I’ve come up with an idea for a product that I haven’t seen before which I think would sell well. I’m seriously considering getting a patent on it, but before I get my hopes up I want to make sure it’s not already patented. I tried searching for it here but I get far too many hits.
I’m not sure how much help anyone can be since I don’t want to discuss details of this idea in a public forum, but I thought there was a chance someone might have some tips for me that would help.
We have discussed in several threads in the past why patents are generally a bad idea which will result in nothing but a loss of money and sanity. You might want to look some of those threads up. Unless you have a multimillion dollar idea and are going into business with it, forget it. If you do plan to go into that level of business then you need proffesional advice. A patent is nothing but a license, or help, in suing your competitors. If you think a patent by itself is worth anything you are mistaken.
Well, I don’t plan into going into business making this product (though it wouldn’t be hard at all to rig up a test model), but it’s a good enough idea that if someone hasn’t already had it then someone will - and I’m sure it’s specific enough that if I had it patented I would have leverage against anyone who started selling it.
Since I don’t have the means to mass-produce it myself, I think the easiest way to get something out of this idea would be to get some kind of official recognition that I came up with it.
As I say, we have had similar OPs in the past and you might want to look at those threads. What it comes down to is that it is close to impossible to sell an idea whether patented or not. Good ideas are a dime a dozen. If you have a great idea you need to go into business and produce the product and market it. If it is a great money making idea then it will be copied and you will sue them and that’s where a patent can be useful. Other than that a patent is worthless and will result in a loss of time and money for you. That was pretty much the consensus of previous threads.
So all the people who posted in these “previous threads”, they all tried marketing multi-million dollar products did they? And are speaking from experience?
Or are they people who thought they had a good idea, patented it, and then complained when their product flopped?
I’ve read of cases where someone patented an idea that they never used and successfully sued when other companies used it. That’s what I’m trying to get at here - if there is no patent for anything like this already, I want my name to be the one it was first registered under, so that if some big corporation starts marketing this item I can get a cut.
As a business professional, my advice is to seek your patent. You may not have a multimillion dollar idea (there are a lot of patents for stupid products that were never made) but if you do, you want to have some protection.
Think of the headache if someone takes your idea and makes a million with it.
Afraid I have to agree with Sailor. The idea is maybe 1% of the whole product development and marketing effort.
The patent is only worthwhile after you have successfully defended it in court.
To get the cut you want from a company that has spent big bucks doing the engineering, marketing research, and pioneering selling job is going to require a lawsuit. You have to have the money for that because in my experience (Chief Engineer for a company) lawyers are reluctant to take that sort of case on a contingency basis.
The other big problem is that making small changes in the product can circumvent many/most patents for products. Patents on basic concepts are more durable in this regard but on products are not.
Even if you don’t bother patenting your idea (and I agree that much of the time it’s a waste of time), it still might make sense to make sure that nobody else has patented the thing already or otherwise put the idea into practice.
My understanding is that a better way to protect (& sell) your idea is to use non-disclosure agreements. The idea is as follows: you build a prototype, and contact the marketing guys at a few companies that you think might be interested. Try to arrange an appointment to “pitch” your invention. Before you show them anything, have them sign an agreement that says that they won’t use or disclose your idea without your express written permission. Then you make your pitch. If they buy it, great. If not, then try again until you succeed or give up. If 6 months down the road, you see the company producing your product, then take your contract straight to a lawyer and sue the company for breach of contract.
I don’t know if this works, but it seems sensible to me.
P.S. It used to be that the patent office would let you “register” an invention for $20 or so by simply mailing in a description of the thing. Supposedly, you would then have a year to patent the thing, and your patent would be back-dated to the original registration. I don’t know if this is still true (or if it ever was), but it’s worth looking into, since it’s cheap, and will allow you to tell people that your invention is registered with the patent office.
Oh, and as far as your original question goes, I do have one tip: Do some google, usenet, and other internet searches. You may find that your invention is out there already. It also may help you figure out some key words to help with your patent search.
(standard disclaimer about legal advice)
lucwarm said
The problem with idea is that before we would talk with anyone about an idea, we required THEM to sign an agreement saying in effect that they were basically giving away all rights to the idea because if it was in our area of expertise we could already be working on it. If we weren’t working on it or didn’t have a file on it and were interested, then we agreed to negotiate with them for the idea. They were relying on us to be honest and ethical which we were, however I would never sign something like that myself because in my experience honest, ethical folks in the business world can be hard to come by.
My understanding is that no reputable company is going to listen to you. They have their own ideas they are working on. What if they are already working on that oone in particular or something similar? Listening to your presentation would cause them untold trouble. Dealing with self-proclaimed “inventors” is not the way companies do business. I have never heard of an example of a guy who became rich by selling his idea like this. Never. I have heard of guys who started a business based on a good idea and later sold the business. (Of course, I have heard many more stories of guys who went bankrupt trying to do the same thing.)
As has been said, a good idea is a tiny part of a successful business. Try http://www.tinaja.com/patnt01.html “For most individuals and small scale startups, patents are virtually
certain to result in a net loss of time, energy, money, and sanity.”
