There are mainly two reasons why people file a patent. 1) They simply want to show that they own one
2) make money.
If you patent then it shows you thought about the product, determined that it possibly is functional and you have thoroughly researched whether it has been done by someone else. Keep in mind that anything can be ‘taken’ even if it is patented. Someone can patent a workaround. International patents are expensive and there are maintenance fees. Is your product for the mass market, is it cheap to make, what is the profit margin. Are you going to license it yourself if Edison Nation doesn’t ? Think about all this before hand, I recommend. It takes a lot of time, money and effort. There is a book called patent it yourself and Patent to Profit that you may want to peruse. If you are not able to market it, manufacture etc.. basically take an idea from concept to market, you will need a licensing expert and/or Edison Nation. Since you are asking for another company to take on the responsibility, cost & liability, you as the inventor will receive a small %. Utility can cost $20,000. It depends on the attorney and the complexity. You can file a provisional but it is only good for 1 year. You can do a patent search either on pto.gov or google.com/patents. In summary, do your research and start learning before you jump in.

Thank you Jane!

I will look into the websites and the books. I know that everyone has a good idea. I just want to be one of the people making money off of it, and not one who simply talks about it!

Dave

When I applied for, and received my patent – the one most important thing I learned is that when you patent a product, you are patenting the IDEA and its function, not how it looks… you patent CLAIMS on your idea (my idea does: this, that, the other thing, and a few more). These claims are what protects your idea from infringement…. or so I thought.

Unfortunately, after selling sentimental, valuable items to obtain a patent (with attorney) – it was my dream – I learned one other very important thing: Plan on your idea being stolen right out of the gate.

Issued patents are “presented publicly” in a publication put out by the patent office after they are issued. I can’t recall if it’s quarterly – but I think quarterly is right. Anyway… the “sharks” out there wait for that publication to hit… they comb through it looking for ideas they can manufacture IMMEDIATELY, and get on the market before you can even THINK about such things.

This is what happened to me. I researched the woman (a businesswoman from Denver)..the shark who stole my patented product idea and ran with it .. found her annual income in Dunn/Bradstreet, and quickly realized that she was a millionaire, and I was just a stay at home mom, and wife of a young army lieutenant (in other words: not rich… LOL).

I called the woman to talk to her about what she had done (vs. going through my attorney), and she immediately knew who I was (before I could introduce myself.. clearly she was expecting to hear from me), and said, “I’ve spoken with my attorney, and he assures me I’m not infringing on any of your claims, so sue me if you want.”

Suing typically leaves you broke, and that’s what these “sharks” hope for. I was out lawyered, and out-incomed.

Today, 16 years later, I still have to take a deep breath before walking into Bed Bath & Beyond, where my product sits – beautifully packaged, and a good seller, and made by someone else who reaps the benefits of my hard work.

It’s very depressing. I would give anything to have the stuff I hocked back. :o(

You see all these successful entrepreneurs on Oprah who “made it”.. who took a good idea and ran with it… but they don’t interview the multitudes of people, like me, who lost out.

One thing that I also learned after getting the patent is that there are VERY expensive maintenance fees that you must pay to keep your patent current. These fees go UP progressively over time. Eventually, we could no longer afford the fees, and let the patent lapse.

I received some FABULOUS advice from a “major manufacturer” who was very interested in my product, but encouraged me to do the following: (A) Get the product manufactured and packaged MYSELF (B) Sell it wherever I found an opportunity (locally, mom & pop shops, etc), as this sort of protects you from theft/infringement – and you can do this while you’re waiting for your patent.. and lastly … C) After you’ve proven your product is a confirmed “hit” THEN the big boys will want to talk about working with you.
This protects THEM and YOU…

Just some tips from someone who’s been there, done that… Good Luck!

Egh I am so sorry to hear that. This was one of the things I was scared of. I have tons of ideas, but of course have that one idea that is certain (at least in my opinion) to be a good seller in Bed Bath & Beyond for many years. My fear is that I will submit it a few times on Edison Nation only to find that someone has taken the idea on the other end and ran with it.

I guess in the end, if you’re not rich and have a truely good idea, your advice to have it manufactured and see if it’s a hit is the way to go. I’m assuming you are suggesting to begin having it manufacturered right after applying for a patent?

For what it’s worth – if your advise ever makes me rich, I wont forget you ;)

Thanks,
Dave

Tidbits FYI…US Patents are granted and published globally every week…always on Tuesday. Unless the patent applicants request otherwise, pending applications are published globally 18 months following their effective filing date (which could be the filing of the PPA or NPA).
As Jane suggests, reasons for filing patent applications include ego satisfaction and making money. Other reasons: give yourself an exclusive marketing “edge;” surfacing competitors; determine the industry’s patent landscape to avoid infringement of pre-existing patents; adding value to your inventive property to draw investor interest; to acquire “property” that can actually be sold, licensed, leveraged as collateral for financing…and more.
Offering an invention for sale…and/or public disclosure sets a clock ticking in the US…and demands any US patent application(s) be filed w/in one year (the USA’s “race period” feature). Public disclosure before filing a patent application results in the inventor being barred from filing in almost every other country (the rest of the world’s “absolute novelty” feature).
When a patent is obtained, it is only as strong as its broadest claim. Competitors will work very hard
to get around the claim scope…and the BedBathBeyonders are very good at it. We needn’t be angry about it. Business has sharp teeth.
? Can someone steal your idea if you just keep submitting it on EdisonNat? If that someone learns of your invention in a non-confidential disclosure and you haven’t established rights to the product or method, yes. BTW: Making and selling the product yourself will not serve to establish ownership rights…except for the product’s trademark. But, on the other hand, successful start-up marketing can win market share before competitors catch up. Hope this helps. Don Kelly, CLP
www.patentagentplus.com

This is a good thread. Generally, there is way too much emphasis placed on ‘needing’ a patent versus “wanting one,” and likewise, too much emphasis on “able to patent” versus “should patent.” And really, more generally, even if it seems like a technicality, there is too much emphasis on “patent” versus “obtain patent protection.”

