Any patent owners in here?

I went the route with a couple of things,but pulled out int he end. Very, very expensive to do (10k plus) and will not necessarily protect your ideas.

MelT

 

Whoa whoa whoa. It costs THAT Much to do a patent? Seriously? Wtf @ all of those people who have hundreds of patents...jesus christ. MelT...you have a shit ton of rep for 500 posts. Nice.

 

There are a lot of stages to a patent application. The initial search on existing patents to compare to what you want to bring out can cost about $3,000+ just for the US, not world rights, and ideally you'll need a patent lawyer looking everything over for you as you go along - costing about $150 an hour. Patents also don't always give you protection in perpetuity, some may last only a couple of years.

Also, it's reasonably easy to adapt someone else's idea in some small way and say that it's your own, it happens far too often unfortunately. Looking back now, I'd say the only way to get any money out of any idea, at least for a year or two, is to refine your product until it's the best it can possibly be, then go into production for yourself. You WILL be ripped off at some point, with or without a patent, if it's a good idea, so think in terms of you having say a one year window when you can clean up on your market. put all the money you were to spend on patenting into promotion and production.

There are short term, limited protection patents, but if you think of your market as being available to you for a very brief time, you could get away without one. It may take your competitors a year or more to copy your device, so you have a free run until then.

However, try to get an interview with a patent lawyer for real advice (they're not allowed to reveal your idea, even if they don't work for you, but get them to sign a non-disclosure agreement anyway) - you never know, what you might have could well be worth going down the expensive route with.

Can you divulge anything at all about the idea? I may be ableto help in other areas.

One of my ideas (which I fully tested over 3 years and found worked incredibly well) I thought would make me a millionaire Over here we've had a lot of problems with MRSA bugs, spores and bacteria in hospitals and nursing homes, killing more people than the diseases they're in there for. It's costing our health service millions a year. So I invented an additive to regular emulsion paint that would cost maybe 5 cents -including the cost of materials and actual addtion - to add to the average 5 litre tin. It kills most/all known bugs, including MRSA, and doesn't allow fungal or bacterial spread to colonise walls or ceilings at all, period. It's completely non-toxic (unlike other paints of this sort), doesn't need cleaning and stays active for over 4 years for a two coat application, and works well, even in very wet, constantly used bathrooms.

Could I sell it, or even get paint manufacturers interested? I tried for three years. I even tried to give it away and offered to paint rooms in my local hospital with it for free as a test. "But that would be an admission that we have a problem..." they said. I tried to donate it as an idea to Haddasah Hospital, a very active, forward thinking Jewish hospital in Israel - 'no, sorry'. As a gift to the nation then? You can have it if anyone would only produce it? "No, not in our best interests to do it or make it known that you have a solution." So, it remains unsold.

[quote)MelT...you have a shit ton of rep for 500 posts. Nice.[/quote]

I'm sleeping with the mods. Not all at once, obviously, but RMJL has a winebago and we get around quite a bit

MelT

 

So true. My great uncle patented the bun for the bagel dog but his patent expired before they hit it big. He is still bitter to this day.

If you really want a patent then go get a patent lawyer. Theres a reason why they exist, because the average person cant navigate the complexities of patent law and proccess.

 

I have a Patent on the Bong.

Ya'll gotta send me some cash, pronto.