Design / Preproduction / Patent / Sales - How?
Discussion
Think you can search / maybe view patents here:
Uk & Euro: http://gb.espacenet.com/search97cgi/s97_cgi.exe?Acti
USA: www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
Of course, if there are no patents on the idea there is scope to do your own development of the ideas...
Uk & Euro: http://gb.espacenet.com/search97cgi/s97_cgi.exe?Acti
USA: www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html
Of course, if there are no patents on the idea there is scope to do your own development of the ideas...
asdly tricky to give too much advice without knowing what it is! sounds fascinating though.
There are LOADs of people who ell identical products in the market, and devlop their own 'USP' to attach to it. Lots of good ideas exist and are very poorly sold/marketted/realised. I think it's cos people who are good at inventing are often not so good at business (and vice-versa). No reason why you shouldnt take a view that this is still an area with busines potential and how to realise it
There are LOADs of people who ell identical products in the market, and devlop their own 'USP' to attach to it. Lots of good ideas exist and are very poorly sold/marketted/realised. I think it's cos people who are good at inventing are often not so good at business (and vice-versa). No reason why you shouldnt take a view that this is still an area with busines potential and how to realise it
May I hijack the thread slightly?
I have an idea for a healthcare product. It already exists( marketed by big companies ie 3m) but I have an idea for a significant improvement to it. This should be patentable. It is a low tech product. It sells at 'pennies' each, but 100s of 1000s are used every year in the UK alone.
Now I know what the new product needs to achieve, and a few ideas of how to do it but really need a 'designer' to do it properly. So as Bedford asked in his first post, how do I get a designer to help but still protect my intellectual property?
The plan once patented/designed and having proved its better by a small clinical trial is to sell the rights to a big company and exit with a few quid
I have an idea for a healthcare product. It already exists( marketed by big companies ie 3m) but I have an idea for a significant improvement to it. This should be patentable. It is a low tech product. It sells at 'pennies' each, but 100s of 1000s are used every year in the UK alone.
Now I know what the new product needs to achieve, and a few ideas of how to do it but really need a 'designer' to do it properly. So as Bedford asked in his first post, how do I get a designer to help but still protect my intellectual property?
The plan once patented/designed and having proved its better by a small clinical trial is to sell the rights to a big company and exit with a few quid
Hello,
I don't seem to be able to mail you offline at the minute. A quick point re patents, if you have disclosed your idea to anyone without there being at the very least implied confidentiality then it is unpatentable. I know there are approx 48000 experts who log into PH but really, regardless of what people think to be right or proclaim knowledge of it really is as simple as that. If you have an idea and divulge it then you have failed one of the critical rules surrounding patents - so if possible always get anyone you consult even freinds and family to sign something to say they understand they are being told in confidence.
cheers and good luck inventing.... it's a hard and critical world out there.
PS if you need drawings doing or parts manufacturing then if you have some money or need a quote feel free to contact me.
PPS Ted - I hope I haven't just broken the rules of PH with my PS.
I don't seem to be able to mail you offline at the minute. A quick point re patents, if you have disclosed your idea to anyone without there being at the very least implied confidentiality then it is unpatentable. I know there are approx 48000 experts who log into PH but really, regardless of what people think to be right or proclaim knowledge of it really is as simple as that. If you have an idea and divulge it then you have failed one of the critical rules surrounding patents - so if possible always get anyone you consult even freinds and family to sign something to say they understand they are being told in confidence.
cheers and good luck inventing.... it's a hard and critical world out there.
PS if you need drawings doing or parts manufacturing then if you have some money or need a quote feel free to contact me.
PPS Ted - I hope I haven't just broken the rules of PH with my PS.
I don't understand that. If I have told 20 people but they have done nothing to try and patent the same idea, then how does that make it unpatentable?
Can you advice how one protects ones idea from a designer? I just know what needs to be done, the designer will actually make it happen. So how do I protect myself
Can you advice how one protects ones idea from a designer? I just know what needs to be done, the designer will actually make it happen. So how do I protect myself
Whether 20 people who you have told have tried to patent the idea or not, the fact that you have allowed your idea into the public domain makes it unpatentable. I'm no expert but the patent attormey I was sitting talking to a week ago is. And what's more... I beleived him! 
If you contact a patent attorney such as Swindell and Pearson (see their website www.patents.co.uk for more info) they will be able to discuss how it works with you. Generally they will discuss the how patents work with you with no charge so don't worry about that.
As for how do you stop a designer stealing your idea. Very simply you need to prepare yourself a Non Disclosure Agreement which you need to get everyone you talk to to sign BEFORE you divulge any information. Most design consultancies and so on have no problem with these agreements and aren't really interested in stealing ideas.. for one it ruins any reputation they have and the likelihood of future work and secondly they are generally interested in raising money for designing things not going into the market of making and marketing things.
God luck
WH
If you contact a patent attorney such as Swindell and Pearson (see their website www.patents.co.uk for more info) they will be able to discuss how it works with you. Generally they will discuss the how patents work with you with no charge so don't worry about that.
As for how do you stop a designer stealing your idea. Very simply you need to prepare yourself a Non Disclosure Agreement which you need to get everyone you talk to to sign BEFORE you divulge any information. Most design consultancies and so on have no problem with these agreements and aren't really interested in stealing ideas.. for one it ruins any reputation they have and the likelihood of future work and secondly they are generally interested in raising money for designing things not going into the market of making and marketing things.
God luck
WH
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