It just takes one good idea....and I have one.
 

I can't belive it but I have had an idea that HAS NOT BEEN DONE YET and i've dug deep to double check.

It's a little invention that I think could hit big and make a LOT of money...I just have no idea where to start with getting this off the ground without someone else ripping me off and getting the glory....

Anyone got any advice as to how one goes about turning an idea into a product and marketing it with no prior experience or ability to manufacture or R&D the product themselves just the idea...

dunno tbh. But my first instinct would be to patent it if you can before you do anything else.

i'd agree. if i've learned nothing else from watching stuff like the dragons den is if you've not got a secure patent, ideally an international patent, you'll not get much luck from potential investors

and have an exit strategy!

Yea, get it all layed out in detailed plans (measurements etc) and patent it. Then get a prototype knocked up, just to see if it actualy works. Dont worry if its a bit big or whatever, its easier to modify that way. Then you can develop it to make it better.

Good luck!

BTW, can you hint the idea?

Matt

Isnt it expensive to patent?

For GB about £200 so it says here

http://www.patent.gov.uk/patent.htm

If you've done your homework then you will already know this site.
There lots of info on there.

Just keep the idea to yourself and your most trusted

The advice I need is if it's the sort of thing that can be patented at all :)
I was just going to post the product up on a few forums and see if anyone developed it but my dad convinced me to try to see if there is money in patenting it and doing it myself instead of just giving it away.

I've dug around and 100% sure nothing like it exists and I can even think of a way to market it as a teaching aid but basically it's an electronic bit of kit but nothing "revolutionary"

Nothing truly unique about it except that it doesn't exist and I can think of a number of features that will make it very popular as a product.

Will try to find a reputable source to talk to and get my ideas mapped out as thoroughly as possible.

*Edit - Worst case scenario if I get a working prototype at least I can keep that for myself at the end of the day lol

I'm pretty sure i read someone saying something about before going to anyone post all the info to yourself (and don't open it) so the date stamp on the post would be proof that its your in case the 'reputable' company turns out to not be... or something...

:lol:

Good luck :)

ooo clever idea :)
Yeah I've heard of rogue inventors helpers ripping people off.

Latest case my dad mentioned being the woman that invented the baby juice bottle that requires a small amount of suction to function so tipping it, throwing it, nothing would let the juice out until the kid actually started to drink from it.

Took it to a company that made baby bottles who told her the idea was stupid and to go away, then 6 months later were mass marketing her idea as their own.
Luckily she patented the device and kept records showing that she presented the idea to this company and sued the pants off them.

It may not exist, but you must check that there isn't a patent on it.

Sort of like the myth of the everlasting lightbulb where the patent is held by a lightbulb manufacturer to ensure future trade.

I think the only way to do this is to apply.

Good luck with it.

That theiving basket Alexander Graham Bell worked in the bloody patent office and decided that the patent he saw before him (for the first telephone) was a great idea and he wanted it for himself. So he took it, wrote his name on it and to this day is credited not with being a nasty ******* theiving piece of **** but as being the creator of the phone.

So watch out there mate. Trust no-one.

Thats the old fashioned way of proving copyright...and it still works as far as i know.

yeah I tried searching patents but can't find anything.

Apparently the only way to be sure is to pay for an expert to check and file your own on your behalf though as it has to be worded properly to cover you...god this is harder than I expected, inventing isn't for lazy people like me :(

Patent it straight away, and then you don't have to worry about other people copying your idea. very small price to pay for potentially huge gain. Whist doing the patent, you can knock up a prototype to show potential investors so hopefully by the time you actually meet them, you have your idea patented.

Damn...I knew he wasn't the real inventor but I didn't know THAT'S how he did it.
Son of a....lol.

On that note did you know the inventor of Solid State Music players and MP3 is currently installing kitchens in Hitchin as he hasn't made anything off his invention ;)

I don't have the skill or know how to do that which is my major problem, I just have the concept :(

copyright the design documentation by selfposting it to yourself. so when it comes to patent dispute you will have your dated proof.

Well, you can still get the idea patented without actual product. I think.

Just a thought - its not some sort of perpetual motion device is it...?

