Has anyone else done this themselves?
People file their own patent applications all the time. The patent office will even help you out if you are an inventor filing your own application.
Is it fairly easy or should I consider hiring a lawyer?
There's the real question. First off, it's not easy -- you are dealing with a government bureaucrary, lots of paperwork, everything has to be done just right -- and it's a lot of paperwork. But it can be done, it just takes a lot of attention to detail. And, like I said, the government will help you if you ask.
But here's the thing -- do you want to get a patent, or do you want to get a patent that covers the broadest possible space, that provides you with the most possible protection? When you hire a professional to draft your patent for you, what you are buying is (hopefully) someone who has experience, who knows what the patent office will accept and what they won't, and who has a good understanding of the relevant patent statutes and caselaw, and can draft the application accordingly. The hardest part of drafting an application is drafting the claims, and it's hard to draft a good, complete set of claims without being versed in the relevant statutes and caselaw. Once the claims are written, the rest of the application is easy.
Further, writing the application isn't the end of it -- the patent claims may be rejected or objected to once the application goes through the examination process. At that point, it's simple to get around the rejection -- just ask the examiner how, and he will tell you how to draft the claims to get around the rejections. The problem is, these claims may no longer cover the invention you are trying to protect; even though you will end up with a patent at the end, it may not cover what you had intended it to cover.
Again, when you hire a professional to "prosecute" your application, an attorney or agent will presumabely have the knowledge and experience to argue with the examiner, and potentially get the claims allowed without rewriting them -- or, if they do have to rewrite them, rewrite them in such a way that your original invention is still protected as much as is possible.
Finally, the whole point of a patent is that someday you may want to use the patent to keep someone else from using your invention. If you ever do end up in litigation, your patent will be severely tested by the other side -- they will try and poke holes in it, and dig around for any potential flaw. Again, a professional, who has seen patent ligitation before and knows what happens, can use their knowledge to ensure that the patent is as strong as possible should litigation ever ensue.
I'm not trying to scare you -- many people still do draft and file their own applications. Many solo inventors have drafted very good and enforceable patent applications, and have had strong patents issued. However, to really do a good job, you will need to immerse yourself in the patent law and patent process, and really understand why each claim is written the way it is, what it is intended to cover, and how if will be attacked in litigation if it ever comes to that.
Of course, if all you want is a patent to hang on your wall, you can forget most of what I have written and just start drafting away.
Also, what are the chances of actually getting a patent?
If you learn how to respond to office actions from the USPTO, or if you work with the examiner to redraft your claims to get around any claim rejections, then your chances of obtaining a patent on SOMETHING is probably greater than 95%. Now, whether you will get a patent on what you feel you have actually invented will depend on what, if any, prior art the examiner digs up during his or her searches, and how skillful you are at drafting claims, and how well you are able to "traverse" the examiner's arguments when responding to office actions.
The UPSTO website has a number of tutorials and FAQ's for solo inventors, and there are also a bunch of books out there on drafting your own applications. Read 'em, and if you feel confident, go for it.
If you don't feel confident, you can search for patent attorneys and agents in your area on the USPTO website. Agents can draft and prosecute applications, and are usually cheaper than attorneys, but not always, it pays to shop around. But don't just look at price -- experience is important as well.
