Patenting and producing an idea/product

[Timwakefield]

I had an idea today, one that I think could be a legitimate money-making idea for a product. I am seriously considering trying to get it into production but have zero idea where to even start. Has anyone ever patented an idea or invented anything? I'm trying to figure out whether to do it for myself (no working prototype but I may be able to whip some sort of likeness up) or go through one of those companies like InventHelp.

I have a friend who works for a fairly prominent company that does basically exactly what I'm looking for, but they seem kind of expensive. I don't really care so much, because I'm certainly willing to pay for the ease of going through said company, but I was curious if anyone else had any experience going either route?

Also, said idea would represent another company and therefore require their licensing I would think? I'm weary to even try and take a first shot at creating the product for fear of misrepresenting myself as someone who is involved with the company.

Thanks BG I love you.

[Qalbert]

what's the idea?

[solanis]

are you looking for advice on how the financing process works or are you looking for advice on the legal aspects of starting a company? if you think your idea could be the basis for a firm and you want to make that happen, that's one thing. selling intellectual property is a whole different beast and I have no experience with it lol

[kuronosan]

Tell me a little more detail about it and I'll tell you how to make millions!

[test123]

venture capital if you aren't greedy for profits, just want a decent businiess. But patenting takes up to years. In the computer industry new products age fast and patents arent made fast enough, so they apply for patent and directly go to market with the product labeling it "patent pending". If the patent is conflicting another patent you may get sued for your profits in this case.

Most companies just draw their products and email it to China, 3 months later your products are at the post office.

I know computer chips of 22nm scale cost about $15.000 for the initial template mesh (Chip #1), and about $1-100 for each chip beyond that.

[friedfunk]

Don't tell the wrong person... a few years back I told a friend about my full body umbrella idea and 3 months later I saw this

http://posterous.com/getfile/files.p....scaled500.jpg

[Reuniont]

Don't tell the wrong person... a few years back I told a friend about my full body umbrella idea and 3 months later I saw this

http://posterous.com/getfile/files.p....scaled500.jpg

That's the best thing invented since the printing press!

[Cruzizzle]

I had an idea for peanut butter in a squeeze bottle and was told it wouldn't work and was a dumb idea. Then Skippy started doing it.

I missed out on 10's of dollars.

[miokomioko]

http://images.bluegartr.com/customav...ar43834_77.gif what's the idea?

lol

Also, I had the exact idea for the "wireless electronic locator" when I was in elementary school... (early 90s?) Though I doubt these things ever sold well.

[Timwakefield]

are you looking for advice on how the financing process works or are you looking for advice on the legal aspects of starting a company? if you think your idea could be the basis for a firm and you want to make that happen, that's one thing. selling intellectual property is a whole different beast and I have no experience with it lol

I don't want to start a company by any means. I don't think the idea warrants itself to quite that scale. I'm just looking to find out what the steps would be to patent the idea and get it into production somewhere. Kind of like that show where people pitch ideas to those guys who sell shit on TV, only on a much smaller, more realistic scale.

[Francisco]

Is it a knuckleball?

[BardonGaruda]

Filing an initial patent application is pretty cheap and would give the idea patent pending status. However to get a full patent is expensive as patent searches have to be done to ensure no one else has a patent on that idea and that you're not infringing on someone else patent. Something to note is that as soon as you start the patent process your idea will be available at the patent office for anyone to search on and possibly steal the idea if it's a good one. It's very important to go from patent pending to full pantent in the shortest possible time for this reason, but again that will be expensive.

Reading the OP it seems that your idea is an improvement to someone elses existing product which would put you in the territory of infringing on their patent or intellectual property.

You don't need a prototype to apply for a patent. You just have to give a description of the idea to the extent that someone else could build the product based on that description. However a prototype would help you to see if it would work and is cost effective.

For an idea or process to be patented it has to be new and useful, so if you got a patent but someone else can show that already had the idea before your patent was issued it wouldn't be covered by it. Useful in terms of a patent would mean performs the function as described and have a useful purpose.

One major thing you should consider before going down this route is that the vast majority of patents cost way more that the idea/product patented ever makes.

Also from personal experience if you talk to the company who own the original product and they think the idea is a good one they'll probably just take the idea, even if you have a patent. A patent is only worth how much money you have to fight anyone who infringes in it the courts and large companies will keep you tied up in courts for years.

So think carefully about this before you do anything. Most ideas take a hell of a lot of work, money and dedication to get them to the point where you can actually start making money from them. Most don't make it that far and even for some of those that do the window of opportunity where the idea might have been a big hit may have passed by then, especially if it's a technology idea.

But if you believe in the idea and you're smart about how you go about things this can at the very least be a huge learning experience for you. Either doing work yourself or getting local companies to do a one off item for you on the cheap or for free (you'd be surprised how many smaller local companies will do this). I'm not sure what your current situation is but being able to show ppl how much you did to try to get even a failed product off the ground can give you a huge leg up in your career. You'll get experience of dealing with manufaturers, distributers, setting budget, marketing etc. that could make the difference in a future interview.

