Inventor's Quandary - non boaty

[whisper]

Inventor\'s Quandary - non boaty

A colleague of mine has come up with an idea that for negligible cost will save about 20% on one's heating/hotwater bills compared with the normal boiler that most of us use.
He would obviously like to benefit financially from this but how on earth does he go about getting someone else involved to take it further, yet still ensure that his idea is not stolen ?

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[itsonlymoney]

Re: Inventor\'s Quandary - non boaty

Try "British Patents" web site. Lots of usefull information on it, may be of benefit to register the idea before aproaching any companies.

Ian

<hr width=100% size=1>I would rather have a bad day boating than a good day working ! ! !

 

[tripleace]

Re: Inventor\'s Quandary - non boaty

Andrew Harris is my patent agent

give him a call and he will advise
01483 489818

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.boating-ads.co.uk> Boating Website</A>

 

[tripleace]

Re: Inventor\'s Quandary - non boaty

Andrew Harris is my patent agent

give him a call and he will advise
01483 489818

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.boating-ads.co.uk> Boating Website</A>

 

[dog]

Re: Inventor\'s Quandary - non boaty

Hi, definately register it as his first, and to also check that no-one else has come up with or patented the same idea. I think there is also an organisation that can help with market research etc once the idea has been registered.

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[ParaHandy]

Re: Inventor\'s Quandary - non boaty

a patent is expensive and to be useful requires publishing in all the EU countries which means you will have to bear translation costs ... costs add up quite dramatically. once you have the patent, your friend will have to police it and that can be extremely difficult. once the patent is published after grant and if it is any good, many will attempt to circumvent the inventive step.

the first hurdle is the provisional patent which grants a priority date to the invention and is not published. that is relatively inexpensive and, if you get the timing right, gives you a year to perfect the invention and get a commercial deal arranged. but you will not be allowed to use the provisional patent as a means of development; the invention as described must work if i can put it like that. management of time is important.

all or most of the above can be obtained at a fraction of the cost with a secrecy agreement with the company or individual who may commercialise the invention. that will inevitably involve exclusivity but you might restrict it to say, the UK. that requires your friend to be scrupulous in his attention to detail such as recording date and time of disclosures etc. you may need to prove prior art at some time in the future.

you do need professional advice. a patent lawyer has a vested interest which might not be what your friend needs.


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[whisper]

Re: Inventor\'s Quandary - non boaty

Thank you very much troops, for all your advice. If I get a large new boat in a year or so you can all have a go with it /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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