What you can patent is an invention, a gadget, a product, a process or a manufacturing device - something which has not pre-existed nor is a modification of something which occurs in the nature.
It involves documenting and mailing yourself a description or drawing of your invention in a sealed envelope, to use the postmarked date as the date of invention. Unfortunately, a poor man's patent has limitations because it is not legally recognized and will not hold up in court should a dispute arise.
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.
To get a Patent, you need to file a patent application under the USPTO Patents Act. The USPTO looks after patent filing services in California like any other part of the country. USPTO has a Silicon Valley Regional Office. It is the USPTO West Coast regional office.
A provisional patent application number will start with either 60, 61 or 62, and followed by the 6 digit serial number. Different types of patents will start with different serial numbers. For example, design patents start with the 29 as the serial number.
The title of the invention should be placed at the top of the first page of the specification unless it is provided in the application data sheet (see 37 CFR 1.76). The title should be brief but technically accurate and descriptive and should contain fewer than 500 characters.
(1) Field of the Invention: This is a very broad description of the area of technology into which the patent falls. Traditionally, the field of the invention is stated in two sentences. The first is sort of a paraphrasing of the class definition, the second is similar to a subclass definition.
For a process, describe each step, what you start with, what you need to do to make the change, and the result. For a compound, include the chemical formula, the structure, and the process that could be used to make the compound. Make the description fit all possible alternatives that relate to your invention.
Background Section Many attorneys advocate for writing something short and simple that discusses the field of the invention, the problem, and the need for improvement. Many attorneys note that anything in this background section can be used against you so it should be three short sentences.
The legal answer is, of course, yes. Thomas Jefferson filed his own patent application, as have many inventors over the last two centuries. The Patent Office was designed to be approachable and helpful to the individual inventor, especially in regard to provisional applications.