Brainstorm Patents focuses on working with individual inventors.  While a lot of inventors are leaps and bounds ahead in technical areas, they may not have a solid understanding of the patent system and what it can (and can’t) do to help them in their ever growing quest for marketability and product success.

The post below is a continuation on the first question in a series that aims to shed some light on the details of patent work.  I will do my best to answer everything in layman’s terms.  If you need more clarification, contact us, and we’ll be glad to help!

Question #1: I just came up with a great idea.  What should I do now?

In the previous post, the beginning stages of idea conceptualization were touched upon.  The “Eureka!” moment fills you with excitement, anticipation and visions of grandeur and success.  While the “Eureka!” moment is the most important, the “Now What?!” moment is a close second.  An idea without any action will always be an idea.  Ideas are very tough to cash in for fame and fortune.  In order to be successful, your idea must become something – a product, a business, a process, a system.  We at Brainstorm Patents aim to help you take your idea and turn it into something of value.  Let’s pick up from where we left off last post….

STEP #4: Conduct a preliminary market and patent search.

Now that the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Machine has been viewed from a somewhat analytical and goal oriented view, it is time to start moving along the timeline I created.  The first thing that I need to do is conduct a search of all available products and patents out there.  So, I started with a simple Google search.  UNBELIEVABLE!!!  How can it be that I’m not the first person to dream up the PB&J Machine???  Are there really other geniuses out there?  Crazy!  It turns out that discussions about PB&J Machines are fairly popular on the net.  There are even a couple of YouTube videos of functioning PB&J Machines.  Wow, talk about disheartening!

Nonetheless, of all of the webpages that I visited, no one had a design like the design I had in my composition notebook, and there’s always room for a better mousetrap, right?  After my Google search, I visited various stores and asked various “industry insiders” if they were aware of any PB&J Machines.  Based on the confused look on everyone’s faces, I quickly surmised that no PB&J Machines were commercially available for people to buy and use in their homes.  I think I’m on the right track….

STEP #5: Consult a professional and weigh your options.

At this point, I’ve done enough snooping around between my computer and the retail world to feel confident that my spin on the PB&J Machine is not anywhere, nor is there mention of it anywhere.  However, before I get too far down the road, it is important to schedule a meeting with a patent professional to make sure that I was doing everything properly and to make sure that I didn’t do anything to jeopardize a patent on my idea.  So, I called and scheduled a meeting with a patent agent (same powers before the USPTO as a patent attorney, but cheaper!).  The patent agent met with me and explained that a form of “attorney-client” privilege existed, so I was free to speak and ask questions without any fear of him stealing my idea.  The patent agent recommended a professional search, even though I’d already done a fairly thorough one myself.  If the search had positive results, he suggested moving forward with a provisional patent, and if the market warranted it, ultimately filing a utility patent application.  It was evident that he knew his stuff and had my best interests in mind, so I agreed to a professional search.  The search (both a patent search and a marketplace search) revealed no giant roadblocks to moving forward with the PB&J Machine.  So, I asked the patent agent to file the provisional utility application, giving me a 12 month period of “patent pending status” in which I could explore the marketability of the PB&J Machine, without having to spend the larger amount of money necessary to file the actual utility application.

STEP #6: Market, market, market.

So, I started contacting retailers, jelly producers, peanut butter manufacturers, QVC, HSN, product manufacturers, and even Ron Popeil.  Needless to say, I didn’t get responses from most of the people I contacted.  Nonetheless, you’ve got to keep the faith and keep moving forward.  The world would be a better place if everyone had a PB&J Machine!  I was successful in speaking with a few small local retailers as well as one buyer for Wal-Mart.  None of them were the least bit interested in stocking the PB&J Machine.  By this time, I had burned through about 3 months of my “Provisional Year”, so I knew that I needed to make something happen or the PB&J Machine would die a quick death.  Tossing and turning night after night, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that I needed to do to gain some traction.  Then, I sat upright in bed.  There were different methods of selling that didn’t require retailers.  I scrambled to my computer and searched for the next local home show.  As luck would have it, there was a home show in two months.  That left me enough time to fill out the paperwork to enter the show (show space is expensive!) and get a small supply of PB&J Machines built and ready to be sold at the show.

Finally, the weekend of the home show arrived.  There I was, clad in my chef’s hat and apron, microphone mounted to my head.  The doors opened and I was ready to start selling my way to victory!  During the first hour of the show, I had quite a flurry of people come by and watch the demonstration and sample a sandwich, but NO SALES!  After the show, I realized what the midday surge in traffic was all about – pizza at the show was $6 a slice, so a free PB&J sandwich was a great deal.  Still, NO SALES.  After a full day, I finally had a sale!!!  It was a friend of my parents, but nonetheless, it was a sale!  So, on Day 1, I went through 200 sandwiches and made one sale.  Day 2 was no better.  150 sandwiches and NO SALES!  Needless to say, I left the home show confused and disappointed.  Was it me?  Did I need to hire a salesman?  Was it the economy?

I spoke with Aaron that night and he was honest (again) and said that the market may not exist for a PB&J Machine (especially one that costs $95).  While it wasn’t news that I wanted to hear, it was news that I needed to hear.  This time around, I was listening and actually accepted Aaron’s insight.  While I didn’t want to let the PB&J Machine fade into oblivion, I couldn’t spend more money chasing the dream.  The patent agent called and asked if I wanted to pursue the utility patent, and I had to respectfully decline, telling him that the market was not there.  He was very understanding and said he’d been in my shoes a few times before.  He told me to keep my eyes open and more ideas would come.  So, that’s where I am today.  The PB&J Machine taught me a lot about inventing and the process, but it’ll take another concept to help me reach my goal of $1,000,000…..

Please don’t hesitate to comment or call or email with any questions or general comments.  Again, this commentary is just a general introduction to working with an idea and exploring the possibilities.  Each case will have it’s differences, but we’re hoping we can help everyone get their feet wet.  Check back later this week for two different pateny blogs authored by Tyrone and Zack.