I have a friend who has an idea for a tangible product and wants to pursue getting someone to market it. Anyone have any experience at this? I imagine there are some shysters, but assume there are legit companies. Any ideas?

I would think the first thing he would want to do is get some sort of patent on it before showing it to someone else....
t.

Patenting is not cheap. I am looking for someone who has experience with this. Wondering if there is a reputable company that can exploit the idea.

Tony is right the patent first, but it's a bit like X Factor your mum says you are good singer doesn't mean you are, she might be tone deaf, mums usually are. Is this a musical piece of kit or what, have you seen it working, do you think it's cool, a long way to go to get it in the shops. Get the patent first before you tell too many people, it may be that you won't get a patent, it may be similar to another left hand fluffle valve!

My own experience with patenting is on something I 'invented' many years ago...and is still available
I looked at the whole scenario of patenting and saw too many negatives. Like how easy it was to get round the patent with a small adjustment...believe me it usually is very easy! Just to give you an example, I know of a company who 'pinched' the drawings of an item which was produced to package metal items in plastic . He saw a potentially lucrative market for his own area of expertise and simply changed very slightly the edge configuration from sharp to chamfered and has now a thriving business. He was of course sued by the original owners of the patent but got away with it very easily.
As for marketing, I am a retired Sales and Marketing Manager, so that part is in my genes.
You will do well to find a good company who can guide you rather than act on your behalf. With any project, it is better to be totally in charge yourself so that you don't come across the unexpected.

By the way, my own 'invention' I gave up for lack of funds. It requires loads of money to prepare the moulds.
As for using 'Investment Funds', no fund will provide investment until you have proved it's earning already!!! (Have you seen the so-called investors on'Dragon's Den'?


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Eddie from Rotherham
http://www.music2myears.plus.com

The very first thing to do is a 'not to':

absolutely do not tell anyone.

Depending on your country the laws governing Intellectual Propert will differ. Here in the UK we have this site: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

However you should find something similar online or seek advice from them by phone before doing anything (including prototyping with a third party company).

The very first thing that must be done is a copy of the drawings should be sent from the designer to the designer via registered, certified mail. This letter should not be opened under any circumstances by anyone.

Next, patents ARE extremely expensive, and as stated earlier most are NOT worth the paper they are written upon. In the real world you would have to not only obtain a patent on the product itself, but also patents on the concept and design in order to have any degree of protection at all.

I went through this many years ago while working at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore as their Chief Cardio-Pulmonary Technician. During my tenure there I designed, constructed, tested and put into service a coronary artery blood flow meter, a device that very accurately measured blood flow to the coronary arteries while the patient was on heart-lung bypass. It worked flawlessly. I was approached by a marketing company that said they would like to obtain patents on my behalf and if successful, manufacture and market the device. The university gave their blessings, which is unusual in these type of cases.

Two weeks went by, I was contacted by the marketing company and they stated they were unable to obtain a patent because is was merely a mechanical flow meter and there were loads of patents already in existence for flow meters. A year later my invention was being sold by that marketing company. They had changed the fittings, changed the color of the mechanical floats, and marketed it as a disposable coronary artery flow meter. Because I did not send myself a registered letter with the drawings I had no recourse. The same flow meter is still being used today by hospitals throughout United States, and probably the entire world.

Bill, my best advice is to be extremely careful and cover each and every base. There are lots of nasty SOBs out there that will do anything for money.

Good Luck,

Gary

Look it's all good advice, my advice send me the drawings and a brief outline of what he's at, and then I will get back, most likely it's been done before, in a different color, most things have and there a very few people with brand new ideas, not to say your friend is different. In which case don't send anything!

Regards

BTW does it have update-able firmware??? only asking!!!

Bill, we have been in the business of bringing new products to market for over 30 years. Currently, we are working with two products in the packaging stage and two in development. We have signed non-disclosure agreements with all involved.

Gary is right. You can easily do a "Poor Man's Patent" by sending details (usually engineering drawings, any associated photos, a logo or proposed logo, etc.) registered mail to one of the key people in the organization (yourself-the inventor, etc.).

Be aware, however, that even a strong patent will not prevent off-shore rep-offs. I've seen it many times...a new product being photographed at, say the Hardware Show; then the cheaper rip-off model in an improved package at the next show.

If the product is going into a mass merchandising situation (Lowe's, Home Depot, Minards, etc.) you need to consider packaging issues before you even develop a proto-type. I can't tell you the times I've had to tell a guy who has his life savings tied up and 50,000 units in the basement to toss the production out and start over.

One such case was a guy who developed a fishing lazy susan that was positioned under a boat seat. The seat mounted through a center hole. The item was 13 1/2" wide, and no mass merchandiser would buy an item of that size. You have to be able to get two side-by-side on a 24" end cap.

Right now, I'm re-designing a water purifier package from overseas. The main graphic is left-reading. In package design, you have to be concerned with "multiple facings"...what
an assortment will look like stacked side-by-side. There's a 10 foot rule. You have to have packaging that will easily feature what's in the box and why I should care to a person walking slowly 10 feet away. In the USA, graphics have to be either right reading or centered.

Representation is the next big hurtle. Mass merchandise items are sold by agent organizations, and there are very good ones and very bad ones. And, these guys are a trip to manage.

Sounds complicated but I'd be glad to "talk you thru it". Generally, for places like Lowe's and Home Depot, it takes a year to get a product on the shelves.

Good luck!


Russ


[This message has been edited by captain Russ (edited 03-08-2010).]

Bill:

Look in the Thomas Register at the local or nearest library (Shreveport/Bossier) and look for product development firms. Pick the one with the best reputation and inquire their schedule, previous clients and willingness to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding your friends' idea.

Seeking a patent too soon is like providing competition with a hunting license. Too many lurkers viewing the paperwork. Depending upon the application of the device or patentable process, get it to market ASAP while keeping the secret about it to yourselves as much as possible.

Good luck to him. It is a long and arduous task... almost as difficult as the songwriting process in today's convoluted market... LOL!

Best,

Dave