Great invention!
 

It's so great I can't even share the details at the moment. But my business partner and I are quite sure that we've stumbled upon a brilliant idea. What do I do now? I don't know the technicalities of how to make this product work (ie the specific chemistry behind it), but I'm sure it can be done. I was thinking of proposing the idea to the major brand names in the same genre of items...but how exactly does that work? Do I just send them a letter talking about my great idea, or do I generate some sort of sales pitch? Can you patent an idea that doesn't quite have all the info needed to create a demo yet? What if I send the letter and some evil corporate head steals my brilliance? I know this is a bit of a convulated post, but if anyone vaguely understands my issue here, and has any advice, it would be appreciated!

first step is to see a patent lawyer.

DO NOT try to do this on your own. You'll get screwed. You need someone who knows what they're doing.

I second.

Go. Quick. Fast. And in a hurry.

i agree. but make sure you do your research on patent lawyers. there are definitely ones that are better than others and you would want to work with a reputable one. i have seen cases where people just use a random patent lawyer and becaue the lawyer doesn't do his research, their patents end up being invalid.

i would also do a search on www.uspto.gov to see if there are already any patents similar to yours.