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<p style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">**<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Don't patent...</span></span>**
I believe it is usually better to give an idea to the public via an announcement, article or video uploaded to Youtube than to start dumping money into attorney’s fees. Patents are expensive to begin with, then suck you dry down line. Then there's this: in the District of Columbia, seat of the US Patent and Trademark Office, as of 20 years ago (which was the last time I probed the question) from the beginning of this governmental department, no patent action had EVER upheld the rights of the patenter.
Exception: If you develop something that you are sure can be sold to a manufacturer (at say a patent auction… and this is a growing trend), something that you’d never want to take to market yourself, then of course the potential manufacturer needs proof that the thing is yours. And by the way, it is possible to both obtain and sell a patent for which no working prototype was ever built. (Go online and Google patent auctions).** **
**...Promote!**
Better use of your money is to develop the doohickey until you have a working prototype. Then, announce it to the world via a trade journal. In my field of surfing this would be The Surfer’s Journal, Surfer Magazine, or online via Surfline.com. This way, you become known as the inventor. For free! Your idea starts to gain notoriety. The fact that a major trade journal published the article gives the gizmo credence.
Because you’ve given it to the public, the public then likes you.
Remember, to make money on the doodad you have to make sales. Sales are
not about holding a gun to someone’s head because you have the patent.
Sales depend on goodwill, good feelings.
Publishing the idea puts it in the ‘public domain’; ends the possibility of anyone else ever preventing you from using it.
Regardless of how you tackle the protection issue, if it’s a good idea,
it will in time be ‘knocked off’ by someone. However, as they say,
“Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”. So when copying does
take place, the knock off popularizes your idea. You as the established
inventor get a free ride not only on all of your imitator’s publicity
but also on every one of his advertising dollars.
In fact it is usually not until there is competition that the public
wakes up to real value of an invention. Study the sales history of
Coca-Cola. You’ll find a tremendous boost in sales that is the direct
result of Pepsi-Cola’s efforts.
Today the world market is so huge, no one supplier can satisfy it. The
best anyone can do is get a good chunk of the business. Be content with
that.
For the most part, the public is quite loyal; its sentiment lies with the ‘original’.
Because you gave this idea to the public, if someone improves upon it,
you have every right in the world to incorporate said improvement into
your next iteration.** **
**Trademarks—yes!**
The best use of your money for protection is a trademark. I trademarked the words ‘Morey Boogie’ back around 1975 for TEN DOLLARS. Best ten bucks I’ve ever spent. People want brand names. Once established, and if maintained, brands can go on for decades. But even better than a trademark is your own name. It is not something you trademark. It IS you. Your name on the product says, “I am the guy who gets the credit or blame for this thing, I’m behind this 100%.” When I was about 17 my dad told me to take the name ‘Morey’ and run with it. I have, and it’s worked out pretty well. There’s nothing better than to have your own name become well known for good works you’ve done. However it is chancy. Screw up and down goes not only your name but also the name of your future family.
If fact it can go down the toilet even if you do well with it. Consider
Thomas Crapper, the man in recent generations who did most to create
water closet flush toilets. His name and legacy turned to ‘crap’,
through no fault of his own, simply because it became more polite to
say ‘crap’ than ‘shit’.
One more point on this. Because your own name can become ever more or less valuable in time, you build more personal character—or else.** **
**Publicity**
The very best publicity is that your Thingamabob works. That means it: Does what it is supposed to do and does it reliably
Is either so cheap it needs no repairing, just toss and renew, OR is ease to repair.
If for your product, word of mouth promotion is not enough, in today’s
world: magazines, news papers, radio stations, TV stations and numerous
online services are ever crying for any real news about anything. Write
up and or film the gizmo in use, and get it out there with your email
address, website and phone number large and easy to find.
Then if and when they call, be sure there is a LIVE, INTELLIGENT and LOVING human answering the phone. Good publicity is better than good advertisements.
Hire a good publicist. He is always more valuable than a good ad man,
whatever (s)he costs is going to be far less than the cost of someone
else creating an ad then also the cost of buying the space to run the
ad.** **
**Advertising**
Study this field thoroughly. Read David Olgilvy’s master piece Confessions of an Advertising Man and make it your ad bible—even though it’s 50 years old.** **
**Product development**
As you are developing your idea, do not keep it to yourself. Rather, tell everybody.
By so doing you acquire a great deal of free feedback. Along with
bringing forth your ‘great idea’ in conversation, solicit advice and
pre-inform the giver that there will be no remuneration from you; that
whatever they offer, they are so doing from the goodness of their
heart. You’ll be surprised at the depth of improvement your product
gains; and how many silly, thoughtless notions you’d held so dear are
dispelled.
