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How long after a patent is pending are people usually granted patents? How long does the patent process normally take?
So, it depends on the field of the idea. So, right now I'm finding software ideas are taking the longest. So, you're probably looking at about two to three years, sometimes even a little bit longer. But remember, once you file you don't have to keep your idea confidential after that. So once you file, you can openly go public with the idea, you can start disclosing it openly, you can talk to manufacturers. And that's—so during that period while you’re “patent pending,” your filing date is secure, but you can still go forward and take steps. Now, if it's not in software, if it's a mechanical device, like, you know, like this, or—we didn't talk about this idea, but this sleeve on a cup of coffee, for example, was patented by Jay Sorensen—simple idea—and his royalty payments were about a million dollars a year for 20 years for this idea. Now mechanical simple ideas like this are typically granted anywhere from one year to three years. But usually mechanical ideas are sooner so I would expect that within two years is typical. Software generally has been a little bit longer, two to three years.