When Mike Bailey first applied for a patent for his product, the Speed Arch, he was turned down almost immediately.

But he didn’t give up, so he and his lawyer plowed through the application again, narrowing the scope of the product description and adding more pertinent information. And it was sent back again.

Finally, after two years and several times back and forth, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Bailey a patent on his product—a form brick masons use on top of windows to make them arched.

“It was worth the risk, and I’m satisfied we got the patent,” said Bailey, a former construction-industry professional who now sells his Speed Arch full-time.

But unlike Bailey, some people do throw in the towel early on—and unnecessarily so. Patience and persistence with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is key to realizing an entitlement that can change an inventor’s world and protect their intellectual property for years, say patent experts.

David Winwood, CEO of the UAB Research Foundation, helps mainly biotechnology researchers navigate the complicated waters of obtaining a patent. There are three basic criteria he looks for when considering patenting a product: It has to be something that is novel; it has to be nonobvious; and it has to be useful. And if the product stands up to those, then it’s off to the attorneys to help draft an application.

“It is a complex process and a lengthy process,” said Winwood.

And it can be an expensive process too. Depending on the type of patent and the product being patented, first-step costs can be less than $10,000, and a more difficult patent can cost up to $50,000. And there’s no guarantee a patent will be obtained.

“We have about a 30 to 40 percent batting average,” said Winwood. “You decide some you don’t have the stomach for or the deep pockets to go on. And the coverage protection could be so narrow that there’s no commercial value.”

But patience can be rewarded with a good strategy when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants the patent, said Greg Peterson, a patent attorney and partner with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.

“The legal right you have is to exclude others from making and using and importing your invention,” he said.

Peterson said there’s a long list of considerations when looking to patent a product and many more to look at during the patent-pending process. But one of the most important first steps is understanding when to file the application. In the United States, there is a one-year grace period between introducing the product and filing the patent application. In Europe, there is no grace period.

“The main thing you have to focus on is where your product is going to be sold and then tailor all activities to be in line with that goal,” said Peterson. “A lot of people will test-market their product. You just have to have a strategy set.”

Inventor Bailey said he tested his Speed Arch after filing for the patent application and getting a patent-pending label and found a need in the construction industry. He first sold them out of the back of his truck, starting about seven years ago, he said. Now the product is sold in 38 states and distributed out of Trussville, Alabama.

Bailey said twice people have tried to copy his product, but a swift letter from his attorney fixed that immediately. But any hassle involved with obtaining the patent or protecting it has been well worth the trouble, he said.

“If I wouldn’t have gotten the patent, someone else would have,” he said. “It’s money well spent. I’ve made it back many times over.”

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Lauren B. Cooper is a staff writer for the Birmingham Business Journal.