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Forum nameBiz Ideas
Topic subjectRE: new product idea!
Topic URLhttps://www.businessownersideacafe.com/forums/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=2752&mesg_id=2793
2793, RE: new product idea!
Posted by Penny Ballou, Wed Jul-23-08 06:14 PM
Greetings!

ANSWER #2: The first thing you will want to do is a patent search to determine whether your product has already been patented. Then, make a prototype and file for a patent. That will protect your invention and you can then work on the other aspects of your business.
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I'd like to address the above answer:
Filing for a patent will NOT protect an invention. Only "issued" patents protect inventions or products and even then until they are challenged in a legal arena and win, their strength is questionable. Even patents can be overturned and/or invalidated.

Now I'll work around to your Q:
During "patent pending" one liberally uses "Non Disclosure/Non Compete Agreements" UNLESS one intends to self-venture the product - get it to market ASAP - in which case one marks "pat pending" on packaging, container, product, brochure, usage instructions, labels etc in the hopes the sharks don't move in right away with cheap variations (assuming the product becomes a hot seller attracting blood sucking copy-cat predators).

Now to one of your Qs:
I can manufacture a prototype of in my garage, i have not done so yet.

a) One Q is, do you seek to become an entrepreneur or a garage tinkerer producing a few per day, every day, day in and day out (while probably working a regular job) in addition to handling marketing, sales, distribution, etc? How big do you want your operation to become and by when? Usually garage production facilities get focused on production and not delivery. To handle marketing, sales, delivery one has to cease production resulting in the venture operating in ?fits and starts? while its owner wonders why the operation is not steadily growing. I see no problem with it, if that is your goal or where your Business Plan indicates is a viable starting point but watch getting stuck in a production rut wondering when/where orders are coming from.

Next question:
Where do i start once i make the product, patent, trademark, manufactures web name, logo, which do i tackle first, and who can i trust?

1. You've started
2. You work out production costs/wholesale pricing/graphics/packaging/where to get orders/delivery lines and pricing/insurance/warranties etc based competitive product sales. If there are none you find indirect sellers of similar products. Study their pricing spreads to determine where your product should fall within it to meet what customers and/or end users are willing to pay.
3. As to patenting, use www.google.com/patents as an elementary patent search engine before working out the Class and sub-classes your invention would fit into then go to the patent office website to learn how to input its numeric codes since that site is most effectively used when numerics are inputted and not keywords. What you seek may be in patent Claims so don't get stuck looking only at the picture on the face of likely patents but read their Claims too. Just because "it" is not on or in the marketplace doesn't mean it's not an cited as an variation embodiment not being marketed at this time for one of any number of reasons such as: being withheld because patent owner wants to save it for licensing opportunities or save it only market forces align and gaps open for it to be viably produced or save it to trade.....there are a zillion reasons to include alternative embodiments in patents none of which may have anything to do with marketing them.

b). Look into what a Provisional Application for Patent is (assuming it qualifies for a Utility versus a Design patent since PAPs don't work with Design patents) as it's something you can write and file yourself thereby securing for one-year the legal right to paste the term "pat pending" on anything to do with your invention - for a grand cost of $105.

Your trademark question:
There are rules about wis a strong versus weak mark that you should learn about. Visit a local PTDL (patent and trademark depository library) in your area. There they teach searching. Or, perform a free Federal search on TESS (TRADEMARK section of the patent office at www.uspto.gov). Were one only intending to sell locally, it's cheaper/faster to file a mark locally via the Secretary of State's office in their trademark section.

It might be a smart move to one day register all IP with the US Customs Service when and if your product becomes a hot seller as it will likely attract foreign sharks. The IP division of US Customs can be helpful in seizing/holding infringing products on the docks - after they receive okay from a higher body within their organization.

As to a domain/website etc:
All the above can be executed concomitantly. Ideally were you to have future plans to expand the product line, one would select a non-limiting domain to encompass several divisions each offering different product lines to different market segments versus picking a domain name limited to the name of the current product unless this will be the only product ever produced. In other words, likely the domain may be trademarkable too if it would qualify for a strong mark.

As to a logo:
They usually run from $100 - $1000. The logo might be trademarkable and even copyrightable.

The point I hope to get across is that when looking at IP landscapes one aims for uniformity of message, look, marks, etc so everything ties back and into everything else because, potentially, each piece of IP is or could become worth money if/when one decides to sell or leverage it for something else.

The bigger picture (long-range)goal versus short-range objectives are where to look initially so one aligns all parts together directing them in unisom toward that goal.

Sorry, out of time. All the best.

Regards,
Penny Ballou

:-)