I would suggest you file a Provisional Patent Application (PPA) on your own for about $60 with the US Patent Office. Once you have filed the PPA (which is never examined and isn't a real patent), you have 1 year to claim ``patent pending'' before you must file your utility patent (maybe $5000 or more).
The five primary requirements for patentability are: (1) patentable subject matter; (2) utility; (3) novelty; (4) non-obviousness; and (5) enablement. Like trademarks, patents are territorial, meaning they are enforceable in a specific geographic area.
The inventor, or each individual who is a joint inventor of a claimed invention, in an application for patent (other than a provisional application) must execute an oath or declaration directed to the application, except as provided for in 37 CFR 1.64.