Should I file a patent even if I am not making money for my idea? 1 Answers as of July 01, 2010

The purpose of a patent is to promote inventors to disclose their patents to the public, but also award them for their discovery by preventing others from using that information for 20 years. This way, the information is available for everybody to use after the patent period. By preventing others from using your invention, you can make money by either making and selling your invention, licensing the invention, or assigning the rights of the patent altogether. If you do not seek to make money on your invention, you probably don't mind if others use your idea for their own reasons. In this case, you would better be served disclosing your invention in a publication or inventor's journal.