Exlusive Rights

Originally Posted by RickC

Thanks Dien and Bozo. I have read of others getting exclusive rights with different marketing methods that are not being utilized by a manufacturer, and was curious about an "Idea"

Lets pretend of life before Reeces Peanut Butter Cup. You had Chocolate and Peanut Butter. What if someone discovered that these two ingredients went well together for a new product. Now we just need to get each manufacturer together to create it...but it IS my idea.

Perhaps one way to prove the idea is actually yours and you thought of it first is to write the whole concept down on paper and then mail it to yourself. That way you have a date of when your idea was thought of and you are protecting it. Should the concept actually become reality, then perhaps your "idea" would then translate into receiving part of the profits from the new product each time it is sold.

Hope I'm not sounding foolish. There are currently two items I eat every day that I combine together myself, thinking "I wish these things were packaged together so it would be easier. Each item is a healthy item, too.

Thanks for your input!

I understand exactly what you are saying here, as I am involved in the very beginnings of such a project with a crazy lady. Her biggest and first concern is that some scoundrel will rip off her idea, and so she insists on non-compete agreements all around.

My thoughts on that are that, besides being a whack job, she is being unrealistic. She is expecting to reap 80% of such an arrangement when the reality is that she will smack a home run with 1%.

I've seen this come up over and over with other people. They have a great idea and think that it's worth big bucks just because they thought it up. The reality is that ideas are a dime a dozen. It's action and production that have value. In her mind, she wants someone to build a prototype from her idea, produce and then market the thing and give her big bucks.

What usually happens is that the idea dies on the vine because of the paranoia. Nobody wants to placate a whack job except maybe a doctor of some type, so in the end nothing happens.

The thing to do, I think, is to prototype your idea and then present it to someone reputable who has the resources to see it through. Don't worry about Bozo, or other regular folks, ripping you off because we don't have the resources or even the desire to do so.

The link I posted earlier, about the energy drink, shows one solution. You get the funding and go into production yourself. Another solution is to license it to someone and take your small percentage while you go on to something else. The most common solution is to hide your idea away in a box and do nothing.

You might want to take a look at what's available here on sowpub regarding toll positions. Also there is some good information available about licensing.