Two other big things happen when I openly discuss my
invention. Often, I soon find my idea really isn’t too original or hot
and save myself a lot of time and expense down line. The other thing is
that the tendency for others to copy it is defused by the reality that
if they were, they’d not only have to compete with you but also be in
competition with who knows how many other people you’d been spilling
your beans to.** **
**The Seven Sisters of Invention**
Name it, draw it, describe it, model it, price it, sleep on it, and
discuss it. Repeat. Inventing is not a simple process. I don’t just
think of an idea, and then model it. Let’s say I make a few drawings,
but then get stuck. I’ll switch to working on the product’s name or a
description of some of its features. Or I’ll look up what materials and
processes could be used to build it… or just take a nap. Then later
I’ll get back on it from some other tact.
When I can’t take an approach any further, I leave it be. Inventions
are a little like cats. Walk away from one and it will come after you;
pester you on its own.
Maybe a mental picture of something interesting pops into my mind. Or,
it could be a clever word, or a pronounced need which I accidentally
come across. So I start bringing it along.
Yes, if a prototype seems achievable, I start right on it as soon as
possible, even if it’s just sticking together some marshmallows with
tooth picks and drawing on them with a marking pen.
If not, I’ll make some sketches; discuss the concept with someone, even
a cat or dog. I’ll imagine a price tag on it; then give that tag
various prices. I’ll think of how to describe it, write down thoughts
about its qualities or usage. I’ll imagine how it could be publicized
and advertised, imagine it being used… expand or contract the image of
the typical user to the opposite sex, children or the elderly or some
special section of humanity, maybe a particular race, religion, sport,
activity occupation, location, etc.
As a result of feeding the idea some of this kind of energy it takes on
a life of its own. Or, after enough of this, the ‘great idea’ may
instead make its way to the back burner; or maybe even the trash can.
Because in this age, there are many opportunities. And it is well to do
as was advised in ancient days, supposedly by Jesus as told in a seldom
read Gospel of Jesus by the disciple Thomas, “Be like the wise
fisherman who cast his net into the sea, brought forth many fish but
kept only the largest for himself and threw the rest back."
**Environment**
If, as you’re trying to come up with creative goods, you’re listening to puke music in the background, angry people shouting for attention, explicating the lowest forms of language and idiot drum beats, well, this is driving with your brakes on.
Listen to real creators, classical composers, jazz masters like John
Coletrane, Miles Davis, Lee Morgan, Dizzy Gillespie, Elvin Jones,
Charlie Parker, Stan Getz. Listen to music that gives you goose bumps.** **
**Sell One**
It’s one thing to dream up a doodad, another thing to turn it into something profitable.
So as you work on your creation, and before you think too much about
price, sell one. Get the experience under your belt of making your
first sale.** **
**Pricing**
If there’s no way you can make the thing for say $1, $10, $100, or $1000 labor and material and retail it to a stranger who will HAPPILY pay $4, $40, $400 or $4000 for it, forget about it as a product. Produce something whose direct cost is $1.00, then your company will have to sell it to the next guy in the market chain for about $2.00 so the company can pay overhead, taxes, returns, and make a little profit on it as well. Between your $2.00 and the final $4.00 sale price are all the cost and profits of middle men and retail outlets.
Yet, it might be that you can only make a decent profit if you both
make it and sell it yourself. Ok, so be it. Be content with that. Cut
your personal overhead so you can live in your van and travel the
world. What could be better?
By the way, when I first started to sell boogieboards I found I had two
kinds of friends; the ones who felt that because they were my friend,
they were entitled to a special deal. Then there were my real friends,
“Tom, I think that thing is terrific. I insist on paying full price in
support of your efforts.”** **
**Design**
If there is any criterion for determining beauty, again IF, then it is function. ** **
**Colors**
Take your camera to the local garbage dump, and shoot random pictures of its contents.
You’ll find many color combinations. Build a product colored like one
of these schemes and someone will love it. But probably… more than
likely, not many people. Color combinations that you, your friends for
artists, come up with probably will not last. Instead, take your cues
from nature
Nature’s favorite colors seem to be shades of blue. That’s what there are the most of; witness the colors of the sky and sea.
Greens and the various colors of bushes come next, or perhaps desert tans.
A favorite color scheme is the gradiation of a dark blue sky, down to
lighter, then sun rise or sun set colors, then the sand of the beach.
Other great color schemes can be taken from the exact combinations on various birds and fish.** **
**Materials**
Material types, grades, fabrication techniques are not infinite and should be regularly studied by any serious innovator. Scale, speed, hue, intensity.
These are a few of the variables which, when applied to music, make
tremendous differences. So as well if/as applied to your product. For
example, what fits pretty well, might, if redesigned to fit exceedingly
well (the foot, the group, and the mood, whatever) make a considerable
difference.
Fill needs yet so they’ll want it.
The needs and wants of humans seldom coincide. Clean air, we both want
and need. However, we often want what is not best for us. Cater to
needs, and over the long term you’ll greatly increase your market.
Present what you create in such a way that they also want it but keep
your focus on providing what you’d want for yourself, what is good for
others.
Enough for now.