Is my Invention Idea any Good?
Welcome to part two of our two part post on how to evaluate if your potential invention idea is any good or not. If you missed part one, you can read it here.
Money, Money, Money…
- Earlier we mentioned that you need to make sure that your invention idea doesn’t infringe upon the rights of other products already out there on the market. Clearly, the most thorough way of doing this is by conducting an intellectual property search. If you know that you have the skills to do this on your own, then great. If not, then you’ll need to think about hiring a patent attorney along with the costs associated for doing so. Regardless of whether you do your own patent search or whether you’re hiring a patent attorney to do it for you, keep your eyes opened for any potential untapped niches that might be out there for your invention. Most patent attorneys or patent search firms will be able to identify some of these areas. Listen to their advice.
- Will pursuing a patent on your invention idea be worth the initial expense? In other words, will the potential long term compensation in terms of profits on your products cover your patent related expenses? There may be no point in patenting an invention idea if there really isn’t a potential market for your product.
- Sometimes, we also need to identify how much the raw materials will cost in order to mass produce our inventions. In addition, you need to figure out if these raw materials need to be processed in any fashion in order to construction your product.
- If you don’t have all the required skills to design, patent, build, and market your idea then how much will it cost to pay others? Sometimes we take for granted how much we think we really know. Take time to recognize when you need to reach out for professional help.
- How much time and manpower will be required to construct your invention? If your invention has 2000 small plastic parts that are relatively inexpensive but it takes several hundred labor hours to construct each piece then your costs to expenses ratio for labor alone will be a problem.
- You may be thinking to yourself, “Production costs don’t really mean anything to me because I plan on licensing my idea”. Sorry to burst your bubble but think again. Companies that may potential license your idea will likely be more concerned about the costs associated with your product than you. Identifying all up front and long term costs associated with your product will not only help you out but may put you on better terms with potential companies willing to license your idea.
- So you find that the costs of your producing your invention are much higher than you had originally anticipated, now what? If you find yourself in this situation, you’ll really need to spend the time figuring out ways to cut costs without impacting quality.
Appearances are Everything
Does your invention idea have a novelty factor associated with it? Are there ways to make your product stand out from the competition by changing the appearance or tailoring your product for a specific consumer market? It didn’t take Gucci to jump on the iPhone/iPod touch case bandwagon. What better way to show off your elate style than by purchasing a $185 Gucci case? In all seriousness, take some time to really think about how your invention idea can take full advantage of current trends.
Conclusion
Now that you are consciously aware of the strengths and weaknesses of your invention idea you have a couple of options available. You can:
- Put your head down and proceed with getting your invention idea out there to the masses.
- Alter the design, form, or function of your invention to make it more appealing to potential customers. NOTE: Once you make these modifications, you’ll want to reevaluate your invention idea again to see where it stands. That way, you know if the modifications have hurt your invention idea or helped it.
- Figure out what things you can really do yourself rather than relying on the expertise of others at a cost. If you don’t know something ask yourself if it would be cheaper to take a class, read a book, or attend a seminar?
- Scrap your invention idea altogether. Pulling the plug early may save you considerable time, effort, and money on an invention idea that really might not go anywhere.
- Do nothing. Sometimes you just get a sense that your idea would be a success if you sat back and waited for things to change. Maybe you are waiting on the economy to improve or you have a feeling that the next big consumer craze around the corner just happens to be in the niche that your invention will fill.
