The notebook should then be your diary regarding your product or idea. Who you speak with, everything you do to develop it. Rough drawings etc. The thought behind this is to determine "first" or "primary" claim about the idea. By having all of the documentation and scribbles dated and written out, it becomes quicker to establish if the idea was first conceived by whom.
So you've the merchandise designs and idea all constructed. Now you must to decide if the time, expense and trouble of having a patent makes it worth while. You can find three basic factors that drive the decision inventor ideas.
1. Market potential. Is your product the next big thing that will literally be worth millions if not billions of dollars? If the answer is "YES" then it's worth the effort to obtain a patent. Unfortunately , most decisions are that clearly defined. Many products with limited or local market potential will make the ambitious entrepreneur wealthy but can not definitely worth the effort to acquire patent protection. Limited market appeal does not mean an item isn't worth the effort to develop. Somewhere between those two extremes it will become increasingly vital that you obtain patent ownership rights.
2. Selling the concept to another company. When companies buy ideas, designs, etc, they're really purchasing ip rights. There are established ownership or those rights however, anyone and everybody can take your great product idea and think of it as their very own. It would then depend on one to establish the first claim of ownership. A patent establishes your position as owner.
3. Dollar Value. The greater the worth of the product, the harder it ought to be considered as a patent candidate.
The patent process isn't all that hard to navigate however it may be a good option to think about enlisting help. You will get additional information from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.