Is my product idea worth money?
February 19, 2010 2:59 AM Subscribe
How do I make money out of a product idea?
I have "invented" (in the sense of imagined, thought through and fine-tuned the concept) something I believe could be a small, low-cost but very useful accessory for a white-goods product. It would cost the manufacturer virtually nothing to add the necessary upstream setup into the production process (just some wiring and a socket in the external cabinet), while the accessory would be offered as an optional extra, thus covering any costs involved in producing the accessory itself. I imagine around half of people buying the main product would be interested in also buying the accessory, adding only around 5% to the retail price.
I've done my research on AskMeFi and accept the advice offered over and over again to many other MeFites that (a) ideas are not patentable, and (b) any attempt to protect my idea from being stolen and used, once I've disclosed it, is either hopelessly expensive or doomed to failure or both.
So my question boils down to this: has anybody had any positive experience of suggesting product development ideas which have been taken up? Whom do you write to in a multinational to avoid having your letter folded into a paper airplane and aimed at the secretary's waste basket? Is it wise/advisable/realistic to write something like: "If you do take up my idea, I would consider it honourable on your part to pay me a fee for my suggestion"? Are there any industry-standard rates for this kind of suggestion, e.g. the kind of bonus paid to an employee of the manufacturer who suggests the idea to his manager?
I don't expect to make a million, but I believe my proposal is valid and would generate a profit for a manufacturer, as well as enhancing their reputation, and is thus worth a reward or recognition.
I have "invented" (in the sense of imagined, thought through and fine-tuned the concept) something I believe could be a small, low-cost but very useful accessory for a white-goods product. It would cost the manufacturer virtually nothing to add the necessary upstream setup into the production process (just some wiring and a socket in the external cabinet), while the accessory would be offered as an optional extra, thus covering any costs involved in producing the accessory itself. I imagine around half of people buying the main product would be interested in also buying the accessory, adding only around 5% to the retail price.
I've done my research on AskMeFi and accept the advice offered over and over again to many other MeFites that (a) ideas are not patentable, and (b) any attempt to protect my idea from being stolen and used, once I've disclosed it, is either hopelessly expensive or doomed to failure or both.
So my question boils down to this: has anybody had any positive experience of suggesting product development ideas which have been taken up? Whom do you write to in a multinational to avoid having your letter folded into a paper airplane and aimed at the secretary's waste basket? Is it wise/advisable/realistic to write something like: "If you do take up my idea, I would consider it honourable on your part to pay me a fee for my suggestion"? Are there any industry-standard rates for this kind of suggestion, e.g. the kind of bonus paid to an employee of the manufacturer who suggests the idea to his manager?
I don't expect to make a million, but I believe my proposal is valid and would generate a profit for a manufacturer, as well as enhancing their reputation, and is thus worth a reward or recognition.
Response by poster: Yes, floam: household appliances over here. Sorry - I wasn't aware of the US usage, otherwise I'd have chosen a less ambiguous word. (I smiled at your perplexity...)
Thanks, delmoi: perhaps not totally unpatentable, but only with a lot of effort, which I'm not technically capable of, and legal expense, which is out of the question for me.
posted by aqsakal at 4:24 AM on February 19, 2010
Thanks, delmoi: perhaps not totally unpatentable, but only with a lot of effort, which I'm not technically capable of, and legal expense, which is out of the question for me.
posted by aqsakal at 4:24 AM on February 19, 2010
I have "invented" (in the sense of imagined, thought through and fine-tuned the concept) something I believe could be a small, low-cost but very useful accessory for a white-goods product.
The next step is to take it out of the imagined and to build it (or a reasonable facsimile) in the real world. A theoretical idea presented to a company off the street, which requires them to R & D it, isn't liable to make it very far.
A large company might take an established inventor in to discuss a potential product enhancement but if they took every random in who has an idea in their head on how to make their products better, they'd be wasting a lot of company time and money.
posted by Hiker at 4:30 AM on February 19, 2010
The next step is to take it out of the imagined and to build it (or a reasonable facsimile) in the real world. A theoretical idea presented to a company off the street, which requires them to R & D it, isn't liable to make it very far.
