I work with a patent lawyer here in the US. In the US, you can do something called a disclosure. It is a poor-mans patent in a sense. What you do is send the patent office a disclosure of what you are working on including how it works ect..... From the day they receive it, you have two years to apply for a patent. Your item is in a sense, "patent pending". Also there are different kinds of patents. In the US the main patents are design and utility. Most individuals nowadays get a design patent. That means that you found a new method of doing something that is already patented. A utility patent is when you have invented an entirely new process or object. If you need help feel free to ask. I can help you or anyone here get a US patent or at least get you some free or almost free advice from a registered patent lawyer. BTW, these comercials like inventtech are a scam. You pay $8000 and all you get is the disclosure. For $500, I can get you a patent search and for another $500, I can get you a disclosure. PM me if anyone needs more help.

Travin