Short stories of human inventions
Posts tagged Marketing
The Importance of Patents
Imagine a world without patents. There would be little reason for scientists and engineers to pursue new inventions if they were all aware that their new product, medicine or formula would immediately be swept up and copied the second that it hit the market. And even if they did not care about the money that would be lost if there was no way for them to lay legal claim to their product, they would likely still be disheartened by the fact that they would not be able to get credit for an invention that took countless hours away from their lives to invent.Technically, a patent is “a set of exclusive rights granted by a state or national government to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention.” Some form of the patent exists in most countries but the laws vary greatly. But there are certain things that all inventions must meet in order to receive a patent. These requirements are that the invention must be:o New-the invention must be completely unique. If a similar thing
5 Tips For Test Marketing Inventions
June 17, 2010
by merlin
in General Topics
There is no reason that test-marketing inventions should cost 1000s of dollars. A little effort and a lot of imagination and boldness and you can find out how valuable the market will see your invention.
If the market places no value on your invention, then your invention idea should stay just that – an idea. Make sure that there is a market for your invention before you spend time and money getting a patent. There are 1000s of patents that will expire without generating a dime in revenue for the inventor.
5 tips for test marketing inventions are:
1. Go to stores that you would like to see selling your invention.
2. Ask the stores who controls the most shelf space in this market sector.
3. Ask the stores who the biggest distributors are for these types of products.
4. Call the distributor and set up a meeting.
5. Get students (either HS or college) to do a survey for you to check the market.
These tips are simple, but very informative. They will help you with test marketing inventions. The first step seems obvious, but is done… More >>
Protecting Your Invention When Using a Chinese Supplier
IntroductionYou want to find a Chinese supplier because you need the price advantage that China offers, but you are worried that the supplier you will work with will start selling your invention to other people or that others will start producing and selling your invention. Basically, someone might start competing against you with your own invention.What you need is a strategy that will do the following:- select a supplier that is more likely to be trustworthy – motivate the supplier to stay trustworthy and – remove any opportunity for the supplier that would come from being untrustworthy.The strategyA trustworthy supplierIn our experience, when an idea is stolen it is typically stolen by a trading company and not a factory. The reason for this is that factory owners are typically more interested in keeping their factory busy, and they are less focussed on marketing issues. In addition, factories are less likely to have competent English speakers to properly pursue the foreign market.Therefore, it makes sense to find a factory instead of a trading company. However, not all factories are the same. Not only that, you still need to ensure… More >>