Can I Patent some Computer Hardware?

[kvn0smnsn]

If I've come up with a design for some computer hardware that performs some often needed task that has some advantage over existing hardware or software applications (say in the areas of speed, cost, etc.), can I patent that hardware? If so, how exactly would I do that? It's going to involve a lot of Verilog code; is there some way to write that code that will make sure I get the rights to the product I produce? Would it be enough to add a comment at the start of each Verilog file that said:

(c) Kevin Simonson 2023

assuming I get this thing all coded in 2023? Would I need to do a patent search at some point? If I do, would I need a lawyer to do the patent search, and if so, how much can I expect that to cost?

I'm kind of just getting started with this thing, and I'm not entirely sure the right way to go.

Kevin S

 

[barry]

What you've got there is a copyright symbol, not a patent. But it's all really squishy. Sometimes software is patentable, more often it's copyright-able.

If you really think you have something worthwhile, I'd talk to a lawyer. A copyright is inexpensive, (I think about $65 in the US) a patent is not.