A large company might take an established inventor in to discuss a potential product enhancement but if they took every random in who has an idea in their head on how to make their products better, they'd be wasting a lot of company time and money.
posted by Hiker at 4:30 AM on February 19, 2010
I would also like to add:
perhaps not totally unpatentable, but only with a lot of effort, which I'm not technically capable of, and legal expense, which is out of the question for me.
I would strongly suggest that if you want to pursue this idea, you'll need to partner up with someone who is technically capable and can build a model, or help to reject the one you have now. A good engineer can go a long way to getting you in the right direction.
posted by Hiker at 4:33 AM on February 19, 2010
perhaps not totally unpatentable, but only with a lot of effort, which I'm not technically capable of, and legal expense, which is out of the question for me.
I would strongly suggest that if you want to pursue this idea, you'll need to partner up with someone who is technically capable and can build a model, or help to reject the one you have now. A good engineer can go a long way to getting you in the right direction.
posted by Hiker at 4:33 AM on February 19, 2010
Agree with Hiker, corporations (at least the ones I've dealt with) are pathetically bad at implementing ideas external ideas. And I've never heard of a single case where they have paid for one. Now I don't deal with the white goods/appliances industry, so my experience may or may not translate into that industry.
However, I have seen interest and money exchanged over prototypes or working model demos coupled with a solid business case. So echoing Hiker, you might consider finding somebody that buys into your idea and mocks up a prototype. It may even be more worthwhile to go this route if there is a market for the idea as an after-market add-on.
posted by forforf at 6:24 AM on February 19, 2010
However, I have seen interest and money exchanged over prototypes or working model demos coupled with a solid business case. So echoing Hiker, you might consider finding somebody that buys into your idea and mocks up a prototype. It may even be more worthwhile to go this route if there is a market for the idea as an after-market add-on.
posted by forforf at 6:24 AM on February 19, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks, hiker and forforf - that make a lot of good sense. I can make up a reasonable working prototype of my accessory for very little money, but it won't actually work until the manufacturer has added the couple of centimetres of wiring and the socket to his appliance. But he'll see what I mean if I can make it beep/flash or whatever with a battery.
And that's encouraging to hear that it's not totally unrealistic to think of earning something from it.
Once I've done that, has anybody any experience about which department to approach in a mega corporation to get somebody at least to listen?
posted by aqsakal at 7:27 AM on February 19, 2010
And that's encouraging to hear that it's not totally unrealistic to think of earning something from it.
Once I've done that, has anybody any experience about which department to approach in a mega corporation to get somebody at least to listen?
posted by aqsakal at 7:27 AM on February 19, 2010
In theory you're supposed to have a working model to show the patent examiner, but that's hardly ever enforced.
A working model is generally only required if the claimed invention is an alleged perpetual motion device.
Anyway, you could contact a patent attorney or patent agent for a free consultation. He or she will give you an estimate of what you can expect to pay in filing fees (a few hundred, depending), attorney's fees (a few thousand, depending), and maintenance fees (a few thousand, depending).
Perhaps more importantly a patent attorney can help you avoid losing your potential for patent rights. There are things that you can do, such as demonstrating the device in public then waiting for more than a year, that can cause you to lose your patent rights. An attorney can do things like draft non-disclosure agreements so that you can demonstrate the device to others without risking losing the ability to patent the invention.
So under the right circumstances and with the right legal protections in place you can develop the business first, then the licensee can pay for the patent application. This is probably preferable to you compared to paying for the patent upfront yourself.
I should caution you that a patent is not a ticket to print money. You still have to develop the business, whether that be manufacturing it yourself or licensing it to another business.
posted by jedicus at 7:54 AM on February 19, 2010
A working model is generally only required if the claimed invention is an alleged perpetual motion device.
