Biggest mistake of new inventors.
Probably the biggest mistake of a new inventor, that I see all the time, is not following through on his or her idea.
He or she comes up with an innovative idea, many times related to his or her own industry or hobby. The person confidentially tells me about the invention. I encourage he or she to take the next step (such as documenting their concept). But, months or years later, when our paths cross again, the person has failed to act.
Time is one of your biggest enemies. Sometimes the invention is the solution to a current problem. Waiting too long can minimize (or, worse yet, obsolete) the value or saleability of your invention.
Example: I own a George Foreman Grill, and love cooking with it. However, I hate to clean it. Back in 2003, I did a little research — and found that over 40 million George Foreman Grills have been sold. I assumed many other people also hated cleaning this nifty device. And I wanted to invent something that would quickly capture this market (before someone else thought of how to do it). So I did.
My U.S patent, entitled “Grill Cleaner and Method”, takes care of the problem. The Abstract of my patent reads: “A method of cleaning electric grills including wetting a sheet of fluid-absorbent material constructed to conform to the wave-like contours of the upper and lower heating platters of a typical electric grill, and inserting the wetted material in between the electric grill’s heating platters.” In essence, it’s a near-automatic way to clean the grill. Neat, huh?
Moral of the story: If you’re pretty sure you have a great idea, don’t procrastinate. Go for it. Stay tuned for other posts where I’ll describe how to take action on your idea.
– Eric
You’re exactly right. An invention only has a chance of success if the inventor puts in the work. There are so many stages to the invention process that people get scared by the amount of work they’d have to do. It’s a shame because inventing something that people go on to buy can be the greatest feeling in the world.
Hi Eric: You are the guy we all pray for, just triing to help!
I was one of those guys that was dupped by a patent Attorney.
I was you & dumb ! I paid $500 patent seach, $1500 for a PPA & them another $1000 for some changes. I ran out of money. Now I have come up with another idea. It involves 2 existing products , but if I put them together and use them for another purpose. Would that be OK. It’s something so obvious that if it was invented I know for a fact that it would be used in every household.
Thank You
Shawn S Leite
What is the lowest age some one can file a patent under his/her name?
Hi Shawn.
Many inventions are the result of combining two (or more) previous products to produce a new device that serves a unique purpose. The combination must be “unobvious” to others.
I’d recommend reviewing one of my other posts, entitled: “Is your idea patentable? To vital things to consider…” This particular post touches upon the “novel” and “unobvious” thresholds of any patentable invention.
Don’t let your previous invention-patent experience discourage you. Best of luck with your new idea!
– Eric
Hi. Glad to answer your question.
Good news: Anyone of any age can file a patent application. There is no age restriction to filing for a patent.
Best of luck with your invention!
– Eric
if it is handcrafted item, and i know this item has not been made.
it falls under the trendy side and i believe that different styles would hit all generations.
do i need to start making them and selling? or do you feel i should
patent the IDEA first.
Hi Shay. Glad to answer your question.
“Ideas” cannot be patented. For all intents and purposes, only real, tangible systems and devices are eligible to be patented.
So, yes, you would first need to make one of your items first. In patent lingo, it’s called reducing the invention to practice.
I recommend that you review my post entitled, “the two most important steps in the invention process.” Here’s a quick link to that post: http://patent-your-inventions.com/?p=7
Take a look at the above post and other short articles I’ve written on the patent process on this Web site. Those should give you a good foundation for the necessary steps ahead.
I hope this information is helpful. Best of luck with your invention!
– Eric
I have invented a benchmark communication idea/Concept, have ben trying to sell it out to some one or make it patented into my name , it greately caters a day to day human need of messaging each other, saves, time, passions, centities of the events, help everyone plan a great day,week,month,year and share with one ,two or more people, helps a lot in many ways . I am BBA from Turkey.in Benchmarking, I do not have funds to make it patented into my name.
Please advise. and more it is requested to advise asap ,since one year has already been passed. Thansk
Syed Jahanzeb Raza
Cell# 0092-345-231926.
Home”0092-21-6027671
Hi Syed. Thank you for your question.
I am a little concerned when you mention that “one year has already been passed”. There is something called the “One-Year Rule” that is an important factor to consider. Please read my post entitled “Don’t Let the One Year Rule Kill Your Invention”. You can quickly go to that post via the following link: http://patent-your-inventions.com/?p=37
Your invention sounds intriguing, as you can say it could help many people. I would recommend that you further review other posts on my Web site for other ideas and information. If you have additional questions, let me know.
