As a new inventor or someone with a product idea, you probably won’t know what to expect when you embark on your development journey. It can be quite an overwhelming experience and until you turn your idea into reality, you are not an inventor, but an ideator! We realise that starting out is not easy for anyone, so we hope this article will allow us to share our knowledge and expertise in this area and give you some tips to succeed in the product invention world.
Don’t tell people about your invention!
When you’ve come up with an exciting idea, you’re naturally going to want to tell everyone about it. However, this is how you get your idea stolen. Just ensure you have your business hat on at all times and protect yourself and your idea.
Of course, you are going to need to discuss plans along the way with various people, such as manufacturers, designers etc., so ensure that everyone signs an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) to maintain confidentiality.
Research everything
Before you think about physically making your product, you will need to conduct a lot of research on various things. It might sound obvious, but you should check if your idea already exists! The exact same idea might not have been created, but perhaps something similar so you may have to go about things differently. More in depth searches can be conducted by patent agents to ensure your design does not copy an existing patent. You will need to understand the industry that you are going into very well, and understand what makes products succeed within this industry.
Get expert help
If you want to be successful, you need expert help in different aspects of the process. Working with a specialist product design team will ensure that you have a product that is cost effective and suited to being mass manufactured. Professional designers will add innovation and ensure that the design you take forward is the best it can be. Idea Reality can help create bespoke packaging for your product to ensure your brand is unique.
Find out whether you can get your product patented; Idea Reality works with expert patent attorneys to insure your product with the best value and protection. It is a sensible idea to get a financial advisor or mentor too; you may be faced with big decisions about how to fund your invention and, it would help to have an expert on hand to guide you.
Document everything!
This may seem like unnecessary work, but the effort will pay off in the future. Should at any stage, the origin of the invention be questioned, you have proof of how you came up with the idea and when. Keep as many details of your invention as possible written down, clearly and logically. Not only will this help in legal cases, but it will help you keep a clear log of your ideas should you need to refer to them, or tweak plans for new features. You can even post a copy of key documents to yourself in a secure (unopened) envelope as a time stamp. This could then be presented and opened in court if necessary as proof.
Listen to advice and keep an open mind
You are new to this industry, and although you may be the “brains” behind this product, you are hiring experts with years of experience for a reason. So, just because you’re the genius who came up with the idea, be open to new ideas and innovation – you never know what could come of it!
