[Jewelry making - Article 00736] - Re: [Orchid] Patent Process

[James White]

========[ Invite a Friend - http://www.ganoksin.com/invite.htm  ]========

>     Have any of you gone through the patent process? Is there any easy
>     and quick way to go about this? 

    Usually patenting IS the quick and easy part of the whole
    process---cheap too! Even though it takes 2-5 years and costs
    $3,000-15,000. Anybody can get a patent as the 98% of inventors who
    never made a nickel from their patents can attest. The real question
    is can you sell it. With that in mind here is a sound process
    outline: 

    Step 0=96Go Shopping. Look for any existing solutions to the problem
    your invention solves=96they just may be "yours" or better. STOP if
    proceeding is NOT a sound business decision after any step! 

    Step 1=96Ask People. File a Disclosure Document with the US PTO first
    and start using Non-Disclosure Agreements to get opinions,
    particularly from prospective buyers or experts in the field of your
    invention. 

    Step 2=96Get Evaluated. Do a patent search then, if your invention or
    nearly equal ones are not already patented, pay for a marketability
    evaluation by a professional that cannot gain by being positive. 

    Step 3=96Manufacturing Costs. Determine approximate manufacturing
    costs and consumer sale price and do some basic business plan
    calculations to see if your invention will be reasonably profitable. 

    Step 4=96Design & Prototype. Now the fun part! Design and build one
    and test it. Refine and redesign as necessary to get it working well
    and so that it can be easily made and used and looks acceptably
    attractive. 

    Step 5=96Sell a Few. File a Provisional Application for Patent (PAP).
    Get a quality prototype or low volume production run done, create
    sample packaging, instructions, etc., and get your invention on the
    market. 

    Step 6=96Go. If everything to this point indicates a good chance at
    success, create the marketing materials and go. File your full patent
    application before one year from the priority date established by
    your PAP. 

    Step 7=96Watch Competitors. If you have any success at all you can
    count on competitors. Be sure they don=92t infringe any patents you ge=
t
    and keep developing improvements ahead of them. Good Luck! 

    Apparently you've already got a prototype but realize the same thing
    can be accomplished many ways. Ouch, you cannot patent an idea, only
    something that qualifies as an embodiment--i.e., is a bit more
    specifically spelled out such that someone following your
    instructions would get about the same result as you. For more on your
    rights with various types of intellectual property see my
    www.idearights.com web site and for more spelled out instructions on
    the whole process see my www.willitsell.com web site. For some
    cautions on avoiding scams etc. see my www.inventorhome.com web
    site. 

>             Have any of you ever licensed or sold an idea to a
>     manufacturer? Would that be an easier way to go? Get the money
>     without the headache?!!! 

    When it works it's great. Yet probably better than 90% of successful
    inventors actually succeed by venturing--i.e., getting the product
    into production and on the market themselves--rather than licensing.
    To license usually requires that you really do have protectable
    intellectual property AND that it be among the top 10% of all
    invention ideas---and it's entirely up to you to generally prove both
    though there are rare exceptions where "it's obvious" now that they
    see your invention (warning, scammers will tell you this regardless
    of what your invention is). 

Good luck.
James E. White
Inventor, Marketer, and Author of "Will It Sell? How to Determine If
Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable (Before Wasting Money on a
Patent)"  Info Sites:   www.willitsell.com    www.inventorhome.com,
www.idearights.com www.taletyano.com www.booksforinventors.com

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