What about the asotv search that’s on right now!

Hello Todd and welcome to Edison Nation!

Edison Nation only reviews ideas that are submitted to a specific Live Product Search. Please visit www.edisonnation.com/opportunities to see a list of current Live Product Searches. While Edison Nation may not currently have a Live Product Search in which your product fits, we do host several searches a month sponsored by various retailers and manufacturers. It is likely that your product will fit the criteria of an upcoming search, so please continue to check the web site.

Enjoy your inventing endeavors!

Kevin, where can I find asotv search?

Like Marla says…in the Opportunities link she’s got in her post. The details and questions to ask yourself are in there so you can see if your product is appropriate for that search.

Good luck!

Welcome to the community Todd.

You are in the right place. Eventually an LPS will come up that you feel your product would be a good fit for. I’ve got a handful of ideas bouncing around at all times and so far I’ve found an LPS for most of them.

If you are the creative type I find that viewing each LPS as a mental challenge a great way to come up with more ideas. The LPS’s tend to give me more focus so I don’t go running off inventing something no one wants.

I’d suggest passing your time by trying to solve some of the problems EN’s sponsors are looking for. Maybe you’ll win one of those and then earn the money to do your current idea on your own! Think positive, work hard and it will pay off.

EN is the place you want to be, it’s a great community.

Like your attitude Phil. I’m only slightly “more senior” than Todd, read some your micro-ramblings, had a good laugh or two. Interestingly, I’m finding that most of us in this society can still write! I really hope that with our electronic age, that “skill” (that used to be as critical to life as air and water) isn’t fading among our “yungins”.

Anyway, there’s some good advice there. Thanks.

Thanks guys. ICON Fitness and Health is willing to sign an NDA to look at my idea. I’m still going over the NDA they sent to see just what protection it offers. I may have to get an attorney to look at it to be sure, but it seems pretty standard. If I decide to do this, is it ok to send all the drawings, 3d renderings and videos of me using the prototype I built? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Todd

You will probably find a lot of different opinions about this. I say go for it. If you still aren’t comfortable after the NDA get a patent attorney to do a provisional patent for you before you send all the information. I would say you could get a provisional patent for $1500 or so with a reputable attorney and it shouldn’t slow you down much.

I wouldn’t stop my search with one potential licensee. My experience has been that you should put all your eggs in one basket or one egg at a time. Most would agree it usually takes several attempts to successfully find a home for a new product when no previous relationship exists.

ooops typo. I meant you should NOT put all of your eggs in one basket

Make sure that THEIR NDA doesn’t just protect THEM: you need one which will protect your best interests. There are some companies which will never sign any NDA, some will make you sign theirs, some will sign yours IF you sign theirs, and so on… good luck..

Thanks Kenny. I thought about the provisional patent and have already talked to a patent attorney about doing a patent search. The cost was reasonable but in the event it came back ok, then I would not be able to afford to patent it right now. I thought the next best thing would be to try and submit it to several companies and see if they may be interested. I am going no where with it now, so I have to do something to get it out there.

Julie, thank you as well. The Mutual NDA was actually written pretty well. It seems to cover both sides and had a 5 year term to it. I think I am going to let an attorney read it before I sign it, just to be sure. Is it ok to have an NDA signed and emailed back to you? Also, what do I send to them? I have drawings, 3d models and even a video showing me using the prototype I built. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Todd

Oh, one other thing. What keeps a company from receiving a submission then telling you they already thought up that idea and then you see it in production later on? Is it just a chance you take?

Thanks,

Todd

Todd,

Sadly when you submit an idea to a company it is a risk…….I had a television idea stolen from me in 1999 and it is very popular and played worldwide and won many awards and that company said they had the same idea, yet they posted my letter on their website describing it exactly as I wrote it, minus my name of course. It’s estimated value is over 100 million dollars to date…….

I won’t go into any details since I don’t want any trouble, but this only goes to show why non disclosures and documentation and paper trails are extremely important if you ever need to sue them. I was a bit hesitant to submit my idea to Edison Nation, but I have done my research and seen the show and seen how this place operates and I am 100% confident these are good honest people here, yet I have document and copied all transactions and am clearly keeping great records since it has happened to me before……And my family has watched every aspect of the development of my idea so they know I have invited it….

Also it is risky to steal someones idea, because the thief is taking a chance on stealing something that may not even be as good as they think and they don’t know what witnesses you may have.

To be honest if I could go back in time I would have taken my idea to a notary and had it notarized ($5.00) and then sent it in mail receipt return, but it was a hard lesson and I have been angry at myself for being so trusting and carefree about the idea……

The beauty of the provisional is it gives you 12 months before you have to file the rest of the patent. Hopefully in 12 months you would know if it was worth following through with or not. Better yet it is possible that the licensee would fund the remaining patent work and still name you as the inventor.

Thanks Ken. That is really sad that someone took your idea when you put so much work into it. That is how I feel. I have been so hesitant to do anything in fear of the same thing. But, if I continue to sit and do nothing eventually someone will invent it and I will be in the same boat. This company, ICON Health and Fitness, is a well known company and manufactures many different brands of exercise equipment. I have done searches on lawsuits against them, but have come up with nothing. I have been sitting on this idea and using the prototype for nearly a year and just don’t know what to do next. I appreciate all the help you all have been giving. I will keep you all posted on what my decision is and the outcome.

