Thanks penster. Someone did tell me that about the innovation searches, but that you can tweak them and resubmit with a new fee for that which is cool. I guess had just thought you could only opt in to searches that were there when you submitted…very cool. It looks like EN has a lot of searches all the time too, unless this is unusual.

Jeff, as long as you don’t delete them, they will be there for future opt ins as long as you are an insider. Many here do that all the time and I know of at least one that had several ideas go R4 numerous times and recently went G7. Some times it fits, sometimes it doesn’t but the beauty of EN, there is a new opportunity always popping up.

As you continue on, revisit your ideas, see if you can present them better, improve them etc. Ya just never know.

Edit: You cannot opt in on the Innovation searches. If you put it in there first, then you can opt in other searches……food for thought.

Hey Kenneth, You mentioned submitting your ideas for free. I’m familiar with doing that…but say I have 5 separate things now. Does that mean next year I should be able to opt one of those in if they aren’t actually live with anyone now? Their forever able to be opted in as long as your an insider? I never thought about future searches, but I think that’s what your saying…

Hi everyone. Great advise Roger . Eric I would have to agree with rogers advise on not giving up totally on the idea. There is always the possibility that it can be tweeked a different way. So never give up ! I know how discurraging it can be to lay down all your hopes and dreams with submission companies, only to give away the house. Even here at EN, I have had noumerous red xs on ideas that I thought would be flying off the store shelves already ! But I never give up on them. I just keep submitting them to diiferent searches for free . Sooner or later one of them has to spark some real interest. But hey, for $20 dollars and a dream on the first time around, who can go wrong. I still kick my self on the whole snuggy thing. Do you know how long I had a drawing of a blanket with arms in my glove box of my truck. I called mine the blanket buddy. Who knew ! I wish I new about EN then. I would be having the world rattle on about MY invention. Bottom line is this, don’t ever ever give up ! Mark it down the best you know how. Submitt it. Say a prayer and put it all in Gods hands. And have fun. God speed my friend !!

Yes, and replied. It got bounced back and in my junk folder. Resent it again today. Send me a message if you don’t get it.

Hi Roger!

Did you get my email?

Great information! Chappy, I would drop that ball like our pathetic Washington Redskins! LOL!!

Good lesson there Chappy. That is why I am constantly stressing to Inventors about doing research upfront before they spend money. Had you not done what he hadn’t how much money do you think he would have lost before finding out the other product existed? Inventors, please take the time to do the boring research first. It will save you a lot in the end.

A very creative guy that has all the potential in the world to be a great product developer said to me a couple weeks ago. “I have an idea!”, it is vry cool and I have concept drawings. I listened to his “NEW” fotball that emits bubbles. My first concern was a missile hurled between children soaked and slippery bubble solution. We talked about safety, then feasability. In the mean time he sent over concept drawings, he is quite talented in CAD.

I asked him why he thought that it was great and he had his reasons. He asked me to search patents for it and do a full write up for a submission to a toy company.

The first thing I did was punched it into google. Yep, Nerf has one for $7.99. I sent him that and he said, “Problem Solved” and completely dropped the concept.

There are a lot of points that I would want to make out of this anecdote some obvious others a little more detailed. He gave up on it… What would you do?

I think if you add a design feature to even very old patent that is totally new and unique EN will be able to get a patent on the added feature that will protect it. I assume that will prevent anyone else from heading in that direction.

Your idea may solve issues the other doesn’t, and may still be patentable. But as Roger said, never totally discard your idea as the associated technology may prove to be valuable in another.

Eric, when ever I think of something and find that it already exists I look at it as at least I was thinking in the right direction, they just beat me to it. I don’t throw any idea out entirely. I have a database I put them in that is very searchable. If I get an idea for a new product I will look through the old ones in that same target market and see if any of the old ideas can be added or help spark a different angle I might not be seeing at the time.

Wow Jeff, thats a great idea! Sorry it wasn’t yours first. I’ve read so many of the threads here since I found this place and by doing so have been able to be at peace when I find “MY” idea already being sold in stores. A lesson I’ve learned is… If you think of an idea and you find that it’s already being sold ..your on the right track. Don’t be discouraged, find peace in the fact that you’ve identified a problem(or a need) and keep using those same brain cells to solve every problem you encounter and you will find success.

Thanks for all the thoughts. There’s nothing more crushing when you THINK you have come up with something truly unique and then BAM! Reality hits you in the face. All part of the process, nerve racking at its best.

Yeah I posted on that and told them about the patent I had seen. Theirs wasn’t going to be a smoke alarm…and theirs was an address sign. So Maybe they could get around it, but I bet there would be legal trouble. It was a company that had the assignment of the patent. So they probably have a few bucks to fight it.

Jeff, hey, I noticed that you are on Quirky. There is another product there getting pitched, not exactly like that, but if someone had called 911 in a home or business, a light outside would start blinking red so emergency vehicles would know where to go Cool idea

Same thing happened a few weeks ago on a beach chair I was thinking about creating. (Ironic that this search is happening now) I came up with the idea 5 years ago, but sat on it and didn’t do anything. I did a google patent search recently, and low and behold, He just got his patent earlier this year. it is a little different, but the same general idea. This goes to show you that if you have an original idea, don’t sit on it too long or someone is bound to have the same/similar idea. (may still submit, who knows)

If it’s an expired patent, I’d think that you might be able to get a design patent on yours maybe? I would probably drop it though. I had an idea a couple weeks ago that I thought was going to be such a good one. Really hated finding that patent, but it saved me $20 bucks. It was a smoke detector that would sense smoke in the room and it would be a sensor that’s suctioned on the window and would alert firemen/people outside that there’s smoke in the room with a light. Still bugs me.

Hmmm… that all depends on the product or patent I’m reveiwing. If and when I find prior art or patents, I always first look to see if they are currently marketed….and if they are what’s the success level? If the product is doing awesome bangup sales and has a great following, then there might not be much room for improvement…but I still look anyways. If the product isn’t doing well, I check the design of the item and see if it can be made smaller, faster, lighter, better. What’s th real issue holding it back? Much of what we as inventors consider ‘inventing’ is really ‘re-inventing’. We are just improving on the work before us, not creating something completely new and unique that never existed before.

If I see the idea isn’t doing well in the market but the design is good already, I set it aside and move on. Inventing is alot like a game of billiards…sometimes you just have to walk around the table a few times till you see your shot….and take it. ; )

Hi Eric,
Like you, if I found anything similar to my idea, I would drop it on the spot. However I have come to believe that each idea merits it’s own set of rules.
Often times there is an opportunity to improve or work around, but often for me it will be the mechanics of the idea that i will carry with me for the purpose of applying to a whole new application…an idea for a tool may become an idea for a toy or vice versa and so on.
Good luck my friend.