how do you protect yourself if you a product idea
 

i have an idea for 2 products, although there may something out there close to one, but i do not know how to present it to anyone without them saying no and go make it themselves? one i thought about our own wayne here at pelican. but i am sure companies are always being hit with ideas from yahoo's like myself. by the way, im not one of those that has a million get rich quick ideas.....just 2.

A patent attorny (sp) can help. Also you may be able to check the patents records to see if some one else has already registered it.

Yes, talk to a patent lawyer. I have a few ideas myself:D

Tell them to me first. I will let you know if they are worth protecting. :D

It my understanding that a patent is only worthwhile if you can afford to defend it.
-Chris

Patent or not, you need to thoroughly investigate the potential market, how to manufacture, distribute etc. Also a patent does not come cheap. I have patents for USA and Europe and they cost me a fortune. Unfortunately it typically takes a few years before it generates any money and there are a lot of costs during that time.

Please do not take this the wrong way. Its just that I have learned the hard/expensive way. Took me six years to finally reach a business agreement. As a private person its been very expensive. But, with a little luck my product will be out on the US market next summer.

Do as much research as possible, then contact a patent attorney.

Good luck! SmileWavy

I've been dealing with this lately.

A friend came up with an idea, and we have formed a company to get it to market. We now have "Patent Pending" status, and we will have a few production prototypes in a week or two.

One thought is to license the idea to an existing company that has the infrastructure for mass production, and simply collect royalties.

All I can suggest is what was said above: Talk to a patent attorney.

Solar Powered Fluffer?

Bingo! I will have a special price offer for Pelicans.

No. Its a medical device for small children.

Document your ideas in a notebook, date and initial them.

Get a recommendation for a good patent attorney- most will give you an hour consultation for free and consult with you on the next steps. Learn how to use a patent search engine, I like "freepatentsonline.com" and search the claims for what you are trying to do.

Be cautious about showing anyone the idea specifically, or allowing them to offer suggestions on how to make it work/function/do the method better/etc. as they then become an inventor.

And contrary to what you hear, no you CANNOT mark your device "patent pending" having not filed a provisional application first. Marking as such without doing the latter is fraudulent.

All the best! Go do it!
BG

As part of the process, my friend sent me a non-disclosure agreement. Having it signed and dated is better proof of the date of an idea than your own notes in a notebook.

Yes, "Patent Pending" is a legal term. It's quite an accomplishment to get that far.

Everyone has a 'great idea'. The reason 99.9999%+ of those ideas never happen is because it is hard work and involves putting capital at risk to bring ideas to fruition. And there is no guarantee of success.

Coming up with ideas is easy. Turning ideas into saleable products and creating markets for those products is hard work. Very hard.

That is the biggest impediment to people stealing your idea.

Think about that for a minute. An undeveloped idea is nearly worthless. Everyone already has their own undeveloped ideas. And they aren't acting on their own ideas due to the work and capital requirements.

Why would they steal yours?

That said, you might be able to get a patent. But know that a patent attorney is going to cost $15k plus depending on complexity. This process takes 3-4 years. There is no assurance your patent will be approved. And if it is, the patent merely gives you the right to bring a civil suit (more legal fees) against an infringer. In no way does it prevent infringement or assure you will win that suit.

If you want to share ideas you can have people sign a non disclosure agreement. You can write it anyway you want. It would be typical to say that you are going to provide some information, and the information can only be used for specific purposes that you define. If they violate the terms of the agreement, you could bring suit (more legal dollars spent).