Best wishes for success with your invention!
– Eric
Hi Eric,
First of all, thank you so much for answering so many questions with this website. This is really great!
Here is my situation: I have a great idea that I know is original and would sell like crazy, but it needs the basic concept of another product in order for it to work. Furthermore, I do not know how I could do this without that product or at least someone who could build that same product and add my new and improved feature. So with that being said, what steps do I need to take? I obviously cannot invent a prototype if I have NO clue about technology and would need someone from that company to help me out?
You mention that I cannot get a patent with only the idea. Where do I go from here? Help! I’m so excited about this and now I know the clock is ticking.
Thank you very much once again!
Brooke
Hi Brooke.
First off, thank you for the very kind words. It’s that sort of encouragement that keeps me energized on this blog / Website. It’s a lot of work, as you can imagine. But I do my best to squeeze in the time.
Regarding your question: Do you know anyone with skills in the field of the product (i.e., if it’s a new idea for an electronics device, an electrical engineer)? If so, and if you feel comfortable sharing your idea with her or him, perhaps she or he could help you prototype the device with your embellishment. One way or the other, you need to build a working device.
If you find someone you could confide in (maybe a relative with the applicable skills), perhaps you could team up on the venture. 50% ownership of an eventual product is better than 100% of 0. Just a thought.
Let me know if this avenue is a possibility. If not, write back, and I’ll try to think of another approach that might be helpful.
Best of luck with your invention!
– Eric
Hello,
First of all, as many others mentioned, you have a great website going here. I thank you for the information I found here. However, I still have one question that I couldn’t find the answer to anywhere, and would appreciate any sort of response.
My idea, which has been evolving more and more lately, is an improvement of an existing technology. It is basically a concept for a piece of software that would receive input from one existing system, do some fancy computations, and output a signal to existing system independent from the first.
I believe my idea is innovative, and have heard about nothing like it. The problem is, is that I’m not sure where to start considering I would need access to information that I cannot possibly acquire in order to write the software myself. e.g. How to receive the initial input, or how to make the output affect the intended system.
Also, you mentioned concept drawings. How do you draw software?
Thank you for your time, and if it isn’t too much trouble, could you shoot me an e-mail at the address supplied? Just something simple to point me back to the site once you have responded (assuming you do).
-Jason
Great website. I was wondering if you recommend a Patent Attorney to help. I am not great at legal stuff. If so, how do you find an honest one. I see that there is a list of registered Attorneys on the USPTO website. Your thought please.
Paul
Thank you for your wonderful information. God bless.
Hi Jason.
Thank you for the detailed questions…and the kind words. Much appreciated.
Congratulations on having what you believe to be an innovative idea. You face a very common hurdle: how to create the prototype — in your case, writing and testing the software. Perhaps you could partner with a local university and their computer center. You might be able to work out a collaborative arrangement as part of a graduate student project. Just a thought.
Regarding patent drawings: I would recommend you check out some example software patents to see how other entities tackle this issue. Here are a couple of examples:
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=pKgsAAAAEBAJ&dq=software
http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=4GguAAAAEBAJ&dq=software
Best of luck with your invention!
– Eric
Hi Paul. Thank you for the positive words.
It is my strict policy to not recommend one patent attorney over another. But there are are few characteristics that might be helpful. For instance, it may be helpful to have a patent attorney who is local to you — as you may be meeting with her or him a lot during the process; there’s still no substitute for face-to-face communication. I’ve also found it helpful to have a patent attorney who’s an engineer (particularly one who has a degree in the field of your invention). Also make sure the patent attorneys that you’re reviewing (or interviewing) take the time to explain their fees — and when their fees will be charged.
I hope the above general characteristics are helpful. Best wishes on your project.
– Eric
I have a new food idea. I read all your posts and im not sure if its unobvious because im not sure if that applies to food products. Pretty much a down size of an item that already exists but i’ve done alot of research and no one has made it that way.
Eric,
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! Your site has and is providing me with very useful information. I am thankful for your willingness to give guidance. I no longer feel like I am walking in the blind.
Hi Nichole.
This is an excellent question. Thank you for posting it.
I have just launched a new Web site — http://www.HowToPatent.pro — that encompasses all of the material on this site, plus will be my platform for information regarding a number of additional patent- and invention-related topics (such as invention marketing — which has been a very popular question). If I could ask a big favor for you to do a “copy ‘n’ paste” and post your question at http://www.HowToPatent.pro, that would be greatly appreciated. I will then respond to your question at the new Web site. Thank you, again!
– Eric