how does one pursue an invention idea?

I have an idea for an invention. I'm trying to establish costs for pursuing it, i.e., what costs are involved (patents etc.) and what would be a reasonable start up sum? I suppose I would have to at least create a prototype (are there other roads?). Once I've done that, if I don't want to begin a small business producing and distributing, is there a way to sell the invention?

I would appreciate a brief rundown of what the process is from conception to profits, what the major choices are, and the general cost/effort.

Thanks.

Hi Mat,

> I have an idea for an invention. I'm trying
> to establish costs for pursuing it, i.e.,
> what costs are involved (patents etc.) and
> what would be a reasonable start up sum? I
> suppose I would have to at least create a
> prototype (are there other roads?). Once
> I've done that, if I don't want to begin a
> small business producing and distributing,
> is there a way to sell the invention?

> I would appreciate a brief rundown of what
> the process is from conception to profits,
> what the major choices are, and the general
> cost/effort.

Mat, I think the FIRST thing you should do is try to figure out if there's a market for your invention. That is, will anyone pay money to get it?

Don't make the big mistake of the dot-com boom - everybody wanted what was on offer, but only if it was free!

I think it's a common problem among inventors - spending thousands of dollars developing a prototype and patenting an invention, only to find that nobody wants to buy it anyway.

Does your invention fulfil a want, or solve a problem? Just an "improvement" on something which exists is not enough....

I've attended a couple of "inventors' societies" in the past.... An invention by one guy (99% of the members of these societies seem to be male) was a replacement for a "joystick" to use to play video games. His version was a "sit down" version - it was a whole chair, and by leaning back and forth on the chair, and swiveling it around, you could control the video game....

The reason why it was an "improvement" was it added greater "sensation" to the video game - you didn't play with your fingers and thumbs, but with with your whole body.

He had tried to get his invention into some retail stores, but he complained that he found it hard to get them to support his invention. Part of the problem I'm sure was that, in the computer games store, just a small stock of his product would take up all the floor space!

A couple more problems with this that I could see are....

• While a joystick costs $20 or $30, his invention retailed at around $500
• As in the computer store, it would take up a lot of floor space in the house

Anyhow, he had put in countless hours into creating this, and thousands of dollars of his own money. He was trying to market them himself (planning to build each one by hand, at least when he started).

While it was an "improvement" - it actually caused more problems than it solved for the average person, in my opinion. It costs more, and created storage problems. It MIGHT have succeeded if, instead of targeting the general public, he targeted the niche market of people with lots of money ($500 is nothing to them) and lots of floor space (big houses and no storage problems), instead of the general public. Who knows then?

The first step is to consider then is - is there a market for my invention? Does it solve an existing problem people have, which they would like solved (and be willing to PAY for)?

You'll save a lot of money and grief if you think about this now, rather than after you've already put countless hours and thousands of dollars into your invention....

Here are a couple very good books on inventing.

"Secrets from an Inventor's Notebook" by Maurice Kanbar. He's made a great living from inventing, and his book is the best I've ever read on inventing. Like every inventor, he's also had his flops, though he also had big successes like the "D-Fuzz-It Sweater Comb" and "Skyy Vodka" (vodka which, it's claimed, doesn't give you a hangover), and many others.

"Inventorship: The Art of Innovation," by Leonard M. Greene. He's more of an "engineering" type inventor, in that his inventions tend to be from technical insight. His most successful invention was a stall warning indicator for airplanes.... When the plane is about to stall, sensors on the wing pick this up from the airflow, and warns the pilot. The pilot can then correct for it before tragedy happens - all modern planes are fitted with his life-saving invention. It's quite different from the above book, but also quite good.

Anyhow, Mat, I hope that gives you a start.... All I ask is a 5% royalty (only kidding!). ;)

- Dien Rice


And if you want business ideas... click here

Go to Google.com, enter in "Invention Submission" and you will get numerous hits on this subject.

Guy

> I have an idea for an invention. I'm trying
> to establish costs for pursuing it, i.e.,
> what costs are involved (patents etc.) and
> what would be a reasonable start up sum? I
> suppose I would have to at least create a
> prototype (are there other roads?). Once
> I've done that, if I don't want to begin a
> small business producing and distributing,
> is there a way to sell the invention?