[Timwakefield]

Thanks Bardon that's a lot of useful information. Some notes though:

It is not an improvement on an existing idea. Though I am all but certain that this item does not and has not ever existed, it doesn't necessarily mean the idea hasn't been thought of, which would obviously put the kibosh on any attempt at success I'm about to make.

Nice to know that I don't necessarily need a prototype. I can work on some sketches and such and it should be pretty self-explanatory from there. It's a fairly simple concept. Not quite brain surgery.

I thought that it would be possible to just pitch the idea to the company and kind of skip the patent process, but then what keeps them from taking it, producing it, and leaving me in the dust? Is there some sort of protection in place for things of that nature or is it a handshake with hopes that the other guy doesn't have his fingers crossed? That makes me uncomfortable.

I work a full-time job in a field completely unrelated to anything I'm thinking of here. It was just a cool idea I had that I thought "Man, that could really sell." I'm far from an inventor, haha. I understand that most of these ventures go down in flames and rarely does something like this really get legs. Still, I'll probably try to get some more information on the costs of trying to follow through with something of this nature, maybe talk to a bank to see what kind of loan I can get, and go from there. Really appreciate the input!

[BardonGaruda]

In terms of sitting down with a company about the idea you can have them sign a confidentiality agreement before any discussions take place. But that puts you in the same boat as with a patent, in that if they really want to screw you over they will no matter how careful you are.

In terms of getting funding you should also talk to your local chamber of commerce and any kind of local, state or federal agency that is there to promote entrepreneurship. There's normally grants available and although they may be small they can cover some of the costs. Most grants will probably be aimed at creation of employment, but there also should be grants available towards performing a feasibility study. Basically they'll refund some expense towards you reseraching if the idea is a goer or not (not sure about US but here in Ireland it's about 2-5k but it has to be reasonable expense).

Also such bodies or similar normally have a mentoring program where a retired business person from the local community with give you guidance and may also help with putting together your feasibility study. They gerenally receive a small fee from the body that appointed them but would be free to you. This would be a huge benefit as they can advise you on meeting strategies so that you don't get fucked over by companies you talk to. They might have contacts that can get stuff done cheaply for you or get you a foot in the door where you might have been ignored. They can act as a sounding board for you and also your regular meeting will keep you focused as you'll want to show some progress from the last time you met with them.

I wouldn't approach the bank until you've done some more research into things as the reception might not be too hot. If you've done your feasibility study or a business plan before you go talk to them it will be completely different. The fact that you have some figures and done some research will put you ahead of 90% of ppl who approach their bank with an idea.

Also banks aren't the only source of finance and certainly not the cheapest. If you've done enough research you can approach one of the large accounting firms who will have a venture capital section. They may have some clients who are willing to invest, what to them would be a small amount as a punt, but might be enough for you to get things going. Also the accounting firm can do things like incorporate a company for you so that you are covered by limited liability. They may do this on what we call a no fee no foal basis over here, basically if things don't work out they wont charge you anything. The reason they'd do this is because they get an idea that they can pitch to their client and keep them happy. They will be making a hell of a lot more from those client than any fees they would have charged you.

Another thing to consider is your local university, especially if you're a graduate from there. Most colleges or univerisities have some form of campus companies and if it's a good idea they can bend rules to get you in on their program. This would mean again possibly more grants, the use of a shared office/meeting room to make yourself look more professional when you have to host meetings. Also you would have access to lectures and facilities that might be very costly if you had to get a company to do the same thing. 2 examples for myself are that I got what would have been a 10k complete CAD work up of a product done by my former univeristy for free as the department head said he'd use it as a test case for the univeristy doing similar things in the futures. The 2nd one was I got to do unlimited searches on a database of medical studies owned by another college completely free when each search would have been about $10 each. Due to how badly things were catelogued back then I had to do close to 100 searches and that would have cost almost my entire grant for the year as a final year student.

There are a lot of agencies and organisations out there that are willing to help you get a good idea off they ground but they wont come looking for you. You have to go out and knock on a lot of doors but once you get one on board it becomes easier to get others to help you out too.

[Zalius]

the patent system is the reason we don't invent shit anymore. when was the last time anything cool was invented other than the internet? it fucking wasn't man. it wasn't. same shit. where the fuck is my jetpack and intersteller flights and fucking hovercars? PATENT LAWS ARE CLOGGIN THE TUBES MAN

[Blarg]

I have this brilliant idea for a new patent system but I can't tell any of you in case you patent it before mine gets filed.

[Kerberoz]

[Gredival]

If the idea is legit, and you're serious, go hire an IP lawyer.

Patenting is a complex process and there is a requirement of "diligence" so you want a specialist to handle it.

Also the US is becoming a first to file, not a first to invent, nation (like most of the world). So it's not to your advantage to sit on an idea.