Category: Patenting

How To Sell An Invention

Want to know how to sell an invention? Well, first things first, make sure you have your prototype ready. With or without a patent, an inventor needs a working prototype to sell most inventions successfully.

How To Sell An Invention With A Patent

Inventors can sell their invention with a patent either approved or in process. Either position is stronger than without a patent. Most businesses that acquire inventions are interested in items that are actually patentable, so demonstrating this up front will increase the inventor’s negotiating position by a lot and enable the inventor to command much larger fees. This process can be negotiated with a full patent application in process, complete, or even a provisional patent.

Provisional Patents

A provisional patent may be a better route for an inventor that does not want to make the full commitment of funds to an actual patent. It costs a few hundred dollars and gets the patent process started, and allows for a year of not filing very much paperwork. It can allow initial protection of the inventive idea without making the huge investment while an inventor looks for an investor or buyer for the invention.

Downside to Provisional Patents: If the patentability of the invention is not at least explored by patent searches that show the invention can be patented, many potential buyers will look at the invention as unpatentable, or probably unpatentable. Having a provisional patent may help in how to sell your invention to companies that know the field and can gauge themselves the likelihood that the invention can be patented.

An Invention with a Patent that has issued (been approved) or under USPTO Review

A patent is an expensive process. Depending on the type of invention, the writing, researching and prosecution of the patent (taking the patent through the examination process with the USPTO) typically costs thousands of dollars. It is sometimes difficult to know how to sell an invention without investment. If the invention warrants the investment, however, the owner of the invention is in a much better position to market his or her invention to potential buyers. The inventor can also do so relatively “safely” with a patent in place to reduce the likelihood of outright copying of the invention.

How To Sell An Invention Without A Patent

It can be difficult to find someone to pay for an invention that does not have patent protection. Knowing how to sell an invention without a patent is tricky. If you do not have a patent the idea is not protected so anyone can present it. The company has little reason to pay for an unprotected invention, even if you have a working prototype. There is also an underlying concern that an invention that is not patented or is not in process is not patentable, and that while there may be value there is no reason to pay inventor royalties on it. If an inventor wants to try to sell an invention without a patent they can pitch the prototype with a presentation in similar venues to inventors with provisional patents or actual patents.

These would all be difficult avenues to pursue, but it has worked out with an invention here and there. Keep in mind that an unprotected invention may be copied, and the more freely the details of the invention are discussed, the easier it would be for a potential competitor to copy it.

How To Sell An Invention By Pitching

To Businesses that Deal In Products of the Kind: Focus on smaller to midsized businesses that may be open to products. Put together a marketing package to present the product to the company. The package should be just a few pages or even one page, explain what the invention does, and have pictures of the prototype to show that the inventor has something that works.

At Tradeshows

Here an inventor can pitch the product directly to businesses that may be interested, and a variation on the marketing package should be part of the plan.

Professional Marketing Companies

These are companies that specialize in marketing products and inventions, often for a fee and a cut of any sale of the invention to a company. They can be somewhat costly, so make sure they are reputable with a history in the field.

We hope this has provided you with some insight in how to sell an invention, and wish you much luck in getting your inventions out there.

January 15, 2013
Invention Protection 101

How Can You Protect Your Invention?

Inventions can be protected legally a variety of ways, depending on the nature of the invention. Patent protection, both provisional and standard, is the main invention protection method in the US and most Western countries.

This article will address a few points about invention protection options that will assist an inventor in getting his invention patented.

Quick and Short Term Invention Protection

Here’s some seemingly but not always obvious invention protection advice: Until you have it all figured out don’t tell too many people. Anyone who works on the invention with you should sign a non-disclosure agreement. Whenever possible, minimize the number of people who contribute to the project and make sure the people who do work on it for you have good reputation and are trustworthy. The more people an inventor involves in the inventive process, the harder it will be to keep the device a secret, and the more invention protection you will have.

Make Sure Your Invention Qualifies for Protection under the Law

Not all inventions can be patented or qualify for other types of legal protection from copying. Is the invention truly novel? Do you have a great idea but no working prototype or machine? You may not have anything you can legally protect. Even with an invention that cannot be patented inventors make money all the time. A great invention that cannot be protected in the marketplace has a good chance of being copied, so it can be difficult to get investors and businesses interested in it.

Only the following types of things are patentable: machines, processes, compositions of matter, or an article of manufacture. Even then the item must be useful in some way to qualify for patentable invention protection.

Provisional Patents

A Short-Term Affordable Option for an Invention that is Likely to be Patentable

A provisional patent will provide some invention protection during the pitch process. It is a preliminary filing with the USPTO that gives a description of the invention without all of the other supportive paperwork. It costs a few hundred dollars. The protection lasts a year or so, after that the filer of the provisional patent has to send in additional paperwork to convert the provisional patent application to a standard patent application.

Find a Partner with Deeper Pockets than You to Back It, and Possibly Pay for the Full Patent

If an inventor can find investors or businesses that believe in the invention and see its commercial value, they may want to develop and pay for the costly process of patenting the invention. In addition, if someone else copies the invention and starts making it while the patent application or patent are enforceable, which is called infringement on the patent, the deeper pockets will be able to pay to defend the patent.

