Q: Hi I had an idea for a product but I don't know how to go about securing the idea as my own.
I want to eventually sell my idea to a company who could produce it. But I want o have my idea secured as my own so that it doesn't get stolen.
A: You should consult a patent attorney to see if your idea could be put into practice and be a patentable invention. A patent attorney can also assist in doing a patentability evaluation of your invention.
A:
This is a very common question. Unfortunately, you are not going to like the answer. I apologize in advance.
An idea, even after it has been flushed out to become a patentable invention, is not worth very much. Companies buy or license profitable businesses, profitable products or services, or something that the company could easily upscale and sell along with their own products. They have their own R&D and are generally not very receptive to developing other people's ideas.
To make money on your invention, the company will need to figure out a way to optimize it, manufacture it, market it, set up the sales channels, map out the product life cycle, etc. This takes a lot of work. As they say: 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration.
To be successful in making money off your idea, put together a business plan. Figure out the marketing, the pain points that you are solving, the PLC, the size of your market, the HR, the QA & QC setups, the production, the pilot plant, the development routes, the financing for all of this, etc. Once you have that, once it makes business sense, once you are ready to spend the money and pull the trigger, only then do you go see a patent attorney.
Any patent attorney will be happy to take your money to get you a patent. But you really do not want to spend $20K to $40K to get a patent, without having all of this thought through.
Good luck!
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
