Inventions

[watching]

Hi, I've always been curious about the process for inventions. Do those who have a great invention just immediately patent the idea before they even know if their invention is marketable? Or do they approach a company to work in partnership with them without patenting, rather than starting out on their own?

[imie]

I don't have experience in that but have been hanging out with women inventors. You can find them at www.mompreneursonline.com

[FearSonic]

Hi, I've always been curious about the process for inventions. Do those who have a great invention just immediately patent the idea before they even know if their invention is marketable? Or do they approach a company to work in partnership with them without patenting, rather than starting out on their own?

Googled up a helpful site for you (I hope!) and it can be found here.

[watching]

You should not be approaching individuals with your ideas without a patent and especially without first getting proper legal advice.

There are certain strategies that can be used to protect your rights (indirectly) for a lot less in cost than applying for a patent right away (e.g. a way to reserve your patentable rights); thereby giving you some potential protection for the future. Plus, certain agreements such as non-disclosure agreements and confidentiality agreements, etc. are generally used to ensure that if someone does indeed take your idea or use it, you can have some potential recourse against them.

Bottom line: speak to an IP lawyer ASAP before disclosing even the existence of the idea (so as to not raise curiousity and/or lead to potential challengers to your future IP applications).

Thanks a lot for that very useful and informative information.

After one either patents their idea or executes a non-disclosure agreement, what's the next step - or would the IP lawyer be able to help in that respect?

(Thanks to FearSonic and imie as well for the links you've posted)