Individuals who have an idea of invention that works in conjunction to another product or service already on the market can and should still get a patent in place for that new invention. In fact, if you do not do so you could be costing yourself money and time.
There are some specific rules in place for getting patents on existing products, especially if there is already a pending or in place patent on that product or service. Yet, making updates and improving a product may actually be an invention all of your own.
Did you know that the most common type of patent is not a patent for a brand new invention but rather they are improvement patents. These are patents that are put in place to improve the function or use of a current patented product as shown on this channel – https://www.youtube.com/user/inventhelp.
They can work very well for an inventor who is just enhancing or otherwise improving the product of someone else. In addition, they are completely binding and legal when you obtain them in the proper manner.
How does it work to have an improvement patent in place? Once you come up with your idea or invention and have obtained a provisional patent for it, start marketing it to those who are most likely to purchase it. The key here is to protect your idea or invention by having a provisional patent in place as written in https://www.tmcnet.com/topics/articles/2020/03/24/444881-everything-need-know-inventhelp.htm article.
Then, get out there and find out if your product can sell. If so, then you definitely want to take the steps necessary to get the patent in place permanently.