You’ve identified a common problem in your life, work or home and believe you’ve found a solution. So now what do you do? Getting your product or service off the ground can be a very intimidating and confusing process.

The following information will give you a look at what you can do to protect yourself, design the best product and retain control of you invention.

Do The Research

A lot of people think an idea sounds excellent when told to your friends or family, yet your first step should be proving your idea is great by having the research to back it up. We recommend searching publications related to your market, the internet and the United States Patent & Trademark Office to prove your invention is desirable, unique and patentable.

We also recommend these sites below for more information on this sort of research.

• Stevens Engineering: Inventors Handbook
  

  This article includes information on getting started: researching a market, licensing versus producing the product yourself and tips on finding a reputable marketing company. This is a great introduction for those just starting.

• Entrepreneur.com: Researching the Inventions Market

  This is another great article for researching your potential clients and customers. You should visit here for resources on how to gather data on markets and general advice on getting started.

Don't Get Swindled

Many inventors have either considered or met with an Invention Promotional company and while there are legitimate companies, many are fraudulent. These fraudulent companies can require large up-front fees for initial “market research,” an even larger fee (sometimes tens-of-thousands of dollars) for development along with excessive royalties.

Protect yourself by visiting these links for information on preventing invention promotion fraud:

• Carnegie Librarie: Invention Promotion Fraud



• Federal Trade Commission: NISI Article



• USPTO Scam Warning Brochure

Get Protection

One of the first things you should consider after researching your idea is to secure protection.

There are a variety of ways to secure your invention and keep it safe from companies and individuals eager to steal your idea. We encourage you to contact one of the following reputable patent and intellectual property firms to better educate you on your options:

Gene Scott of Patent Law and Venture Group based in Newport Beach, CA.

David DeMay of DeMay Consulting LLC based in Bethel Park, PA.