How to Take an Idea to Market

First, you need to find out if someone else already has a patent on the product you are thinking of developing. You do not want to infringe on an existing patent. Go to the US Patent and Trademark Office web site at http://www.uspto.gov. Click on the word Patents and conduct a simple patent search.

The directions for a search are found on the patent office home page. A more complete and extensive search may be necessary at a later date to make sure that you are not infringing on some other party’s patent if you decide a patent is needed for your product.

If someone already has a patent on your idea, contact him or her. Perhaps you can market the idea in exchange for a royalty or buy the patent outright from them. There are many great ideas that are patented but never brought to market. Sometimes the patent owner becomes ill or they just like the idea of the patent process but don’t like marketing or sales. Or perhaps they tried and gave up on the idea. There are about as many reasons why a patent never becomes a product, as there are patents.

First, you need to evaluate your product to see if it is commercially viable to bring to the marketplace.

Draw your idea on paper as best as you can. Talk to your relatives and friends about your idea. Identify the industry(s) or niche that your invention should be marketed to. Start reading publications about that industry.

Go to a local inventor club meeting. Read inventor magazines. The United Inventors Association’s website at http://www.uiausa.org is a great resource with a link to find local inventor clubs. Inventor clubs are made up of people just like you. They are looking to invent a new product or have already done so.

A provisional application filed with the patent office is a great way to record the date you first thought of your idea. This simple form may give you some recourse if someone you disclosed your idea to claims your idea as their own. Also, it may afford you some protection if someone else independently thinks of your idea at a later date.

A provisional application only requires a basic description and simple drawings of your invention and offers you a way to date the conception of your product. Later, if you decide to file a non-provisional patent (regular patent) you may get the benefit of the earlier date you filed on your provisional patent.

The filling fee, as this article is being written, is $110.00. As provisional patent fees change from time to time, you should check fees just before you file the application. You may fill out a Provisional Patent Application online. The web site provides a template cover sheet for your use.

Interested in learning more please go to http:www.howtotakeanideatomarket.com