So you are an inventor with a new invention, what next?<\/p>\n

Inventors usually have a questions like: Should I get a prototype? Do I need to have a patent to protect the idea? Who can I speak about it to? Is it a good idea? Can I make money from it? Who can I trust? Is there some great blueprint I can use to follow? Is it possible to get a manufacturer to make the product for me and pay me a royalty?<\/em><\/p>\n

Many inventors come to me with their ideas but don’t know what to do about it. I tell them that I do not want to encourage them or discourage them however ideas don’t usually sell themselves. It takes many things to sell the idea. In order to take a product from the idea stage to the store it is necessary to learn what it will take to manufacture, market and distribute the product.<\/p>\n

There’s a good checklist\u00a0 described as the ABCs of inventing in Inventors Digest <\/strong><\/em><\/a>. I think this list is a good starting point and should be thought of as the “Inventors 10 Commandments”:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1) Stay away from invention marketing companies that advertise on radio and late night TV.<\/p>\n

2) Keep good records about your idea…some day they may be the back up you need to prove YOUR idea is YOURS! (Lab notebook)<\/p>\n

3) Do your own patent search online at\u00a0 the USPTO<\/a> or at a Patent Depository Library<\/a>.<\/p>\n

4) Build a model.<\/p>\n

5) Have your invention evaluated by a non-biased professional (even if your Mom\u2019s in the business, go to someone else!).The nonprofit United Inventors Association <\/a>offers an excellent invention evaluation.<\/p>\n

6) Read all you can about new product development. Go to your local book store or library . . . others have gone before you. Don\u2019t reinvent the wheel.<\/p>\n

7) Network with other inventors. Join a local inventors\u2019 organization.<\/p>\n

Who can I trust? What do I do next? How do I find the help I need?<\/p>\n

8) If your patent search looked promising (see #3), make an appointment with a patent attorney<\/a>, patent agent or professional patent searcher. Show him the results of your search and follow the advice.<\/p>\n

9) Do what you do well and hire pros to do the rest.<\/p>\n

10) Don\u2019t fall in love with your invention, but if you\u2019re sure you\u2019ve got a winner (see #5), hang in there!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are all great points and should be taken into consideration. One thing inventors should understand is that it’s a long way to Tipperary<\/em><\/a>. Anything that is worth it may take a lot of blood, sweat and tears to be a success. The ancient Chinese Confucius said, “A journey of a thousand miles starts from the very first step.”<\/p>\n

Remember the inventor’s first step is coming up with the idea. There are many more steps that need to be completed in order to bring a product to market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So you are an inventor with a new invention, what next? Inventors usually have a questions like: Should I get a prototype? Do I need to have a patent to protect the idea? Who can I speak about it to? Is it a good idea? Can I make money from it? Who can I trust? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":9156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,6],"tags":[293],"class_list":["post-798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-what-inventors-need-to-know","category-buffalo-inventors","tag-inventor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lotempiolaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}