Thanks again,

Todd

Kenny, that is something I am considering. Do you really have any protection with a provisional? I would guess it is how it is written that matters. Has anyone heard of Ron Nathans, patent attorney? He is a semi-retired patent attorney who worked for the U.S. patent office and does patent work for much less then other attorneys. His website is www.robnathans-patents.com. I have been talking with him about doing a patent search first and then go from there. If a provisional is beneficial, that may be my next step. Have you issued a provisional before?

Do the patent search first then get a provisional, you don’t need claims at this point but many people add them anyway…..You can do it yourself, just describe it and illustrate it well and that is all that is needed and you get one year protection, but in reality about 8 or 9 months cause if you need to file the patent application you must consider that it will take time for a patent attorney or agent to get one prepared and filed. It costs about $100.00 to file a provisional and you can do it yourself electronically, just follow the steps at the patent office website.

I used Kevin Prince for my patent searches and he prepared my patents for a product “flavored water dispenser.” everyone likes but just not interested in picking up for various reasons, so it was just time to move on to my next idea! Anyway he is a good guy and fair prices……http://dirtcheappatents.com/

Please remember that the provisional patent will be part of the full patent application so it should be prepared by a professional. Having a bad patent is worse than having no patent at all. I can tell you that from personal experience. As they say live and learn. The other thing is it might be difficult to get a patent at all if you start making your idea known to your potential licensees with out a patent. I am not a patent attorney and cant give you legal advice but you should definitely talk to one right away.

By the way, you are very welcome.

Great advice Ken – A provisional patent app is not replaced by a normal application – it’s adjoined to the application.

Many inventors (often at the advice of other inventors) try to save money by not having a professional work on the provisional – sometimes you can get away with it – but other times it can destroy your “real” patent application when the time comes.

If you want to save money (and we all do) take the time to figure out if you need a patent in the first place – not all ideas should have a patent. In many cases you have the same amount of protection in a copyright that you would have in a patent.

Second, take the time to “line up the planets” Make sure your idea can even be made into a market viable product before you start spending the money on legal protections you may never need.

To many inventors patents are really just a manifestation of ego – and anyone who has been in business very long will tell you the “Ego Monster” will kill your business faster than anything else.

Just some things to think about.

Thanks Kenny and Mark. I may go ahead and have a patent search done to see if anything is out there that I may have missed. In the event there is nothing found then I need to make a decision on my next step. A provisional may me my best bet for now. That way I can at least pursue my submissions with some protection other than just an NDA.

Thanks again for all the help,

Todd

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to send with your submission when trying to get a company interested in your idea? All the drawings and details or just something that explains your idea.

Todd

Hi Todd,
Welcome. If you search the forums for “sell sheet/s” you might find some helpful threads.

Thank you Carrie.

Todd,

The question & answer below is from an EN blog(to see the entire blog, click on blog and on the left you will see categories. Click on office (2)) – The below response is from Amy Ellis, EN Project Manager.

From an insider’s perspective, what advice would you give our inventors about filling out their LPS submissions? What do the search sponsors like to see?

Obviously the products submitted to Edison Nation run the gamut as far as development, intellectual property etc. However, whether you have a product ready for the store shelves or just a concept, a video is ALWAYS welcome. It helps me in being able to share your brain child with the sponsor and it helps the sponsor put a face with the product.

Good luck inventing. :)

I might have misunderstood.

Todd, were you asking about materials to submit via an LPS search? In that case, Tracy’s response is more helpful.

If you were asking about submitting something directly to a company outside of the EN process, then you should take a look at the treads about sell sheets.

Yes Carrie I was asking about submitting directly to a company. I did not know exactly what to send but after seeing some of the sell sheets, that is the way I am going to do it. I do have a prototype built and a video of me using it. Would it be wise to send the video along with the submission to the company of interest?

Tracy, the information you gave me is very useful in the event I come up with something to submit to EN. Thanks!

What would be a proper way to contact a company to see if they may be interested in an idea? Is there a formal way of doing this so they don’t just read it and hit the delete button? Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Todd

Good questions, Todd. I don’t have the answers as it is not something I’ve done before. Maybe someone else will chime in. You might get more responses if you start a new thread with your questions.

I’ll so that. Thanks Carrie

Hey all,

I recently talked about signing an NDA with a company called Icon Health and Fitness. They have an NDA that they sent me and it seemed to cover both parties. I signed it and sent it back to them. I received it back from them with a signature but no date. When I signed it I dated it, so here’s my question. Will the date I put on it be ok or do they need to date it as well? At the top of the NDA it say "Entered into this _______ day of ________, 20_______ (the “Effective Date) by and between ICON HEALTH & FITNESS, INC CORP. etc…” none of this was filled out. I would have filled this out myself but was unsure of when they would sign and send it back. I expected them to fill the rest out. What about where it says "IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto execute this Agreement as of the ________day of __________20__
That was not filled out either.

I am a little unsure what to do from here. Should I send it back and ask them to finish filling it out? I don’t want to make someone mad and loose the chance of showing them my idea, but I also don’t want to be take for a ride either.

Any thoughts?

Maybe you can fill out your part, then take it to a notary and have it notarized and then send it mail receipt request return, at least when they sign for the mail you will have a signed and dated document…………..