Some years ago, when I first bought my present boat, I disliked the way the water pump worked. These are 12V pumps for use in domestic water systems in boats, RVs etc. The way they are designed the pressure regulation is very bad. So I set out to improve on it and, after some intensive mathematical analysis, I came upon a solution which was so simple I could not understand how I was not obvious at first sight. I modified my pump and it worked so much better… and the cost was zero.
I knew that I could not make money just from the idea so I was willing to give it away. I called the manufacturer… and never got past an obnoxious secretary: “No, we are most definitely not interested in hearing about your idea even if you give it to us for free and renounce all your rights.” Hmmm… ok.
I thought it was such a simple and useful concept… I wrote a boating magazine which carries articles about this type of improvements and explained the idea for an article. “Hmmm, yes, great idea… unfortunately it does not fit our style due to length, illustrations, etc.”
So, I have a great idea… and I can’t give it away, much less make money out of it.
An idea for a good product is a minimal part of a successful company. Great marketing, distribution, financing, sales, manufacturing… these are some of the many essentials. If you have all that, then you have your own team developing products. If you don’t, you will not be able to make money no matter what. Great products have failed due to bad strategies. Not to mention that what you see as the greatest invention since sliced bread, the experts in the field may consider worthless and would not give a dime for it.
The best video systems disappeared gobbled up by VHS which was marketed the best
In general a company is not interested in dealing with one-shot inventors for the same reason it likes to deal with stable suppliers, distributors etc that are known and constant. Try selling your first load of widgets and see what I mean. Most places will dismiss you and say “who the heck is this guy?”
They have their own team who delivers ideas for new products and improvements on existing products with clockwork regularity.
You really think you have the greatest idea since sliced bread? Publish it in a trade journal. Maybe you’ll get lucky and someone will call you to offer you a deal for your idea. It is possible.
The alternative is to go into business and do it yourself. But for this what you need is not an idea for a product, what you need is a good business plan. The idea is to make money.
Your public library will have books that will help you, such as Protecting Your Ideas: The Inventor’s Guide to Patents.
For what it’s worth, I read an account by a guy who claimed to have sold lots of ideas by using the method I mentioned. I do not have first hand experience, so if you say that companies are not receptive to such “pitches,” I ain’t gonna dispute you.
I would point out, however, that even if it won’t work with 95% of companies, the approach might still be workable. I also note that when you’re selling widgets (or picking up girls) the vast majority of your prospects are unreceptive.
One of my past employers patented what was a truly remarkable device–it sold well, too. So well that other manufacturers “reverse engineered” it, too advantage of developments in more current technology and obtained their own patents, similarity notwithstanding. Moral: A patent will not necessarily protect you against banditry.
I personally know a man who patented two commonly used manufacturing processes simply because they had never been patented in the past. Both processes involved home made equipment, because no commercial equipment existed. He has yet to make a dime from these patents, but he does hold them. And, in my industry, the processes are in common use in spite of the patents.
Well, now that I read the OP again, he was asking not about getting a patent himself but finding out if a patent had already been granted on the same idea. I have no idea what would be the best way to find out the answer.
On a side note: yes, you can get a patent on pretty much anything. I remember seeing some pretty stupid patents like the guy who patented the laser pointer as a “device to exercise cats” US Patent Number 5443036. The fact that you get a patent does not mean you will win in court. Many patents are granted which should never have been granted and later in court they are useless.
Related links: http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US05443036__
http://www.stern.nyu.edu/Sternbusiness/fall_winter_2001/speculative.html
Go to the US patent and trade office (USPTO) website and do searches for the product on their website. You will probably get an idea if someone has already made it. Just remember “absence of proof does NOT mean proof of absence.”
Short story: A Friend had a copywright on a card. Hallmark liked it and jus flat out stole it. She finally had to sue them. Years later she she wins in court and awarded money that just covered her expenses plus a litttle bit more. Next day, Hallmark is still manufacturing the card. She says “hey, I just beat you in court. Stop making the card!”
"Halmark’s response: “Sue us.”
So she gave up.
I have been succesfull getting large companies to look at and work with my ideas. But I deal with products for the industry in which I work and so I have a lot of credibility. Companies get barraged by cranks that have great ideas that wont wok. The problem is that most people do not understand the business that they are pitching to.
I’ve already searched and I can’t find anything - either my search words bring up 0 hits or they bring up 1300. This is so frustrating.
Sorry Badtz it’s already been invented.
I’m a patent lawyer.
A lot of the advice and apocryphal stories posted don’t sound to legit. So here are some thoughts.
Patent searching is an art. USPTO website usually can get you really close. You have to try several different search term parameters to get a relatively good output. Keep trying. Or, if you’ve got the cash, hire a professional searcher in the DC area.
Patents are valuable/valueless based on a lot of different factors. Claim coverage is very important, and to get good coverage you generally need to hire a professional. I’ve seen non-patent lawyers who can write an excellent patent, but they are few and far between. Of course, there are also patent lawyers who write terrible patents which wind up having little value. It is also important how pioneering your idea is, as it will effect how broad your claims will be.
Can you get ripped off even with a patent? Yes. If the ripping off is sufficiently large, you can get an attorney to file suit for you. And you don’t necessarily have to sue. There are many, many above-the-board companies that will license valuable patents. Problem is, many inventors have an unrealistic expectation of the value of their patent, or an inadequate understanding of what constitutes patent infringement.
and a bit off topic: