Be very careful...you don't want to end up like that dude that invented the opti-grab. LOL.

 

get a (patent pending) alot cheaper and you have 12 months to decide if you want to go through the hassel and expense to fully patent your idea. it allows the inventor 12 months trail to see if there invention will work or will sell. it is the same as a patent just the trail version if you want to say it in simpler terms. my full patent costed me $5,230.00. for my tour pak mount, but the (patent pending) is like $900.00/$1,100.00, but if you decide to put a full patent on the idea (within the 12 months) then the 900.00 will go towards your total cost of the full patent. if you wait til it expires then the cost of the patent pending will not go towards the total cost and you have a chance of someone else patenting it. you will need to get full detailed blueprints, picture, and a brief explination of the product. but before you go through all the time and money, just remember someone can change just 15% !!!!! of your idea and it will not infringe on your patent. that is the cooperate world of BS for you, because if a large compnay likes it ,they will re-invent it with minor changes and sell it also. the best way to stop that is sell it for a low but reasonible price and they will look at it and say nah its not worth it to make just this X amount of money, but if it is worth it to them then they will scam you. i have been a prototype fabricator for the Big 3 for 19 years ask me how many patents i have seen stepped on, almost every part on a vechile/Harley/TV/DVD/Computer/everything in this world is a stepped on version of the original patented product, its called aftermarketing. jackyl

if you mail it to yourself and dont open it like the member said to do, it will do nothing for you but remind you that you should of got a patent while someone stole your idea and patent it and making money on it. just call a patent lawyer and ask him and he will tell you the same. it is like first come first serve, no second place.

 

Unless it's really innovative, there's a good chance that a patent might not even protect you much. Companies rip off inventors all the time by making small changes. There have been some horror stories of companies (I think Pottery Barn is a common culprit, but I could be remembering wrong) blatantly stealing someone's idea knowing that most small-timers can't afford the cost or time involved in the legal fight. In one case I read about, the company even ripped off the poor guy's packaging and art. No shame anymore....These examples I'm thinking of aren't motorcycle related, but the same thing applies. It's so bad I abandoned an idea that I still think would go huge in my industry because I know that the big players would just price me out of the market if it ever became big enough for them to notice.

I guess my point is, I think you'd do just as well to do it on a small scale unless it's something super revolutionary. JMO, of course.

 

i think u just heard everything u needed to in the last 2 posts.

 

LMFAO! Classic movie.

 

wtf is it?

 

HE HATES THESE CANS!

http://cellfish.com/video/99777/HE-HATES-THESE-CANS

 

Check out the patent office online. I believe you can even file a patent online.

 

Some pretty discouraging answers, why bother getting out of bed in the morning?
Jackyl made some very good (factual) points, it isn't easy - but you can be successful.

 

I wasn't trying to discourage anybody...just pointing out that going the patent route might not be worth the trouble and expense. IOW-you don't need a patent to build and sell something, and even having a patent won't necessarily keep the wolves away. But they obviously serve a purpose, and in some cases that's the way to go.