A little help please (NF)

[motv8tr]

Hey all, I'll make this short and sweet...or I'll try

 

I have a customer, who has started her own web store selling products for the physically challenged to help them in their day to day lives. To get an idea her website is Here

 

Her big goal is to get products of her own design into her store. The challenge comes in finding companies that can give her quotes on molds and production costs. She managed to get one quote from a company, and two others didn't respond. She does not have patents on her designs which makes me nervous for her, but she is unable to come up with the required monies for the patents.

 

I'm sure I saw somewhere, years ago, a way that she could protect her designs until she is able to get a patent for them. One of her many challeneges is that she tires easily and therefore isn't alway able to spend the time searching the internet for this info, and I haven't been able to find anything myself..lack of time or what I'm looking for isn't out there?

 

I would also appreciate any thoughts on expanding her market...right now she's focusing on those using wheel chairs, I've suggested seniors and advertising in publications geered to them, any other ideas? Inexpensive advertising?

 

All your thoughts and help is much appreciated.

[OhioFisherman]

Maureen, I have no idea what websites charge for advertising, but saw some products on her site that would be useful to people with MS. Maybe she could contact the Canadian MS society or American National Multiple Sclerosis Society to see?

 

Maybe some boards would allow products or links to them their members can use at a discount or free of costs? Maybe for just a discount for the board members?

 

No idea what to tell you on patents, just that if it is a good idea and it`s not protected someone will copy it, and they may do it if it is?

 

Tooling takes time and money.

[Snowball]

Here is a site that may be of some use to your friend:

 

http://strategis.gc.ca/sc_mrksv/cipo/patents/pt_main-e.html

 

 

Regards,

Snowball

[bassboy]

Hiya,

 

If I remember correctly, there is such a thing as a 'poor man's patent' (its an old term ), whereby you include all of the documentation for the design, etc etc, and pop it in an envelope and send it to yourself via registered mail. Once you receive the mail, retain it unopened until proper patents can be applied for. Not sure of its legality but from what I understand it does offer some protection.......might try googling this but at least its a start.

 

Hope this helps......

 

Bill

[cisco]

Costs around $10,000 for a patent. First a lawyer does a patent search to ensure it isn't already patented. Once that is done and things are a 'go' then lawyer gets to write up a description along with diagrams to file the patent. Whole thing takes months and lawyers don't like to clearly tell you anything in case they're wrong. That's what I kinda know.

 

But in your pal's case she has to be careful since once she told others about the thing ... especially a manufacturer..... especially without a non-disclosure agreement (lawyers can do this writing also for some more $$$) then she maybe isn't able to get an international type patent or even a patent for Canada or the USA since the lid's off the thing she invented.

 

I'd say her best bet is to approach a company that does manufacture the kinda stuff she invented and try and get a non-disclosure contract that would allow her a royalty and distribution rights for the things she comes up with which they feel there's a worthwhile market for. The idea to register-mail yourself a written description of the invention THAT REMAINS SEALED isn't a bad idea, but some say it isn't good enough in court. That approach is probably only maybe adequate if you are fighting with someone you say stole your idea. But if someone else patents it, your SOL so to speak.

 

I ain't no lawyer, but that's my $.02

[irishfield]

Cisco's got his head around it pretty good Maureen.

 

Patent's these days aren't worth much more than the paper they are written on in many cases. Thomas and Betts ripped off, ie copied, my patented "Enviroseal" plastic electrical box designs.... after we were just making headway on sales. They are so big we couldn't even start to afford to do legal battle with them....so you see their cheap blue electrical boxes being sold in places like CTC and installed in every subdivision going...instead of my better grey ones, complete with the vapour barrier snap ring.

 

As for a plastic injection moulder...well you do know someone that still has ties to one of them thar places my dear! And I know absolutely, positively, that they never ripped off a customers thoughts/ideas in the 22 years they've been at it!

[JohnF]

Her big goal is to get products of her own design into her store. The challenge comes in finding companies that can give her quotes on molds and production costs. She managed to get one quote from a company, and two others didn't respond. She does not have patents on her designs which makes me nervous for her, but she is unable to come up with the required monies for the patents.

 

I would also appreciate any thoughts on expanding her market...right now she's focusing on those using wheel chairs, I've suggested seniors and advertising in publications geered to them, any other ideas? Inexpensive advertising?

 

All your thoughts and help is much appreciated.

 

Well, it's Sunday morning & the coffee cup is full, so here it is from my perspective. Hope this helps.

 

I read a few responses already posted and they have covered some of the important things nicely.

 

As for getting her own ideas into production. Since she evidently hasn't the financial resources to do this, perhaps she needs to look for a sponsor to get involved as an investor/partner - she provides the ideas, the partner provides the finances and perhaps some business acumen. If the ideas are truly marketable a share is better than nothing for her, and sufferers stand to benefit from her ideas. The idea of mailing a copy of the proposal to herself might help to protect her ideas from theft by anyone she involves in this search for investors but I wouldn't assume it will protect her in a race to the patent office if someone else happens to come up with the same idea coincidentally. At least she could show a paper trail from her to certain recipients and claim some kind of intellectual property or inventor rights later - I'm not sure of the proper terminology.

 

If on the other hand her ideas are simple enough for unskilled assembly/production she might consider taking them to a local handicapped adult workplace. We have these in our area. Local businesses ask for help with simple chores like potato peeling for restaurants to envelope stuffing and unsophisticated assembly and packaging projects. This would again likely require some infusion of capital for the materials and packaging so I go back to the idea of a sponsor/partner. A patent lawyer would be able to answer this one but it seems to me that going into production with a simple design would establish some kind of basis for claiming concept rights should someone else try to steal the design later.

 

Our friend from Ohio makes a good point about looking to the MS groups (as well as Arthritis and other specific support groups that have to deal with physical disabilities0. They might be good folks to get involved in promoting the web site with something as simple as links on personal websites and group support sites (she could get a banner or logo designed and offer it for downloading), as well as perhaps steering her to potential investors willing to help patent, produce, & promote worthwhile products. I know from family experience that the support infrastructures for MS and Arthritis victims are strong and viable locally so it's reasonable to assume that they function as well in a larger context, nationally or even internationally.

 

There, my coffee cup is empty. All of this has probably already occurred to her or been suggested, but sometimes it helps to see it reiterated or worded a little differently. Hope it helps.

 

JF

[motv8tr]

Thanks a bunch everyone, all of your input has helped. I had thought of the "mailing to herslef" idea, but wanted to confirm it before I told her. A bit of backround on her... She is a young lady, who is blind and in a motorized wheel chair, so I can promise you anything she designs will be used...she's designed most of it for use herself. Her finances are limited as she is on a disability pension. She is currently attending the Toronto School of Business taking a class on operating your own business. My concern for her came when she told me she sent a design to a manufacturing company to get a quote on cost of mold and production and never heard from them again. One quote she recieved was 20,000 for the mold, which wouldn't surprise me, but no quote on manufacturing.

 

I did suggest she try to find investors, never thought of the MS society, not sure why, and don't know where to suggest she look for investors...seems to me most want a product that's not limited to a "niche" market. Good idea to suggest she approach a currnet manufacturer or company in the business already.

 

Wayne, PM me the information of where she can send her design...I had thought of you but wanted to check before I told her

 

Thanks again all

 

Maureen

[irishfield]

Will do Maureen. When/if I get it I'll go into the plant and sit down with our GM to see if it's up our alley. If not I'll shred or return everything she's sent. If there is assembly work in the design/final product I'll go over it with Leah and see what she can do on that end as well.