The notion that a patented product is patented tends to be misleading. As Don gets at, the protection afforded by a patent relates solely to the claims which are allowed by the examiner (what is claimed, as analyzed in its entirety, must generally be considered novel, and non-obvious). You can make the tiniest improvement to an existing product, and your product will itself also be “patentable.” It doesn’t mean that your patent will offer any meaningful protection, it doesn’t even mean that you will be able to market your own product without infringing someone else’s patent. The contents of your patent will be made public….because the purpose of patents is to encourage innovation. This is accomplished largely by 1.) giving exclusive rights to a patentee to provide incentive for innovation, 2.) promoting the disclosure of a patentee’s’ innovation to assist others in their efforts to innovate.

To Kim -

“I called the woman to talk to her about what she had done (vs. going through my attorney), and she immediately knew who I was (before I could introduce myself.. clearly she was expecting to hear from me), and said, “I’ve spoken with my attorney, and he assures me I’m not infringing on any of your claims, so sue me if you want.” "

Did you make any efforts to determine whether the other woman has infringed your claims? I guess we are talking 16 years ago, so its a little late now, but…

Generally, If there is infringement, do what you can to profit. If you don’t feel you can finance a lawsuit, someone else can. If the case is close to clear cut and there is an opportunity to make money, someone out there should be willing to work on a contingency basis, or someone out there should be willing to purchase the patent from you. Find the right person(s)….not easy, but successfully taking a product to market, patent or no patent, great product or marginal product, isn’t a piece of cake in itself…

Also, even if there isn’t “clearcut” infringement, it might be a good idea in such a situation to talk to a trusted attorney regarding this. Send an intimidating cease and desist…have your attorney try and negotiate a licensing agreement…you don’t want to finance a lawsuit but the other party doesn’t want to finance their defense, either.

Now, of course, if there is no infringement, this other woman isn’t stealing your idea, she simply liked your suggestion. Your idea, or the portion of it that was copied, was never patented, or at least was never subject to patent protection, either because it was not considered novel/non-obvious or because your attorney wrote bad claims. Your product was “patentable,” but it wasn’t really patentable in the manner you likely envisioned…that’s fairly common. Everybody wants to know “if it’s patentable.” What’s important is what kind of patent protection is actually available.

This thread is very informative – Thank you all who have contributed.

Derek,
For someone who has a great idea but is on a shoestring budget, your approach seems like the way to go (that or be lucky enough for Edison Nation to choose your invention). I’m going to start searching around on the web to locate a few manufactures. Would you have any final advice on how to approach oversees manufactures (pitfalls to watch out for). Also, would you have a manufacture you would like to suggest?

Thanks again,
Dave

You’re the man Derek,
I’m about to hit level 5 the invention I’ve submitted to Edison Nation. If I don’t make it to the promise land with them, I will definitely be taking your advise to pursue a manufacture in Taiwan.

Many Thanks!
Dave

I’ve enjoyed reading the posts here as well. After 16 years, I – obviously – gave up on trying to reclaim my invention. The woman in Denver who “stole” my patented invention (we’re talking a multi-millionaire) knew my name before I could introduce myself – so she was well versed on the process of pinching someone’s invention. She’s a pro – a rich pro.. LOL. I regret calling her, of course, but thought I could bluff that I had an attorney and intended to stop her. Unfortunately, at that stage I had used all my savings for the patent process alone, and could not afford to sue her. Yes, she definitely infringed on my claims (at least 3). My product invention was actually manufactured by at least 3 more private “individuals”, as I’ve seen it in several mail order catalogs as well (one even uses MY DRAWING from my patent – which I drew myself)!

Crazy.

I, too, have several more product inventions. If I were to tackle manufacturing them again – I’d get my patent, but while I was waiting would go ahead and manufacture with “patent pending”, package myself as well, and line up retailers to sell it through ON MY OWN.

I met with someone from a “big” name company – a friend of a friend – who offered me this advice:

“Do one thing, do it right, and do it better than anyone else. If there are 5 of your same products sitting on a table, all made by various companies, and the public recognizes yours as the FIRST and original, 9 times out of 10 they’ll buy the ORIGINAL, even if it’s a bit more.”

He was trying to encourage me to keep going with my product, and not give up. But manufacturing costs were staggering ($10,000 for the first mold).

My partner and I bowed out, but I learned enough to have made the experience and expense worth it. I know what I’ll do differently this time, and I’ll develop, manufacture, and distribute myself (with the patent).

Oh – here’s another story..

Several years ago, I had a GREAT idea for a product which I shared with a friend of my parents’ who’s a pharmacist at a national chain.. I needed to know how the freezing process can effect certain OTC meds.
He RACED with my idea to a patent attorney… protected it.. developed/manufactured it… and it’s in stores today. :o\ He later sold the product rights to a major OTC pharmaceutical company.

So one last piece of advice: TRUST NO ONE WITH YOUR IDEA. EVER. ;o)