Do Some of the Preliminary Work for the Patent Yourself

You can do some of the initial work to determine whether to patent an invention or not before investing in a patent attorney or agent and making the long term commitment to the patenting process of prosecution. You can perform basic patent searches on free sites all over the web, including the USPTO just to get a preliminary sense. Patent searching is not an easy process, so inexperienced people should not rely on their own searches to establish that their invention is novel. Professional patent and prior art searchers can determine if the invention is already out there in the public domain or under patent protection for a fairly reasonable sum.

A patent typically costs at least a few thousand dollars to get to a registered number, so it is good to make sure that the invention is valuable enough to the inventor before the investment is made. More complicated patents can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take several years to prosecute. An inventor can reduce the cost of patenting a less complicated patent by some of the shortcuts described here, but ultimately the level of commitment required to complete the process should not be underestimated. Inventors should be fairly sure that the value of the patent to them is on par with their investment of money and time.

These are some preliminary invention protection methods. Note that it is always advisable to consult with a patent attorney for specific advice related to your needs.

January 15, 2013
How to Protect an Idea
Ideas, while they abound and spring forth from our imagination, are not legally regarded as physical ‘things’. As a result, there are only really two ways to go abou it if you are wanting to find out how to protect an idea: You can keep them a secret, or you can develop a product that results from the idea in secret.

If you can distribute the product without anyone else knowing what exactly is in it, and create a brand the product that is successful, you may be able to build a business this way. A lot of recipe based businesses like Kentucky Fried Chicken’s special spices and Coca Cola’s recipe for coke are regarded trade secrets and haven’t had been legally protected in any other manner.

There are different ways to protect products of ideas if that is your goal.

How To Protect an Idea With Patenting

Patenting is for inventions that are not only new but also not obvious to the average person in the field. The more common patents are:
1. Method patents, which detail a way of doing something that is unique;
2. Utility patents which patents the actual object in all of its detail;
3. Design patents are less common, and protect the outward appearance of an object or device. A good example of an item that gets a design patent would be a new style of baby bottle that does not function differently from the standard baby bottle but has a special grip.
4. The truth is, in the US at least, you cannot protect an idea in ethereal form. That’s not what patenting, trade secret and copyright are about. What they are about is protecting the physical or conceptual applications of those ideas. Ideas cannot legally be protected through the patenting process or any other. It is considered anticompetitive and counterproductive to society.
There are, however, multiple ways to protect the work related to your ideas. If you are wanting to know how to protect an idea then the best way is to develop the idea into the application of that idea. The patent system allows you to protect novel and non-obvious inventions that come from your ideas. There are three types of patents.

A Few More Details About Patents

Utility patents: Provide protection for machines, compositions, methods or processes and things you make that are novel. Computers, some biotechnology and pharmaceutical products, even a creatively made pulley or a special way of taking medication in a given order could qualify.

Design patents: for items where what they are made of is generally known, but the overall presentation is unique. A baby bottle that has a specific bottom that prevents it from falling over during use would qualify.

Plant Patents: Plant patents are for asexually reproducing plants. Plant patents protect the genetics and specifics of plants. Some of the genetically enhanced plant products fall under this category, like bacteria resistant grain.

Copyrighting

Copyright allows for long term protection of artistic endeavors, especially combinations of words and sounds. The terms for which copyright can be renewed are up to 2 terms for periods of 28 years. Previously copyright ran for 100 years or so, but a court decision ended the longer time period.

Trademarks

Trademark protection is for images associated with a brand. Trademarks often include symbols combined with words and colors, like the unique packaging orange combined with shapes and the word Tide used by Tide detergent.

In Conclusion

How to protect an idea requires taking that idea and conceptualizing it or making it into something tangible. Use a combination of patenting, copyrighting, trademarking to do that. Also consider keeping the idea as a trade secret, which prevents you having to reveal it in any form to the public at large.
January 15, 2013
Trademark Attorney

A trademark attorney is a qualified legal practitioner that specializes in dealing with all aspects of trademarking, from performing a trademark search to applying for a new trademark, to modifying or deregistering a trademark.

Trademarks are unique, usually commercial names, slogans, words or signs that distinctively identify a commercial product or service. If you wish to be able to market a product or service with the legal protection that a third-party will not copy, use or even misuse your name (without legal consequences), then it is vital that you find a trademark attorney.

In many Commonwealth countries, the trademark attorney profession is highly specialized and regulated by a trademark body. For instance, in countries like Australia and England, trademark attorneys are regarded as part of a distinct legal profession in their own right, and they need to have a distinct qualification, over and above a general law degree, in order to practice. In the United States, while there are an increasing amount of trade mark attorney firms, the profession is more open to general law practitioners, and any qualified lawyer is able to work for individuals and corporations in dealing with the United States Patent and Trademark office. However it is not recommended to use a general legal practitioner for trade mark cases, and one should always seek the advice of an experienced and well-versed trademark attorney.

It is advisable finding a trademark attorney in your area, as the trademarking process is lengthy and time-consuming, and you will want to be in regular contact with your practitioner.

How to find or verify a trademark attorney in your area or district

In The United States

Type ‘trademark attorney’ as well as your city, town or state into the following search box, and you will be provided with a selection of local trade mark lawyers in your area:

In the United Kingdom

It is best to verify a trademark attorney through the Institute of Trademark Attorneys, where you can do a search for a qualified practitioner in your county.

In Australia

You can contact or do a search at The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia.

Internationally

You can contact the International Trademark Association.

Good luck (and a bit of hard work and effort too!).

January 3, 2013