<p>Ok, so for my sophomore science fair project, I created a foundation that could basically earthquake-proof a house, and it worked amazingly well (I won a few county awards), but I didn't get to move on because it wasn't very technically demanding. Is there anything I can do with my idea so that it doesn't just end up being a blue ribbon in a memory book?</p>
<p>PS: I looked into patenting, and it looks like a ton of cost/effort without any actual reward. Is there a simpler way to get a patent than by hiring a lawyer to navigate you through everything?</p>
<p>I was going to suggest the poor man’s patent but it looks like those don’t hold up well.
[Patent</a> Pending Blog - Patents and the History of Technology: The Poor Man’s Patent, or How to Shoot Yourself in the Foot](<a href=“http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/2004/11/the_poor_mans_p.html]Patent”>http://patentpending.blogs.com/patent_pending_blog/2004/11/the_poor_mans_p.html)</p>
<p>However, the above link says that keeping a “research book” is pretty close.</p>
<p>Hey that’s amazing… </p>
<p>I would seriously look into getting a patent though so you don’t get ripped off, this is the type of thing that could possible be worth millions of dollars (or tens of dollars, just saying, don’t count on it).</p>
<p>Are you sure nobody has invented this sort of foundation yet? Because no offense, it seems like this could be fairly probable. Look into this issue before doing anything else. And until then, don’t show anybody the idea.</p>
<p>Of course, I’m not anywhere near qualified to answer this question, so let’s wait for some more opinions.</p>
<p>First things first: make sure your model doesn’t already exist as a patent. There are already many ways to earthquake proof a building.</p>
<p>Just looking briefly through the patent database, I don’t see anything that looks similar to what I’ve done, but I want to add that it may be a bit less incredible than I originally portrayed it…it’s basically a way of allowing the house to move with the earthquake (but less jarringly so), by putting a buffer between it and the ground. I really don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a patent that won’t really get me anywhere, but is that my only real option? Do there happen to be any competitions that care more about concept than intricacy?</p>
<p>Oh, and PS I do have a research book, it was one of the requirements for the science fair project.</p>