[Closed] Patenting a product

Get a patent but remember in china they dont give a flying dragon
400 notes starts the ball rolling so if its so good and you have faith in your product ,Its not a gret deal of moolah then comes the rest of the just like personal injury lawyer buisness of we know best (but sound like a bunch of bulls have shat here before)legal advice that you pay through the nose for!!!!!!!!

if you dsclose the idea to anyone like your mate be aware he will shag you right up the arse regardless what agreement you have when its worth 20 million

best advice do it yourself ,get some made, ride on the wave ,then move on.

Unless you just invented teleportation or a cure for aids its pretty pointless trying to patent it anyone who has a effin clue will know that you did it first and it might be OK

do i sound cynical ....wonder why

unless you have any experience reading/writing patents don't try to write a £400 do it yourself application; you will almost certainly not cover all the possible applications/uses in the way that is required to truely gain value from it. Most patent attorneys will have an initial discussion free of charge (beware most will be happy to file a patent for just about anything even if its not worth it) then it will cost you probably about £2000 to get them to take your information and present that in a robust patent with the necessary drawings etc. That buys you about a year before you need to spend even more to get protection in other countries etc. I would suggest unless you have £10,000 to spend (and therefore expect to make in [u]extra[/u] profit/royalties or however you plan to exploit it) then its not worth even filing. Patent strategy is more complicated than that and there are all sorts of reasons for and against filing.

One thing you probably should do is document what you have done; take all your drawings, sketches, calculations etc and product photos - add pages describing what it is and what it does. Make a copy and seal it in an envelope (use a type that is tamperproof). Post it to yourself by recorded delivery (actually even 2nd class is OK but you don't want your secrets going missing). Don't open it when it arrives. If you ever need to prove that you invented it first (or independently) you have a record with an official frank on it certifying the contents were created on or before that date (you would seek legal advice about how/when to open).

I would suggest its just as important to do is ensure its documented between the "inventors" as to who owns it and how any proceeds will be shared etc. A simple letter signed by both of you will do to start with. It should also cover confidentiality and that you won't disclose it to others without agreement first. And how you will make decisions about its technical development and commercial exploitation. Then you want a non-disclosure agreement (you should be able to get one online) that anyone who might make, market, test prototypes etc signs before they see anything clever.

Doing this buys a little time as well whilst you work out your strategy. There are two schools of thought (1) get your patent in early (2) put it off as long a you can. Discuss it with your patent attorney etc - but question whatever they say. Only file fast if you think there is a real risk someone will try to beat you to it and you can afford to get all the way through the process; only file late if you are sure you are already unique and you want to save money in the meantime or extend the effective life of your protection.

Things to watch for - mark any design drawings as (c) copyright Mr XXX, 2009. There is no need to register copyright and any reputable engineering company will not rip you off anyway as they need to be trusted. BUT beware they might "claim" to own any new intellecual property (sometimes called foreground IP) if they help you to debug / improve / modify your original design. How reasonable that is will depend what you pay and the expertise involved.

Given consideration to other protections too: e.g. will there be any "sexy design" then you will want to think about registered/unregistered design rights; trademarks if it has a marketable name (probably not worth registerring yet); etc.

You're right to trust no one - but bear in mind that any big company you might think about "partnering" with will not be interested in signing agreements until they at least know what you are trying to sell.

Personally not many MTB products are going to make you obscenely rich so patents are probably unnecessary.

Finally one word of warning - whilst you are paranoid that Mr Big Company will shaft you its probably more likely that you will fall out with your mate over this and that will end up being the problem that stops one or both of you making any money from this!

OH - and remember you'll never be able to afford to sue anyone anyway so Patents and Contracts are nice to have to remind people to "behave" but generally my rule is if I don't like someone or don't trust them I don't do business with them. [I still insist on the contracts too].

Email me and I will help you.

Seriously.

No rip off guarantee (my reputation is worth too much to me) and let me see if I can help you get first mover advantage.

400 notes was the initial discussion fee

forgot to add someone will always find a way to circumvent your patent
and so remember the main true statemnet that you will never have enough money to sue any one !!!!!!!!

Just another thing make sure the patent has no military use whatsoever and you will be very surprised what that covers as this just means ...**** right off we are taking it DESPITE ITS ORIGINAL USE and its amzing how they come across these things in every industry

Unless it is massive breakthrough you are very unlikely to come out ahead. I'd try and get a manufacturer interested and try and get a few freebies out of them.

If you think it's so clever it can't be beaten and has never been done before then consider a patent, otherwise it's not worth it.

6 months lead time in the market is worth way more than a patent than any one with half a brain will circumvent, take Brant up on his offer, he has a route to market and allegedly knows shit from shinola.

Simon, has filed patents before.

I tend to agree. I've had things patented at work and unless you have £1,000's to spend forget it. Plus the cost of maintaining a patent (once, if, you get on granted) goes up with time.
If it's a good idea, just go for it, use the head start you have to make your name (and some money), and possibly think about selling the business a few months down the line.
Good luck
Richard

One thing you probably should do is document what you have done; take all your drawings, sketches, calculations etc and product photos - add pages describing what it is and what it does. Make a copy and seal it in an envelope (use a type that is tamperproof). Post it to yourself by recorded delivery (actually even 2nd class is OK but you don't want your secrets going missing). Don't open it when it arrives. If you ever need to prove that you invented it first (or independently) you have a record with an official frank on it certifying the contents were created on or before that date (you would seek legal advice about how/when to open).

this is an urban myth and not worth anything. i know, my mate is a patents solicitor. he laughs every time one comes in the office

From a fairly ignorant point of view I would say to go into partnership with an ethical business would be best. On that grounds I would take Brant up on his offer.

Thanks everybody for your advice.

I have used the registered mail thing to "copyright" things before, but never had to go to court with it or anything like that so was never sure if it worked. From your feedback it doesn't seem like it's worth patenting it, plus neither of us have got a few grand spare at the moment.

Having spoken with Ron I think we'll take up Brant on his kind offer. Email winging it's way to you shortly sir.