I Got A Invention

[Repaid1]

So in the past I have came up with simple things or neat ideas but never marketed them or even tried. I did mention a idea I had twice and someone eventually ran with it somehow and GM and Ford both have them on there vehicles now. I prototyped it on one of my cars and showed it off people thought it was neat. Now while my Idea was further improved with today's technology. Mine was pretty sweet back in the 80's. Well just to let you know it was automatic wipers when it rained or your window got splashed. Something simple, but functional.

I heard tell that the idea was sold for almost a million, just the idea because they patented it with a "Design Patent"

How many of you have ever bought something to big for your vehicle and had to half ass put the box into the trunk and figure out how to rope the damn thing in? A lot of you am I right? So I looked at this problem. Simple fix. The deal wasn't with the "U" bolt at the top, you could slip the rope through that right? but where in the &*%$ did you tie it off at the bottom.

So what I did was say hey I got this. I took one of those adjustable straps and on one end I put a, for lack of a better term, dog leash catch. Then on the other end I went to the junk yard and removed the "U" bolt from a trunk lid. I slid a threaded rod through the other end of the strap loop ( I cut the hook off) then I screwed the "U" bolt to that. So I dog leash clasp on one end and "U"ring on the other.

You first clicked the "U" ring in the bottom, insert big ass box into trunk bring strap over the box to the trunk, click dog leash catch on on "U" bolt on trunk the cinch the strap tight and wah-la. secured and strapped.

So anyway. I saw them in stores about 5 years after I made the prototype..Damn another loss.

So after my little Rant I now have another invention that I am sure will sell in the Millions for as little as $10 with a 300% markup. I have absolutely no money, other than I may be able to find something crude to make the prototype. The product as I see it will have to be extruded out of a type of plastic to be determined for flexibility and strength. How do I go about this? Can I do this? How do I not get ripped off by invention.com and the likes?

Any advice on anyone that has done this type of thing? I went to the government site the minimum is a $500 dollar filing fee, and at minimum $5000 for the attorney. I ain't got that kinda flow, shit I can barely eat everyday now. How can I get a investor or something without getting ripped off. Seriously this idea is so easy..it's gonna be one of those "why didn't I think of that". And I bet seriously almost everyone or some they know will buy at least 2 of this item. I have scoured the internet and nothing comes close, in fact nothing is made to do this at all. Anyone with any input on this type of thing?

[hidden]

I have no idea what you just said but Good Luck!

[square_duck]

I'm hesitant but interested. I don't know all the loop holes you have to jump through to get this type of thing done, but i do know a few people, like machinists and such who are handy that might help. I also have access to more funds....soooo...if I can help get this off the ground *shrug* if you have a rendering or working drawing or blue print to pass along, thats a good starting poing. The B*I*G issue is who do you trust?? It seems everyone and their mother is out for money anymore, and will to screw anyone and anything to get it UGH!

I have money already, so it's no biggie for me, personally I don't care....it's your invention, you get the bucks

The H*O*W is the clincher....*Grumbles*

Let me check around a bit, I have a few contacts I think. I'll get back to you....k??

qwack

[Bettypooh]

SD has it right- be very careful who you trust. I've had the joy of seeing two things I invented become marketing hits- for someone else Like you I didn't do anything but tell a few friends who almost forgot about them too. Basically, the thing is that even if you have a patent or design copyright, you have to defend it when(not if) it gets infringed. That means lots of pre-paid Lawyers and lots of time waiting- and if you're lucky the jury will award more than triple royalties (which is the norm). What you need to do is to seek a design copyright before seeking a patent- It is cheaper and gives you the history of invention. Then you can take it to some nice corporations and sell the idea. With a little luck they won't steal it- with a lot of luck they will pay you something decent for it. If it's something simple a local company might work a deal to patent it and produce it in a limited partnership with you. PBS TV used to have a show called "Everyday Edisons" that helped people refine and market their ideas. I think the show is gone, but that website still has links which might be helpful. Whatever you do act now and don't tell anyone exactly what you're thinking about; keep it generalized enough that nobody will know exactly what you've got in mind untill you've got your name attached to it legally.

Good Luck!

BP

[willnotwill]

Having a patent myself I can tell you it's a difficult road. However, you better get some professional help. A useful device isn't protected by a "design patent" but a "utility patent." A design patent is used to protect ornamental aspects of an item. For example, the shape of the Coke bottle, stylized type fonts, artwork, jewelry, etc... are often protected by design patents.

Intermittent windshield wipers are an example of a utility patent and yes there was a long running infringement case on this. The guy who invented it and had the patent wanted the auto makers to contract with a new company in his town (western MD somewhere) to build the units. This was contrary to the way the Big 3 did things in those days (they built nearly everything in house or by owned subsidiaries). They just ripped him off. This case shows that getting a patent is only the first step, defending it is another matter.

Good luck.

[belinda_sue_fox]

I see a few problems ahead.

At some point you/who ever you pay to sort it out will have to pay for a patent search etc.

Even if they don't find anything and you get a patent that don't mean it's not already in there somewhere. There is also the prior art that can pretty much null and void patents.