Anyway, you could contact a patent attorney or patent agent for a free consultation. He or she will give you an estimate of what you can expect to pay in filing fees (a few hundred, depending), attorney's fees (a few thousand, depending), and maintenance fees (a few thousand, depending).
Perhaps more importantly a patent attorney can help you avoid losing your potential for patent rights. There are things that you can do, such as demonstrating the device in public then waiting for more than a year, that can cause you to lose your patent rights. An attorney can do things like draft non-disclosure agreements so that you can demonstrate the device to others without risking losing the ability to patent the invention.
So under the right circumstances and with the right legal protections in place you can develop the business first, then the licensee can pay for the patent application. This is probably preferable to you compared to paying for the patent upfront yourself.
I should caution you that a patent is not a ticket to print money. You still have to develop the business, whether that be manufacturing it yourself or licensing it to another business.
posted by jedicus at 7:54 AM on February 19, 2010
Echoing the folks saying that the concept is not as important as its execution. This blog post from CodingHorror entitled "Cultivate Teams, Not Ideas," is really worth reading.
posted by mynameisluka at 7:59 AM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by mynameisluka at 7:59 AM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Are you an expert in this field? If not, you should talk to someone who is. This XKCD comic sums up why.
posted by sninctown at 10:14 AM on February 19, 2010
posted by sninctown at 10:14 AM on February 19, 2010
For several years, I was Director of Engineering at a small U.S. industrial machinery company. Although our company made no consumer products of any type, I received, daily, unsolicited product proposals and sample products from people and specialist companies in the "idea development" and "product concept" businesses. After a while, I got fascinated with the number and variety of mousetrap prototypes I got, and have kept a little collection of them (22 types, including no kill, silent kill, and quick kill philosophies), as a reminder of how little the old adage "Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door." means in the real world.
The only people that ever made any real money out of any of the mousetraps I've got, were the people selling their services to the "inventors," who had my name, title and address on their mailing list, along with the several thousand other "influential manufacturing executives'" names and addresses they bought from various trade show, trade magazine, and convention groups.
posted by paulsc at 11:37 AM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
The only people that ever made any real money out of any of the mousetraps I've got, were the people selling their services to the "inventors," who had my name, title and address on their mailing list, along with the several thousand other "influential manufacturing executives'" names and addresses they bought from various trade show, trade magazine, and convention groups.
posted by paulsc at 11:37 AM on February 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
In my short experience trying to foster more innovation within a well-known multi-national, I learned that they do their best to minimize the number of people who ever see unsolicited ideas from outsiders, lest they run the risk of being exposed to a patent claim if they independently do something remotely similar in the future. Second, they often have product roadmaps that extend far into the future, and an idea from the outside would be unlikely to ever make it onto the roadmap without a strong internal champion, which it will never get, because, chances are, almost no-one on the inside the company will ever hear about it, and none of the ones that do will have anything to do with product planning.
Which is all to say that I think your chances of seeing your idea blatantly stolen from you and implemented are pretty remote, but they are slightly better than the chances that you paid anything for your idea.
Other hand, you view this idea as just the first of many, and use it as chance to figure out how to eventually see some other idea realized and generate income for you, then it is already worth something. Go ahead and create a prototype, write a patent, and have a reputable patent attorney review it for you before filing it. Find out how product design works in the companies you think are likely customers for your invention. How much of it do they do in house? How much do they rely on outside firms for? Who are those firms? Do they source major-subsystems from suppliers, who are they? Are there independent inventors (or small firms) that have a track-record of selling inventions to your target industry? Who are they?
It's really going to come down to developing a good reputation with the right people, and at least at first, you'll probably have to give up a lot of the interest in your inventions to various intermediaries as you "pay your dues."
posted by Good Brain at 5:29 PM on February 19, 2010
Which is all to say that I think your chances of seeing your idea blatantly stolen from you and implemented are pretty remote, but they are slightly better than the chances that you paid anything for your idea.
