Discussion
How do royalties work? ie if you think of an invention but cant be arsed to set up manufacturing etc can you sell it to a company and then get a percentage? sorry to sound dim just wondered when looking at the pistonheads news about ford and their new stop diesal getting in the car gadget. If you were to come up with an idea like that how would u get royalities - get a patent?
billb said:
How do royalties work? ie if you think of an invention but cant be arsed to set up manufacturing etc can you sell it to a company and then get a percentage? sorry to sound dim just wondered when looking at the pistonheads news about ford and their new stop diesal getting in the car gadget. If you were to come up with an idea like that how would u get royalities - get a patent?
There are various ways of setting up such agreements. Recently I set up a deal for a chap that invented (and paented) a bath lift. After lengthy negotiation, this is what we agreed (in summary):
1) The company acquired the "rights to manufacture and market the product" for an agreed price.
2) The company committed to a certain level of (measurable) marketing effort.
3) The inventor had a minimum retainer, paid monthly.
4) The inventor was given 5% of turnover by way of royalty, but only calculated above the monthly retainer.
5) We agreed an open book policy.
6) If sales dipped below a certain level for two consecutive years then we have the right to appoint another company.
7) The inventor committed to working on "version 2", which the company will have the right to manufacture and market.
8) Quarterly meetings would take place between the inventor and company.
on-off switch for women (speech)
on-off switch for women (sex drive)
wind farm that works without decimating wildlife and the landscape
cheap way of getting rockets out of the gravitational pull of the earth
shopping trolley that steers straight
thoughtfulness implant for tossers (just driven ten miles and wanted to commit murder 3 times)
calming device for me
'is it worth it?' meter. scans the woman who you're buying drinks for and automatically calculates your chance of actually getting somewhere. Will save ugly men money.
hangover cure that works
ugliness cure that works
er....any of them'll do!
on-off switch for women (sex drive)
wind farm that works without decimating wildlife and the landscape
cheap way of getting rockets out of the gravitational pull of the earth
shopping trolley that steers straight
thoughtfulness implant for tossers (just driven ten miles and wanted to commit murder 3 times)
calming device for me
'is it worth it?' meter. scans the woman who you're buying drinks for and automatically calculates your chance of actually getting somewhere. Will save ugly men money.
hangover cure that works
ugliness cure that works
er....any of them'll do!
i have had an idea but have always been too busy or lazy to do anything about it.its been at the back of my mind for at least 20 years. if something similar is available then i will apologise in advance.
a simple heat exchanger that extracts the heat from waste domestic water and pumps it back into the central heating system.each time i take a bath i wonder about how much energy goes down the drain.with the recent hike in gas prices maybe it could become more cost effective to have something like this in your home.
a possible second function could be to filter the water and put that back into the system for flushing toilets etc.
hope this is of help to someone,if it works you can buy me a pint. if it already exists then take the pi$$.
a simple heat exchanger that extracts the heat from waste domestic water and pumps it back into the central heating system.each time i take a bath i wonder about how much energy goes down the drain.with the recent hike in gas prices maybe it could become more cost effective to have something like this in your home.
a possible second function could be to filter the water and put that back into the system for flushing toilets etc.
hope this is of help to someone,if it works you can buy me a pint. if it already exists then take the pi$$.
a friend of a friend of mine had an idea,he made a mock up in cardboard and had a letter of non disclosure drawn up. he then approached a leading company in the field and was offered a six figure sum for the product. he decided to go it alone and lost a six figure sum.
some more qualified people on here may advise against this but in this instance it could have worked for him,he was just poorly advised by an ex friend!
some more qualified people on here may advise against this but in this instance it could have worked for him,he was just poorly advised by an ex friend!
Jas, I've often wondered this myself. It probably comes down to marketability - who would bother with the hassle of installation (££££
and additional hassles for the sake of a few quid saving?
Actually, hotels etc.
I've got a better one: Place an enormous parabolic mirror in the desert, focus all the light energy into a fibre optic cable, run the cable to the uk and out through a diffuser to enable us to have sunshine 365 days a year.
A week after I had this idea I heard that they're doing similar things in India as a cheap form of laser surgery, so I know i've got a million pound idea in there somewhere!
and additional hassles for the sake of a few quid saving? Actually, hotels etc.
I've got a better one: Place an enormous parabolic mirror in the desert, focus all the light energy into a fibre optic cable, run the cable to the uk and out through a diffuser to enable us to have sunshine 365 days a year.
A week after I had this idea I heard that they're doing similar things in India as a cheap form of laser surgery, so I know i've got a million pound idea in there somewhere!
i agree it might be marginal but remember when double glazing was relatively new, they used to market the energy saving aspect. although it was calculated at the time that it would take x amount of years before the energy saving would pay for the windows.
i like the idea of saving energy. i am building a large extension to my house next year and hope to include some energy saving features. they will probably be marginal but if i do it from the start it should be ok.
we never expected energy prices to shoot up like they have though did we?
i might also use waste water from a bathroom to flush the toilets downstairs,again just to save water although i am not metered,just because it will be easy to do using existing products, and of course have fun doing it.
what i like the idea of is a man in a shed coming up with an idea and it coming to market. come on guys get thinking!
i like the idea of saving energy. i am building a large extension to my house next year and hope to include some energy saving features. they will probably be marginal but if i do it from the start it should be ok.
we never expected energy prices to shoot up like they have though did we?
i might also use waste water from a bathroom to flush the toilets downstairs,again just to save water although i am not metered,just because it will be easy to do using existing products, and of course have fun doing it.
what i like the idea of is a man in a shed coming up with an idea and it coming to market. come on guys get thinking!
Innovative ideas have nothing to do with success. What matters is what the market wants, not what you think ut should want. Currently, the sectors which are getting serious investment include:
Health related
Environmental related
Educational products
Business services
Leglislation driven sectors
Health related
Environmental related
Educational products
Business services
Leglislation driven sectors
jas xjr said:
a friend of a friend of mine had an idea,he made a mock up in cardboard and had a letter of non disclosure drawn up. he then approached a leading company in the field and was offered a six figure sum for the product. he decided to go it alone and lost a six figure sum.
some more qualified people on here may advise against this but in this instance it could have worked for him,he was just poorly advised by an ex friend!
can u say what the idea was?
i could but i do not want to embarass the guy. i am sure he is doing ok now but it might be a bit painful for him.
the problem was that although he ran a successful business it was in a totally different field, when he decided to go it alone it was a steep learning curve for him. he was just badly advised and did not have the relevent experience in marketing and productionising the item.
all i will say is that several household names were interested in the product and he also had a letter from james dyson saying what a great product it was.
the problem was that although he ran a successful business it was in a totally different field, when he decided to go it alone it was a steep learning curve for him. he was just badly advised and did not have the relevent experience in marketing and productionising the item.
all i will say is that several household names were interested in the product and he also had a letter from james dyson saying what a great product it was.
jas xjr said:
i could but i do not want to embarass the guy. i am sure he is doing ok now but it might be a bit painful for him.
the problem was that although he ran a successful business it was in a totally different field, when he decided to go it alone it was a steep learning curve for him. he was just badly advised and did not have the relevent experience in marketing and productionising the item.
all i will say is that several household names were interested in the product and he also had a letter from james dyson saying what a great product it was.
now thats just teasing!
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