Patents / Intellectual Property

[TheUnfitOne]

In a rare moment of enlightenment, I have actually come up with a really genuinely good idea for a reasonably small and cheaply made device that I think is sellable to a manufacturer and thus onto the general public (No, I'm not going to tell you what it is).

Has anybody had any experience with Patents etc as having been googling it looks quite daunting (and expensive)

All advice welcome !

[david5]

what is it?

[TheUnfitOne]

what is it?

Well, I have a seventeen month old toddler and I've noticed that o........HANG ABOUT!,

You're as cunning as a fox with two tails Mr 5

[david5]

with a degree in cunning from oxford university

[Luke]

check out Mr Entrepreneur. Maybe you should go on Dragon's Den seeing as you won't tell us anythign. But seriously, what's patents?

[TheUnfitOne]

......But seriously, what's patents?

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to an inventor or his assignee for a fixed period of time in exchange for a disclosure of an invention.

The procedure for granting patents, the requirements placed on the patentee and the extent of the exclusive rights vary widely between countries according to national laws and international agreements. Typically, however, a patent application must include one or more claims defining the invention which must be new, inventive, and useful or industrially applicable. In many countries, certain subject areas are excluded from patents, such as business methods and mental acts. The exclusive right granted to a patentee in most countries is the right to prevent or exclude others from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing the invention.

[Dave Hirst]

I too was going to suggest Dragons Den.

[ReD_mIst]

I would start by getting a personal record of everything. Start a diary on when you got the idea together, meetings, discussions, etc. Keep a copy up to date, but also get a copy and include as much detail of the invention as possible. Purchase a secure seal envelop (i.e. one that can not be opened without destroying it), put everything in and sealing it. Then post it to your solicitor special delivery and ask him to keep the envelop sealed and to store it securely.

This will give you a secure record of your idea and may help you if someone else copies aspects of your idea before your patent comes through.

There are lots of 'inventors' companies that will help you patent an invention or just contact the patent office for advice.

[Duchman]

Mr chatfield is correct. Make 1000 procent sure you put it on paper and draw it out.

I at the moment do bitch work at a brand name place.

[EsEoh]

I can't believe I'm about to give you a serious answer but here goes.


Firstly step back and look at it objectively. What's the market for your product & what would it sell at per unit? What would it cost to put into production, get patent and produce?

Armed with the above you can work out a break even point, i.e. how many units you'd need to sell before you start making profit. If that number is fantastically high, or bigger than the prospective market, then patenting is not worth the effort.

Simple example.

Selling kevlar reinforced stab-proof gis for systema twats

Cost of goods sold: ₤100 per gi
Cost of patent: ₤50,000
Other one-off costs: ₤10,000
Expected selling price: ₤200 per gi

So, therefore you'd need to sell 600 gis before you break even.

Armed with that expectation, you could then assess how big the market for gucci kit in the systema world is. In UK there are probably only about 30 Systema schools so 600 gis translates to about 20 students per school. Realistic? Fuick knows I'd sooner let them stab eachother without the armoured gis, but you get my point?

Good luck with you smashing idea

[Mike Bishop]

sending a letter to a solicitor is only useful for copyright purposes. Patents are all about filing dates. I'm an IP lawyer so if you're serious drop me a pm. It can be a very long and expensive process so I hope your idea is a good one. Since it grants a monopoly right they are the hardest to get and must be novel, inventive and capable of industrial application.

I'm in Sydney these days so you'll probably get a response overnight.
Mike

[Duchman]

sending a letter to a solicitor is only useful for copyright purposes. Patents are all about filing dates. I'm an IP lawyer so if you're serious drop me a pm. It can be a very long and expensive process so I hope your idea is a good one. Since it grants a monopoly right they are the hardest to get and must be novel, inventive and capable of industrial application.

I'm in Sydney these days so you'll probably get a response overnight.
Mike

Totaly true. Misread the first post. If its writing/poem/painting what ever. You have copyright no mather what..

Its a a device diffent animal.

[Daihlo]

http://www.shell-livewire.com/forums/forumdisplay.php

Forum for business start ups, you will get masses of info on patents or anything else business related from people who realy know their stuff. This is the real dragons den, lots of investors on the forum and they wont take 49% like the dragons do!

Try posting on above link mate, hope it works for ya!

Tim