> I would appreciate a brief rundown of what
> the process is from conception to profits,
> what the major choices are, and the general
> cost/effort.

> Thanks.

Matt,

Dien gave PERFECT information (maybe, without even knowing it).

Check your area for Inventors Clubs (Ask at the library, or Chamber of Commerce).

I belonged to one located in Oak Ridge, TN, and it took me a while to come down when I met such ordinary folks as the guy that developed a new "run silent" system for our submarines, etc.

BUT.. these people will help you, point out ways to get the job done, and also give you a nudge if you're headed in the WRONG direction.

Stay away from those "We'll Sell Your Invention" companies. I tried one, and it cost me $3700.00 WITHOUT ever getting a patent on the project.

Pete

> Go to Google.com, enter in "Invention
> Submission" and you will get numerous
> hits on this subject.

> Guy




Unleash Your Marketing Power Now!

Hi Pete, Mat, Guy, and everyone,

> Check your area for Inventors Clubs (Ask at
> the library, or Chamber of Commerce).

I agree with this - you can learn a lot from an Inventors' Club.... And if not, you can at least enjoy the coffee. :)

I used to attend the Inventor's Club in Sydney, Australia. They'd arrange for successful inventors to come to our group and give a talk.

One guy who came and talked to our club was a guy named Joe Viglione. He had invented a tent which you can "erect" in 30 seconds or less - he called it the "Oztent". You can read a bit more about him here....

Joe couldn't get anyone interested in licensing his product, so he created everything himself. He borrowed tens of thousands of dollars from members of his family, to create his "Oztent" company. He now has a patented product and a successful company built around it.

You may be able to get companies to license your products, though. One way to protect yourself while you are talking to companies about licensing is to first get a provisional patent. This gives you 12 months to put in your real patent application. The main advantage of a provisional patent application is that it's very inexpensive ($80 to $160 in the USA) - in contrast to a full patent application, which can cost thousands of dollars.

You can also use non-disclosure agreements, but I understand many companies are hesitant to sign non-disclosure agreements. You can find a sample non-disclosure agreement in "Secrets from an Inventor's Notebook" by Maurice Kanbar (which I mentioned earlier), or in "Making It" by E. Joseph Cossman and William A. Cohen. You can find some examples online too if you search around....

Unfortunately, as Pete said, there are also a number of companies which target inventors and promise to market your invention, etc., but all they do is take your money. There are some legitimate companies around too, but the key here is to be cautious.

Hope that helps! :)

- Dien Rice

Hi Mat

One of the first things to do is get a patent search of your invention.
Either through a patent attorney or a college student that is studying
to be a patent attorney, cost about $50 to $125. You will get about
4 patents that are close to your invention. Could be it was invented a
long time ago.

The same time you do a patent search, mail a copy of your invention
back to you, by certify mail, don't open it. This will be used as the date
you came up with the idea invention.

Good luck!

Regards,
D.R.(Don)McArdle

...IF you want to get a Return on your investment in TIME and MONEY is....

"CAN YOU GET ORDERS?"
or
"WILL IT SELL?"
and if so...
"To Whom?"

Maaaany yars ago I went thru the "invention" process....hiring a "Patent Attorney" ($1,000 up front)....going thru a "Patent Search" ($2500- I was gullible)....and another $1500 for "Research")....and...after $5000 out of pocket for a "big city patent attny" I STILL didn't have an actual "Patent"....so...I said to myself, "Self! YOU have got to remember the MAIN THING in this "Patent Process"...

"He Who Gets His Product To the Market the Fastest...WINS!"

I spent 9 months TIME, farting around, going to Inventor's Clubs and meeting with other "Inventor's". I discovered TWO things about the "Inventor's" I came across;

1) They are GREEDY!
The "inventors" I knew were SCARED TO DEATH of telling anyone of their invention...to the point of Paranoia... worried that "someone" would grab their "idea" and run with it...CUTTING THEM OUT OF THE MONEY TO BE MADE WITH "THEIR" INVENTION!

2) They didn't know beans about "Marketing" or "Selling" or "Negotiating"!

Thus...they were at the mercy of "Inventor Exploiters"!

