I'm certainly no Thomas Edison, but one day a light bulb went off and I find myself with an invention. Like Edison suggested, necessity was the mother of invention here and I solved a problem for myself that I think could benefit millions of others.
So I thought about how to fix this, bought some materials, and built a prototype. What do you know...it works! I'm mostly just impressed with myself here because I put a lot of thought into this and it solves the problem almost as perfect as I could hope. The only issue is that it was cheap, easy to make and shockingly simple. In other words, easy to steal or duplicate.
So I don't know how to proceed. I have no desire to be "that guy" on Dragons Den who sinks $100k into something that no one else thinks is worth a dime. At the same time I also think that this is a useful and beneficial thing. So specifically here are a few questions at the moment:
- how do I protect this from anyone else? I'm paranoid about someone stealing this idea. I want to protect it without having to spend a ton of money though, in case no one even wants to steal it!
- how do I get a proper prototype built? Mine is rudimentary, and while it works perfectly well, it looks homemade (it is) and could never be sold.
- do I need to see a lawyer? Could I basically use a generic non-disclosure/non-compete for the time being?
I know that asking for legal advice here is not right, and I guess I don't really want that. I just have no real idea of how to move forward aside from what amounts to picking a name from a phone book...so hopefully someone on CP can help shed some light!
I have no advice Slava but a hearty congrats. I think many of us have these ideas up in our heads but very few ever take it even this far. Good on ya.
Well thanks, but in all honesty I could wind up looking like a fool. For all I know its not patentable or someone else already has this, or more than likely people say "that's it?!"
Have you checked to see if your invention isn't already patented by some one else? If this is something that you seriously think can be done and brought to market I would start the patent process. It can be done by yourself although there are also patent lawyers that can handle it for you. A patent will provide a lot more protection and recourse vs a non disclosure document.
Well thanks, but in all honesty I could wind up looking like a fool. For all I know its not patentable or someone else already has this, or more than likely people say "that's it?!"
Hate to tell ya Slava, I recently discovered your invention in a high-end hotel I was at. They had paper in the toilet stall!
I have nothing to add to this thread but to say good luck and hope it works out. Sounds awesome (whatever it is).
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I looked and haven't seen anything. I would say there was one that was remotely close, but completely different for sure. I just know I couldn't buy something like this, otherwise I would have. I have gone through the Canadian database, but not the US one. I haven't looked there, but I would imagine that will be a time consuming exercise.
If you're really interested in pursuing this, you might consider applying for an Alberta Innovates micro-voucher award which is meant to be $10k towards opportunity assessment (i.e. patent fees, lawyers, business plans, whatever) of a potential product. Then afterward, you can get much larger funds if applicable or desired (3 levels - micro-voucher, voucher, product demonstration). You need to be incorporated to apply, but I've seen plenty of individuals receive these awards.
Also, organizations like Innovate Calgary and TEC Edmonton routinely run sessions and provide advice for these exact scenarios. The resources are out there, you just have to want to make the first step.
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We (well my wife did most of the work) went through this a year or so ago. I don't know all the details, but here are a couple of things I remember:
1. If you have a prototype, do not show it to a lot of people. The invention we were seeking a patent for was created by my father to assist him in his daily work. He's had it for a few years and has showed coworkers as well as sales reps. The patent lawyers immediately considered that a bit problematic. They figured they could probably get around that by explaining it as 'market research' or something like that.
2. Patent lawyers will sit with you for a free consultation to go over your options. And there are options which cost different amounts of money depending on whether you want to do a full patent search, etc. (This is the part where I cannot remember all the details. I do remember that one of our options was going to cost us a couple thousand dollars and the more extensive option was going to be many times that)
3. The patent lawyers we sat with showed us that Google has a good patent search function. They recommended that we start there before committing any funds. Maybe you have done that step already but just thought I should mention it.
In the end, we felt our product was not unique enough to warrant spending the funds to pursue further.
Edit: See Tron_fdc post below. It contains some of the details missing from this post.
Good Luck!
Last edited by CarlLester; 12-05-2014 at 08:18 AM.
Reason: content
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Talk to a patent lawyer. You can do it cheap and by yourself, but it's a MAJOR pain in the ass and chances are you will screw it up. I've done a few and it's not that easy.
Step 1) Put together a bunch of sketches and write up what it does.
Step 2) File a provisional patent. Once you get that filed, you can call your invention "patent pending". Provisionals last 12 months from the date of filing, while you get your formal patent application going.
Step 3) file a formal application
Keep in mind if you sell your invention or realize revenue on it before filing a provisional, you CANNOT patent it.
You might also want to trademark the name if you call it something.
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I've heard from friends that have gone through the process that doing the patent yourself isn't that difficult, and is much cheaper. Doing it through a lawyer can be upwards of $20k (so I'm told).
As for creating a proper prototype, I guess it depends what it is. If it's plastic, you could find a plastics company that will build a mold; if it's metal you can find a metal fabricator, etc.. You'll probably need to come up with a proper blueprint or drawing for any kind of shop to be able to build it. I think you'll almost certainly need to do this for the patent anyways.
Personally I'm a big believer that the execution of an idea is worth much, much more than the ideas themselves.
That's not to say you shouldn't protect your idea, but you need to decide where you want to apply your time/energy/resources. You sorta need to decide if you want to start your own business around this idea, and what protection you'd need around that, of if you'd prefer to partner with some one else to take it to market.
I guess my only real advice here is don't fall into the trap of hoarding your invention/idea like a precious gem without actually putting some time/effort into polishing that gem. Otherwise you'll be stuck with a lump of coal.
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I remember an episode of Dragons Den where a guy invented and patented a pot/pasta strainer. His patent was for the strainer to be built into the side of the pot. He shopped his idea to some companies and they stole his idea and put the strainer in the lid and patented that. Apparently this was an inferior way to do it but it basically rendered his patent useless. Anyways no idea if this applies to your idea but might be something to think about when it comes to the patents.
I've got an invention...now what?
