Have Prov. Patent, Need Prototype/Marketing Plan

[eviljeff]

step 1: license patent
step 2: get pwned by MedImmune v. Genentech

edit: or you could just make money suing infringers

[Matt Flynn]

i'm working on a few of these. haven't filed yet but we're building prototypes for testing on one simple how-can-that-not-exist device. it's gonna cost < $1,000 to make prototypes using Accufab. it's mainly metal. Accufab works with plastics but only for metal-based products. easy company to do business with so far.

you can write you patent app by largely copying the dross from other similar patents, change some words, put your good stuff in, then show the ones you copied from and your draft to a good patent attorney to rewrite and file. that's considerably cheaper than having the attorney write it for you. due diligence is still expensive though.

my understanding is around 15K all through for a basic patent if the attorney does it soup to nuts but haven't been through the process and so don't know if that's realistic.

plastic injection molds can be had much, much cheaper than 100K. don't be deterred you can pay for all this stuff.

no idea how to handle marketing or protection of ideas after writing as broad a patent app as you can get away with. my strat will be to outlicense small ideas until there's enough money to hire people who know wtf they're doing (i don't), and hire someone to handshake/negotiate with potential outlicensing companies.

keep us posted and let us know what you learn!

[J.A.Sucker]

I wasn't implying that plastic molds are 100K - I think about 10K is right. However, if you have to do a bunch of other stuff, costs can really add up. Of course, I have no idea what his gadget is, but I would suspect that all-in, he's gonna have to shell out something like 50K to make a proto, and that assumes that he's working for free. Then again, for all I know this thing is software and the actual hard costs are basically zero. My experience tends me to be cautious when estimating costs and time spent. Things always take 4X as long as you want them to and costs go by a similar multiplier.

[Slow Play Ray]

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I think standard operating procedure here is to market it at trade shows. That being said, I have absolutely no experience in this area.

Could you let us know what it is by any chance? If you don't want to post it, maybe a PM? No problem if you don't want to share, I'm just curious.

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I dont want to just yet; we just mailed in provisional application to patent office. I want to wait until I've heard from them and that they have it on file.

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good luck, man - the patent process is long and painful. we started the process for 3 separate patents all at once, and originally mailed the provisionals in march, 2004, followed shortly thereafter by the utility applications...they didn't officially receive them until september 2005, and i just received notification from our lawyer of the 1st of the three being granted last week, but it's still up on the site as an application.

[Slow Play Ray]

as for prototyping, if it is a simple part and a solid model already exists for it, you can just print one out in ABS using a 3D printer - i actually have one here in my office. that will give you a plastic part(s) you could either use as a prototype itself, or use as a throw-away pattern to cast a real one out of metal. since i don't know what you're making, it's hard to say. if there are electronics i can't help you, but feel free to shoot me a PM for any mechanical questions.

[gusmahler]

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I think standard operating procedure here is to market it at trade shows. That being said, I have absolutely no experience in this area.

Could you let us know what it is by any chance? If you don't want to post it, maybe a PM? No problem if you don't want to share, I'm just curious.

[/ QUOTE ]

I dont want to just yet; we just mailed in provisional application to patent office. I want to wait until I've heard from them and that they have it on file.

[/ QUOTE ]

good luck, man - the patent process is long and painful. we started the process for 3 separate patents all at once, and originally mailed the provisionals in march, 2004, followed shortly thereafter by the utility applications...they didn't officially receive them until september 2005, and i just received notification from our lawyer of the 1st of the three being granted last week, but it's still up on the site as an application.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nowadays, 3 years is pretty normal for most applications to get to the issued patent stage.

As for your patent, your attorney most likely received a Notification of Issue. It is mailed a few weeks before the patent is actually granted and tells the attorney the patent number and the date it will issue. Ask your attorney for that information.

If you are looking at the Public PAIR site (which I assume you are, because you said it is listed as being an application), I believe you can actually look at the Notice of Issue yourself. (Go to the Image File Wrapper tab and look at the document titled Issue Notification).

[Lucky]

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I think standard operating procedure here is to market it at trade shows. That being said, I have absolutely no experience in this area.

Could you let us know what it is by any chance? If you don't want to post it, maybe a PM? No problem if you don't want to share, I'm just curious.

[/ QUOTE ]

I dont want to just yet; we just mailed in provisional application to patent office. I want to wait until I've heard from them and that they have it on file.

[/ QUOTE ]

good luck, man - the patent process is long and painful. we started the process for 3 separate patents all at once, and originally mailed the provisionals in march, 2004, followed shortly thereafter by the utility applications...they didn't officially receive them until september 2005, and i just received notification from our lawyer of the 1st of the three being granted last week, but it's still up on the site as an application.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nowadays, 3 years is pretty normal for most applications to get to the issued patent stage.

As for your patent, your attorney most likely received a Notification of Issue. It is mailed a few weeks before the patent is actually granted and tells the attorney the patent number and the date it will issue. Ask your attorney for that information.

If you are looking at the Public PAIR site (which I assume you are, because you said it is listed as being an application), I believe you can actually look at the Notice of Issue yourself. (Go to the Image File Wrapper tab and look at the document titled Issue Notification).

[/ QUOTE ]

I actually used a patent agent (cheaper than attorney, and he has MBA and MS Chem Eng). He says in 5 weeks I'll get the serial number for application.

So then it looks like I have a year to shop idea/prototype around, protected somewhat by fact I have the provisional patent. If it looks good, then begins the utility patent stage, which looks to be the expensive part.

Also, he just put me in touch with a couple of guys from the local technical college who have experience with prototypes, but seem to have a little less with the actual marketing portion.

[Lucky]

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Can you not just contact current manufactureres of mobile phone accessories, tell them you have secured patent on a new idea, and sell it to them?

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This sounds good.