Your pretty much best off starting the patent thing and get to patent pending then trawl companies to take the idea/pay a royalty and let them have the hassle.

Anyone with a crayon and some cash can get a patent (Just look at some of the generic crap Apple has got patents for).

And finally the auto start wiper thingomebob was pre 1980s so yea you can strike that one of your invented list.

[LilFozzyJ5]

Also beware that there is more than one type of patent, there is a national one and an international one.

If you only go for a national one (The cheapest) then there is nothing stopping someone going into the patent office looking at your design and stepping into another country and using it.

Even an international patent cannot stop a product being made and sold in all countries across the world...

this isnt much but i hope it has helped.

Bringing something to market is a very difficult thing, and full of pitfalls

[FretaBWet]

I've been where you are. In 1979 my 2nd daughter was born and we had GM Love seat for her which was a rear facing baby seat for infants that had the cutouts for the seat belts to secure it to the back seat. My daughter would fall asleep in the seat a lot and when I went to do the food shopping it would be a pain because I so didn't want to take her out of the seat (and wake her) and leaving her in the car wasn't an option. I could carry her into the supermarket and she would stay asleep but the love seat wouldn't sit in the child seat of the shopping cart and be stable so the only option was to put the baby in the basket part and pull a 2nd shopping cart behind for the groceries. I saw the cutouts for the seatbelts and thought why couldn't they just put a couple cutouts for the handle of the shopping cart and the front of the seat into the car seat so it could sit securely on the child seat of the shopping cart. The more I thought about it the more I refined it and came up with the idea that if you built a stroller frame with the right dimensions you could take the same car seat and attach it to the stroller frame and then you could remove the baby from the car and just put the seat into the stroller and go anywhere like at the mall. I had no clue where to even start but I told my idea to friends that had kids too. Years later I saw there were car seats that did exactly what I had envisioned and I'm sure someone made money on the idea, it just wasn't me :-(

I think what separates people that succeed in something like this and those like me that don't are a willingness to work hard and perseverance. I knew it was a great idea because I knew how much easier it would have made my life but I was just too lazy and too busy to really try to do something with it. Put all of your efforts toward making this happen and don't let anything discourage you because you can succeed. Good luck, I'm rooting for you.

Hugs,

Freta

[DL88]

In 1979 my...

You're old!

[Amyuser]

Your absolute very first place to start is to sit down and write out the origin of this idea where you were what you were doing and what time and day it was and then take any research you have done having to do with this idea and you want to mail it to yourself and at least three other people all envelopes should be identical and all contain copies of the original information of course let everyone know these letters are coming and they should not be opened once you have those letters back you have an informal 6 month copyright/patent in effect and you will want to put these letters into a safety deposit box on the same day as you receive them all back in the mail,this affords you temporary protection of your idea and enables you to approach potential sources of capital who would supply the money to take your product on a test run to see if there was demand for the product and naturally if there was they would move from investor to capital partner and the bucks would roll in. and you could also get a legitimate full patent of the product.

I WISH YOU GREAT SUCCESS

Napppy

that is until i realize i just paid 300% to my old board mate Diaper! LOL

[Bettypooh]

TDX, I'm afraid you're wrong here. The only thing self-mailing does is prove the time you had the idea, and that only matters in cases where multiple parties apply for a patent on the same idea at the same time. The law doesn't say it protects the first person to have an idea- it says it protects the first person to patent or copyright that idea. The 'patent by self mailing' is just another urban legend that has been around a long time- sorry to burst your bubble.

An unprotected patent is nearly useless. You have to show that you are taking steps to protect it from everyone who infringes it, and that takes time and money which Repaid doesn't have. Without that, anyone you claim against can easily prove that you are singling them out for prosecution which will result in your case being summarily dropped. In America the rich are protected and the poor can't pay to make the same thing happen for them. Patent infringement should be covered under criminal law so that everyone is protected equally- under tort law only those with enough money to self-prosecute get protected. Welcome to reality- It sucks, doesn't it?

After thinking this over and speaking with a friend who has a lot of business knowledge and acumen, I'd form an LLC and go into production, letting the chips fall where they may and stopping only when prosecution was imminent. The worst that could happen is the LLC losing any assets it has (which will be almost none if you do it right) and you are personally safe from anything else, except a criminal conspiracy prosecution which no prosecutor has time or funding to waste over a small matter like this. By having your LLC out of state (and in the right state) even a court-ordered judgement against you will have no affect unless you actually live there. If they dissolve your LLC you just stop selling and that ends everything. American business is more about how it's done than what is done, and if done correctly you cannot lose. I wish I knew that sooner!

BP

[Repaid1]

Yeah BP, that sounds like good advice. If things go right I may soon have a small bit of capitol. I could use that to get the patent or like you said LC and go into my own production. If marketed correctly on a small level at first I believe I can generate the capitol and resources to go the larger route. Luckily I do have a few old friends at our local Plastics firms that could guide and possibly make me the prototypes and take over main production. It's something I will look into...Perhaps take a lucky partner in that gave me good advice!