Other hand, you view this idea as just the first of many, and use it as chance to figure out how to eventually see some other idea realized and generate income for you, then it is already worth something. Go ahead and create a prototype, write a patent, and have a reputable patent attorney review it for you before filing it. Find out how product design works in the companies you think are likely customers for your invention. How much of it do they do in house? How much do they rely on outside firms for? Who are those firms? Do they source major-subsystems from suppliers, who are they? Are there independent inventors (or small firms) that have a track-record of selling inventions to your target industry? Who are they?
It's really going to come down to developing a good reputation with the right people, and at least at first, you'll probably have to give up a lot of the interest in your inventions to various intermediaries as you "pay your dues."
posted by Good Brain at 5:29 PM on February 19, 2010
Response by poster: Many thanks to all of you for some very detailed and helpful input. On the one hand I'm embarrassed that my little "idea" has provoked such a lot of keyboard time for free advice, on the other hand I'm sure this will be a useful thread for others who think/hope they can profit from something like this.
On the basis of all the advice up-thread, I'll not take this forward as a commercial proposition, especially as (a) the original idea is too small for the disproportionate amount of effort that commercial exploitation would require, and (b) it's a one-off, not the first of a series of "inventions" that could turn into a career.
At this point, it seems only fair to disclose (in case it's of any interest to anyone). Assuming that washing machines are usually located somewhere where their noise won't annoy all the household, I wanted to propose as an after-market accessory a combined light and buzzer with a three-way switch (light|buzzer|both), a length of cable, and a plug to fit a socket on the back of the washing machine. The socket would be activated when the machine finishes its cycle or pauses for user input (like some do for the final spin). The cable connects with the buzzer with screw connectors, so that it can be cut to an appropriate length and reconnected. Optionally, if the manufacturer is afraid of domestic accidents, there could be a transformer at the appliance end of the cable, so that only a low voltage is piped to the buzzer unit. The only modification required to the main appliance would be the interior cabling from the programmer cluster to the socket, a matter of pennies.
Now I'll go and build it...
posted by aqsakal at 3:01 AM on February 20, 2010
On the basis of all the advice up-thread, I'll not take this forward as a commercial proposition, especially as (a) the original idea is too small for the disproportionate amount of effort that commercial exploitation would require, and (b) it's a one-off, not the first of a series of "inventions" that could turn into a career.
At this point, it seems only fair to disclose (in case it's of any interest to anyone). Assuming that washing machines are usually located somewhere where their noise won't annoy all the household, I wanted to propose as an after-market accessory a combined light and buzzer with a three-way switch (light|buzzer|both), a length of cable, and a plug to fit a socket on the back of the washing machine. The socket would be activated when the machine finishes its cycle or pauses for user input (like some do for the final spin). The cable connects with the buzzer with screw connectors, so that it can be cut to an appropriate length and reconnected. Optionally, if the manufacturer is afraid of domestic accidents, there could be a transformer at the appliance end of the cable, so that only a low voltage is piped to the buzzer unit. The only modification required to the main appliance would be the interior cabling from the programmer cluster to the socket, a matter of pennies.
Now I'll go and build it...
posted by aqsakal at 3:01 AM on February 20, 2010
Actually what you should do is use an embedded GSM module and have your washing machine send a text message when it's finished.
posted by delmoi at 3:35 PM on February 21, 2010
posted by delmoi at 3:35 PM on February 21, 2010
Response by poster: Yeah. Guess I should have thought of my version 20 years ago.
posted by aqsakal at 12:38 AM on February 22, 2010
posted by aqsakal at 12:38 AM on February 22, 2010
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I'm not sure where you got that idea. Lots of ideas are patentable. In theory you're supposed to have a working model to show the patent examiner, but that's hardly ever enforced.
Not all ideas are patentable, but if you're idea is for a mechanical device, then it certainly should be.
That said while the filing fee for a patent isn't too expensive, supposedly if you want them done right you have to hire a patent lawyer, which is pretty expensive. So in that case the odds of your idea making back the investment might be low.
Also you supposedly have two years between disclosure and when you file a patent, at least in the U.S.
(IANAL)
posted by delmoi at 3:28 AM on February 19, 2010