REDNGREEN 0 #1 Posted June 16, 2010 Hi, I have a design that I want to start selling. Sorry its not for a WH. Its for another obsession of mine. I am posting it here to get your opinion because I think I may have opened my mouth too much on one of the other forums I visit. Just curious if any of you have ever done this or if any of you know how to go about getting started. Any help appreciated. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CasualObserver 3,411 #2 Posted June 16, 2010 If you're really serious... Personally I'd start in the yellow pages.... under Attorneys - Patent. You can do it yourself online or whatever, but I think if you're really serious and want to make sure that everything is done correctly... Hire a professional. See if you can get a couple of free consultations... get references... fee structure and such and go from there. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
64s 83 #3 Posted June 16, 2010 My father in law was big into patents - unfortunately he passed away last week so I'm going by my memory. Don't jump into getting a patent too quickly - its very costly. He spent 16-20k on his first patent and it will probably never produce a dime. Instead, get a provisional patent to protect your idea ( I think he said the cost was between 2 and 3 thousand). The best move he made was joining an inventor's group. It's a bunch of guys all trying to do the same thing and learning from each others failures and success'. Google 'inventors group' and see what comes up in your area. Good luck, George PS. I met a couple of his inventor friends at his wake and they seemed genuine. Hopefully you can meet some who truly care. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
perry 82 #4 Posted June 16, 2010 the guy i bought my WH 1277 from told me a couple storys of his life and the few patents he got, had , and got screwed out of. sunk his whole life into his ideas. long story short, i got his prize wheel horse 1277 for half of his original asking price and he was getting ready to lose everything. big fancy house and all . kinda bummed me out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevebo-(Moderator) 8,532 #5 Posted June 16, 2010 It will take a lot of money, time and patience on your part. You will also need to be able to clearly state what your product is and how it is different than anything else on the martet. Once you do that (all done through the lawer's office) the patent office will run a search of similar products and if they find anyone has something like it they will deny the patent. You can always re apply however it will take more money and more time (could take several years for the patent office to revist it). Chances are it will get denied again. I hate to be a bearer of the truth however it is a huge undertaking and unless you are planning on mass producing these items and make large profits then I would just produce and sell them without the patent. Good luck- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnWHfan 47 #6 Posted June 17, 2010 Something else to keep in mind with a patent is that if someone infringes on it, you have to be able to afford the legal fees to defend your patent. Hopefully you don't lose. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,267 #7 Posted June 18, 2010 I've applied - thru my employers - for a number of patents. I never handled any of the money involved, but the costs were apparently in the tens of thousands of dollars. Each. The patent attorneys earn their money since there is quite a bit involved in the search and in establishing the proper paper trail, lexicon, and tedium of dealing with the patent office. They will turn your technical explanation of the invention into legally significant language that most of us would find hard to decipher. It's a bigger job than I expected. Unless you have something that you think will be earth-shattering or lifestyle-altering to a big portion of the population, you'd probably be hard pressed to recoup your investment. Certainly you've kept extensive notebooks and documentation on your invention activities. They'll be needed to establish a timeline of the invention in case there is ever a conflict. And hopefully you've not gone it completely alone so that somebody can substantiate your claims. Apparently there are other ways of protecting your inventor rights, but I'm unaware of any specifics. I know at work we hold our trade secrets pretty tightly since it's tough to patent everything, but there is apparently recourse for a stolen design so long as everything is reliably documented. A good attorney can help with those avenues. And just filing the application will buy you some time as well. I hope you have something really marketable because it would delight us on this board to see you have great success. But beware that the cost, time, and aggrevation are pretty substantial. I wish you the best of luck. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dgjks6 8 #8 Posted June 18, 2010 As a part time lawyer who has friends that are patent lawyers be prepared to spend 10-12K for a patent. The patent application is not that expensive, but the research to make sure it is the first is what gets expensive. If you're really interested let me know and I can try to hook you up. Greg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
