Ok, so I've got a really great arrangement set up to make my patent plaques, but there is one catch to the situation: I need to supply my own art to print.

Soo... I'm faced with creating everything from scratch- basically the end goal would be to look very similar to your standard design styles currently available. What would make my life 100% easier would be to just somehow acquire one of the standard template files that services typically use. The only trouble is that I have no idea of where I could find such a file, and I don't imagine many of the bureaus would have much interest in just sending a copy on over.. (but I'll probably ask anyway).

So here I am- asking you guys for suggestions. I really don't know where to start, I suppose I could just scan an already made patent plaque and then match the fonts and art as best I can, but all options seem like kind of a hassle when compared with somehow acquiring a template.


Thanks so much for any help!
-Kevin
Some Examples:
http://www.patentplaques.com/store/images/contemporary_lgcollege.jpg
http://www.patentplaques.com/store/images/traditional_lgcollege.jpg
http://www.patentplaques.com/store/images/traditional_lgw_plate.jpg
http://www.patentplaques.com/store/images/vintage_lgcollege.jpg

According to the FAQ on the Patentplaques.com site they don't need you to supply any artwork. They get the information from the Patent office.

http://www.patentplaques.com/store/faq.asp

That alone should keep you with them and not search for a cheaper alternative.

That's not the company that I'm talking about, I'm just citing their styles as an example of what I'm describing.

That's not the company that I'm talking about, I'm just citing their styles as an example of what I'm describing.

Why not just use their service?

Because it would cost me more than 6x more than what I can do, and also because I would like to have closer control of the details of the design.

salukikey,

I hold three patents for myself and have filed and received another patent for a friend. What is seen with your first link is actually the out side cover for the issued patent.

That is the main box and it is identical for all three of my patents, same words and everything. The lower box is the only thing that lets you know what the invention is and who it is issued to and the dates of issue and filing. I could scan you a copy if you wish of the top (large box) and everything would be the same for any plaque you do of this style. The bottom box has info that you would have to manually type in.

The second link shows the cover page of the patent (which is the first page in the issued patent from the uspto) You can get this from the uspto website google uspto and look around and do some patent searches. For example search US 6,901,691 and this will be one of mine. To see the drawings you have to look around and down load a free tiff viewer and with that you can print off from the uspto website pretty much what you see on your second link. I will be glad to help you if you have any more questions, but I think that anythink that you want is readily downloadable fron the uspto website, once you know where to look for it.

Hope this helps,

Ron

Hi Ron-
Thanks a lot for all the quality info! Much appreciated! I thought that the text on that plaque style looked to be all the same, but I'm glad to have it confirmed. I actually think that's kind of boring, since any observers of said plaque aren't likely going to be interested in reading the same text over and over.

For that reason, I was thinking I would try to do a style which illustrates a particular item in more detail. Definitely going to include a suitable graphic from the USPTO site prominently as well.

I would greatly appreciate a scan of your patent that captures the graphic elements of the design. It's fine if you have to do it in parts, I can orient and paste them back together in photoshop easily.

I have about a dozen that I'm planning to do this time, but of those, I think 4 are design patents, so I'm not sure if that style will work for a design patent rather than a utility patent. I'll just have to see how it goes.

ps. I like the interface of google's patent search a lot more than the uspto's site. Checked out your patent with it- pretty neat!

Thanks again!
-kevin

Kevin,
I had to send the plaque Patent info via your email from your web page. Let me know that you received it ok. Could not post .tif files here. Had an idea about a new twist to the patent plaque business that I have been investigating, so drop me a email if you want to discuss it with me.

Hope it helps,

Ron

Hi Ron,
Thanks! Oddly enough though, I didn't receive it. My usual email is:
salukikev@gmail.com

If that doesn't work, feel free to IM me or call me. I'm all about the new ideas! :)

Kevin,
Just tried to send it again, hope it worked.

Ron