgets and legal departments.

So make sure the patent is REALLY worth it before going ahead after filing.

It is possible to become a millionaire as a private inventor with good patent(s) but the odds are very much stacked against you.