how do you get started in marketing a product?

Question

I'm a little worried about getting a patent lawyer, or one i can trust, my father has patented 3 items over the years, and each one of his ideas were stolen, There was something he should of done to prevent this, but i'm clueless. I want to go about it the right way without worring if someone else is going to steal my idea....But i dont know where to start or what i should do first to be safe.

Answer 1

Notaries are great for this purpose. You can document your "idea" or "invention" and then have that information notarized by a notary public before you submit it to a patent attorney or official. That way, if your idea does get stolen, you can take the offender to court and prove that you had the idea first. It's an inexpensive means of preserving your future as an inventor / a developer.

...Now, if there was just some way to make sure that no one could alter your idea in the slightest and patent it for themselves, you'd really be in business! =)

Cheers, and good luck.

Answer 2

To protect an original invention OR a significant improvement to an existing product, a patent would be filed. Here's the USPTO's definition: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/index.html#patent

NOLO is a great, free informational site. Also, be sure to read what the USPTO (United States Patent & Trademark Office) has to say about patents.

Also, look into Non-Disclosure Agreements -- see link below.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* Patent It Yourself (11th Edition) by David Pressman
* Patents and How to Get One : A Practical Handbook by U.S. Department of Commerce
* How To Make Patent Drawings Yourself: A Patent It Yourself Companion by Jack Lo
* The Inventor's Notebook: A Patent It Yourself Companion by Fred E. Grissom

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

Patents are nearly worthless unless you also have the money to fund a long expensive battle.

Rest assured, if your product sells well, it will be knocked off.

The simple things you can do are apply now (even if it's years before the patent is granted, at least you get the govt date stamp), and document everything with dated notes, cd's videos etc that you mail to yourself using certified mail, and keep the un-opened mail (showing delivery date) in a safe deposit box.

Otherwise, in the real world, you need more than a patent - you need effective marketing, distribution, manufacturing, etc. Focus on those things, or on finding a partner.

Answer 4

well, i'm pretty young to tell you this, i'm 15, turning 16 in 2 months, so don't believe me. i wouldn't start marketing a product unless you have a strong financial education. from that, i mean, knowing accounting, the laws of economics, and the rest. but some advice that i could give you to become rich is to obtain as many assets are possible. many people don't realize the difference between assets and liabilities, after that, increase your assets like crazy and then it adds on to your income, therefore, you become rich. if you want to ask me where i got all this from, it's from the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. it's great, it's by Robert T. Kiyosaki.

Answer 5

It's good to have something that people will really want to buy, like porn. Then just tell everyone about it!