Matt

just wait til you have the patent, and then invest a little and hire people to do it. providing you are confident enough with your idea and market needs projection.

pmsl no it's not ;)

Is that not the definition of unique? :shock: :lol:

You can patent anything dude. Perfumeries patent smells for God's sake. Get down the patent office and follow the good advice of those others on here!

Good luck...

Poor bugger. See how easily is done. The whole wold and their dog have MP3 players and the type now days yet this por fella gets nothing out of it. I wonder who does tho??

Hers another great patent idea for you. One of the richest families in the world are the ancestors of the guy who created...... wait for it..... the little plastic bit on the end of shoe laces.
Every pair of lace up shoes around the world and all the spare laces that are sold, they get a bit of.

Now that was something very simple too, so you could be on a winner mate. The simplest ideas are always the best.

Ahh what the hell I'm writing it up now and I'll try get a patent.

Tetra packs are always the ones I think of as the amazing idea that made millions on something simple :) (Read Milk/Juice Cartons)

That said Tetra packs are slowly going away unlike shoe laces ;)

my mate paid a staffordshire firm £1600 to patient a new type of pond filter that he made and for them to find potential buyers, no buyers were found but they still took the £1600, his patient has to be renewed each year.

well thats why I asked about the cost... I knew someone who was asked to pay that kind of money, sorry don't know the outcome though!

Thats the problem with patents.
They cost based on how long you want it to last for or to renew it :(

Still this is the sort of product that either finds a market or doesn't so if I get backing to R&D it after a patent and don't get anywhere I'll just let it drop and when it becomes the next huge thing I'll just get drinks down my local telling people about how "I started that I did!"

If you strike it big, do you promise to build a racetrack in the garden of your mansion and have free trackdays for .org members? :)

BTW My old man worked on patent applications at the patent office for 15 years or so. His advice to me was if some big company come to you with an offer to buy out your invention (so long as it's something you can retire off like £1 million) to take it. If you don't, they'll make it anyway and usually beat you when you try to take it to court and not only will you end up getting no cash, you'll lose an awful lot fighting it.

Yeah it's always the way they will spend half the money they offered you in twiddling your idea to make it just different enough to make it too expensive for the likes of you to fight it :(

And yes if I get that rich not only will I make a course with free days for .Org'ers I'll even have a selection of slightly banged up bikes for people to use if they don't want to race their own :)

(hmmm can I set up a rule that no-one is allowed to cross the finish line before me ^_^)

you can do a basic (and free) patent search here:
http://ep.espacenet.com/quickSearch?locale=en_EP

ps. i work at the uk patent office

Hmm, sorry to be a bit of a downer, but this sounds like it MAY not be patentable. If it's just a case of using pre-existing technology in a new way or in new combinations you'll have no patent rights.

Having said that chances are I'm wrong, and even if that's not the case, nothing to say there's not a business future.

To quote Edison: Genius is 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration.

Good luck, sounds very intriguing.


Andy

I think theres somewhere on google now that will check for patents to see if the idea has been patented but not actually created. I saw it on the news the other day however didnt see the beginning of the feature telling how to do it

might be worth going to one of these clinics too (you can get some free advice)...
http://www.cipa.org.uk/pages/advice-clinics

also you can request information from the patent office here:
http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/about...t-infopack.htm

Tell you what, PM me the details and I'll let you know the best thing to do. :P

If you think it will pay megabucks then it must be worth the £50 for a half an hour's advice from a patent agent.

£100/hour? :shock: Where do I apply? :D

you can get a short consultation from a patent attorney for free though...

http://www.cipa.org.uk/pages/advice-clinics

that's what we advise people to do

Is it......

a rechargeble lawnmower - so you dont have to keep moving the cable/run over it?

a device that tells you someone's at the door? oh no, thats a doorbell?

You'll like this one ( i do anyway)
How to stop unlicenced/uninsured drivers?

A driving licence that has to be swiped in a car before the car will start - can also hold insurance details :wink:

Genius I tell you!

Good luck with it. If you never try- you'll never know

Believe it or not, i think you might be wise listening to this person here. Her comments seem to have been ignored and she works for the bloody patent office! :D