Patent It Yourself - PDF Archive

88 | Patent it YOURSELF
The areas of consultation and research which you should
investigate include asking both nonprofessionals and experts
in the particular field for an opinion, and researching the
relevant literature. As you do this, keep in mind and ask
about all of the positive and negative factors listed above.
Your consultation efforts and research will almost surely give
you more information useful in assessing many of them. If
so, again don’t hesitate to redo your Forms 4-1 and 4-2.
As indicated, nonprofessionals can often be an excellent
source of information and advice, especially if your
invention is a consumer item that they are likely to have an
opportunity to purchase if it’s ever mass-produced. Consult
your lay friends and associates, that is, those who have no
special expertise in the field in which you are interested, but
whose opinion you trust and feel will be objective. Often
you may find it valuable not to tell them that you are the
inventor so you’ll get a more objective evaluation. You may
also want to inquire as to what price they’d be willing to
pay. It’s especially helpful if you’ve built a working model
(see Section F, below) so you can show it to them and ask if
they’d buy it and for what price.
Experts to be consulted in the particular field of your
invention include any and all of the following who can
supply you with relevant feedback:
• salespeople and buyers in stores that sell devices
similar to yours
• engineers, managers, or technicians in companies in
the field of your invention
• scholars, educators, or professors who do research in
the area of your invention, and
• friends who are “in the business.”
Naturally you may not know all of these experts. Getting
to them will require the creative use of the contacts you do
have so as to arrange the proper introductions. Once you
do, however, most people will be flattered that you’ve asked
for their advice and pleased to help you.
If you can afford to pay for an evaluation, you may want
to consider using an independent invention evaluation
service. Here are two university-based ones that I believe
are reputable:
• Wisconsin Innovation Service Center, (http://
academics.uww.edu/business/innovate) 262-472-1600,
(about $500), and
• I 2 Innovation Institute (www.innovation-institute.
com) 417-836-5671, (about $200).
After you show your invention—preferably a working
model—note the initial reaction of whomever you show it
to. If you hear a “Well, I’ll be damned!” or “Why didn’t I
think of that!” you know you’re on the right track. However
if a consultant rejects your idea, don’t blindly accept the
rejection; try to find out the reason and whether it’s valid.
Some people don’t like anything new, so develop a thick
skin and an analytical approach. Keep in mind the words of
Charles Brower: “A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by
a sneer or a yawn; it can be stabbed to death by a quip and
worried to death by a frown on the right man’s brow.”
For your literature search, I suggest that you start by using
one or more Internet search engines, locating a research
librarian who’s familiar with the area of your concern. Large
technical and business libraries and those associated with
major universities are obvious places to start. The library
literature that you should investigate includes product
directories, how-to-do-it books, catalogs, general reference
books, and patents if they are available. (See Chapter 6.)
Remember that the purpose of the literature search isn’t
to determine whether your invention is new or patentable,
but rather to give you additional background in the field
so you can evaluate the positive and negative factors listed
above. However, while you’re doing your literature search,
you may find that your invention was publicly known
before you invented it. This is especially likely to occur if
you search the patent literature. If so, you’ll either have to
drop the invention, since you’ll know you aren’t the first
inventor, or try to make a new invention by improving your
first effort. You’ll be surprised how much better a feel you’ll
have for your invention once you’ve done some research and
become familiar with the field.
If you work for or have access to a large company, visit
its purchasing department and ask for permission to look
through its product catalogs. Most companies have an
extensive library of such catalogs and you’ll often find much
relevant and valuable information there that you won’t find
in even the biggest and best public libraries.
Tip
This search isn’t the equivalent of the “patent
search” that occurs before you apply for your patent. Covered
in the next chapter is the more formal patent search, which
obviously will provide you with considerably more background
in the area of your invention.
2. Precautions to Take During Consultation
If you do show your invention to others or discuss it
with them to any extent, a degree of care is mandatory
to preserve the trade secret status of your invention and
to prevent theft of your ideas, or to prove it in case it
occurs. (See Chapter 1, Section Q.) Remember that any of
the agreements discussed below are only as good as the
parties who have signed them. Thus you shouldn’t disclose
your invention to anyone you don’t trust or whom you