2 examples:
1 guy had a great idea for a product and even got a patent on it (a unique Tool)
After trying to interest 15 or 20 Mfgrs he "thought" that S_____ would REALLY go for his product. So, he brings it to S____ and S____ says; "Nope! Not for us!" And S____ then proceeds to COPY his invention and makes it and places it in their stores.
My inventor friend then sues S_____ and S____ ties it up in the courts for 17 yrs...all the while selling my inventor friends invention to the tune of millions a year.
So...when S____ finally settles the deal, the inventor DOES settle for a tidy sum (because he DOES HAVE A PATENT)....HOWEVER....MOST of the settlement money goes to the attorneys and my inventor friend winds up with squat-didly.

Also....I had another inventor buddy who had a GREAT product...patent and all...BUT...he NAMED it wrong.

He got a HUGE Drugstore chain to take on his product and just before they started to market it the NAME he had stamped on each product suddenly, overnight...in ENGLAND....became a NAME associated with "CRAP". The NAME on his product was "Teeny-Bopper"....which was started in the UK and became a NAME associated with a lowly-type of person. So...the huge drugstore chain CANCELLED.

So...since I knew the "LAW OF INVENTORSHIP"...the one who gets his product into the "marketplace"...the firstest with the mostest...WINS....I started selling my product as FAST as I could.

And...after 6 months, sure nuff, lo and behold, ANOTHER company starts presenting a SIMILAR PRODUCT to the SAME Niche market as MY product. In fact, their product was so close to mine it was OBVIOUS to anyone it was a ripoff.

HOWEVER...for me to defend myself would cost me "$5,000 IN FRONT" in attny fees.

So...I went ahead and proceeded to sell the hell out of the product until the market was exasperated. I had made my money WITHOUT handing it over to greedy attnys OR allowing the copycats to gain the upperhand because....I WAS IN THE MARKET FIRSTEST WITH THE MOSTEST!

And I promoted the hell out of the thing (mostly using my Free Publicity talents) until I felt the market was realatively "saturated"...at which time I sold the "rights" to another company who went on to sell the thing for a few more years.

Thus....proving my point;
"Get into the market the FASTEST with the MOSTEST!"

If you have something good all a Patent gives you is, "The RIGHT to sue someone!"

And...if the ones you sue don't give a poop about your suit...they can sell YOUR invention for years....take all the profit out and settle with you for peanuts.

Anyway...thanks for allowing me to remember an early experience in my life of "entroopeneerism".

Don Alm

to establish costs for pursuing it, i.e.,
> what costs are involved (patents etc.) and
> what would be a reasonable start up sum? I
> suppose I would have to at least create a
> prototype (are there other roads?). Once
> I've done that, if I don't want to begin a
> small business producing and distributing,
> is there a way to sell the invention?

> I would appreciate a brief rundown of what
> the process is from conception to profits,
> what the major choices are, and the general
> cost/effort.

> Thanks.




Some of my Unique, money-making programs.

They only give you protection for a certain number of years (14 years from memory).

So after that time, if you haven't made your fortune, anyone can take your precious patent and run with it.

My mechanic has a patent hanging on his wall. It's for four wheel steering. The very same four wheel steering method H____ used in their cars.

The mechanic got NO royalties. And as far as he can figure, H____ discovered his patent, got a copy and began working on it. By the time they had it ready to go into production the patent had expired and they were free to sell cars with four wheel steering.

That's why companies like Coke and KFC have "trade secrets" and not patents. Anyone can read a patent and it only protects you for a certain number of years.

Michael Ross


Get your ideas here

Very few people have even seen the machines that have made the Dart family mega-rich.

Scroll down to the section entitled:
'A Styrofoam Fortune'

Tom

> They only give you protection for a certain
> number of years (14 years from memory).

> So after that time, if you haven't made your
> fortune, anyone can take your precious
> patent and run with it.

> My mechanic has a patent hanging on his
> wall. It's for four wheel steering. The very
> same four wheel steering method H____ used
> in their cars.

> The mechanic got NO royalties. And as far as
> he can figure, H____ discovered his patent,
> got a copy and began working on it. By the
> time they had it ready to go into production
> the patent had expired and they were free to
> sell cars with four wheel steering.

> That's why companies like Coke and KFC have
> "trade secrets" and not patents.
> Anyone can read a patent and it only
> protects you for a certain number of years.

> Michael Ross




Dart Container opted out of the patent process