January 02, 2005

Curious George - Patenting an Product Hi everyone. I have what I think is a clever idea to slow speeding cars (I live on a narrow street that people think is a freeway) and even though I know the item could be put together pretty cheaply using existing technology, I am not an engineer. Nonetheless, after polling friends with the idea (after swearing them to a double pinky swear) it does seem to have potential. First off, I was wondering if any of those businesses you see advertising on daytime TV (i.e. "...patent your idea with Inventor's Submission Service...") are legit? I'm guessing probably not. Second, how would I, a smart boy but not a mechanical engineer get something like this patented, and then even more importanly, marketed? I'm not exactly rich, so hiring someone to build it is out of the question. Can one just patent an idea for a product, or do you need to build a working prototype? Thanks. PS- Regarding the legal stuff, I live in California in the USA.
posted by squidranch 19 years ago
  • As to your first question, I don't know. As to your second question, if you go the home page of the US Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov) there are several how to links which walk you through the process. Good Luck!
  • Sorry, someone already took your idea
  • This site seems like it has some good info for ya.
  • You can patent the idea without a working prototype. It's not an easy process and takes time and money to do it right (if you're serious about marketing the product). The invention submission services will do the work and front the money, but they will also own your idea, and set up some kind of royalty agreement if it turns out to be profitably marketable. I have a patent (I am an engineer), owned by a previous employer, and it took about 2 years to process, and involved several meetings with lawyers to draft the application. Best of luck.
  • Rube Goldberg method: Noisy engine of approaching car frightens birds (1) which burst out of tree (2), causing leaves to fall on solar panel (3), which releases electromagnet holding naked inflatable woman in place, which drops down a clothesline towards the curb (4) causing driver to slow down to either check out the goods or see what is going on.
  • first thing you should do - get a Patent Agent to do a search for you. Yes, you can do some searching online, you can also go to the PTO and search in person - but it will be cheaper, and you will get better results, if you hire someone who has worked there every day, doing this every day. for most simple mechanical searches, you should be able to get it done for under $500. (Chemical, Electrical and Software searhes get considerably more expensive). Considering the filing fees for the PTO, it will get you out a lot cheaper if you find that your idea has already been patented. And it probably has - just because you've never seen one, doens't mean someone else hasn't patented it first... and been unable to market it once he did. (this is the perspective of a monkey that worked there for 15+ years, and would still be working there if I hadn't moved away from Arlington, VA).
  • and further - go to an agent directly - don't start with an attorney. All the attorney is going to do is charge you $2K, and pay an Agent $500 to do the search, and keep the rest for having his secretary re-type the agent's report.
  • Mainly what the previous monkeys have said. The "inventor help" firms are not the way to go. You will never see any appreciable money that way. The PTO web site should help walk you through the process but after you do some research to make sure you want to go through a process, get the agent, then help with the attorney end of things. It takes a while to get the patent application prepared and sent, but then the individual cases are handled relatively quickly.
  • )! for rolypolyman's complicated contraption and its use of birds and leaves.
  • You have to have more than an idea to patent. You don't need a prototype, but you do need a design, and that's what gets patented, not the idea. Patents protect your design from being stolen, not the idea. This is why trade secrets exist. If other companies can figure out your idea, they just need to come up with their own design. So you keep your method secret, and if they can't reverse engineer it, they can't copy. Engineers have to sign non-disclosure agreements to help ensure the trade secret doesn't get out. If someone can figure out the "idea" you wish to patent just by looking at your invention, then a patent won't protect you. You can't patent an idea, just a design.
  • Totally off topic but, thanks for pointing out patently silly Argh.
  • Go to your nearest PTDL. Try and do a patent search (with staff guidance) before you talk to an attorney or agent so that you'll have somewhat of an idea as to what they are talking about. DO NOT GO WITH AN INVENTION FIRM. Most of the inventors I've spoken to at the PTDL I work at have been taken for THOUSANDS of dollars and received little more than a "preliminary" search report. Have a "reasonable expectation" for the outcome of your invention. Anyone can get a patent, it's how you use it. Good Luck!!
  • All I know is I've been trying to figure out this invention all day and am stumped. My most promising ideas have dealt with tricking the driver into thinking they were going faster than they actually are or . . . Creating a "fake" situation where they think they have to slow down or stop. I'm not happy so far with my ideas implementing either type of trickery. I have yet to imagine how you could cheaply physically make a car slow down, but I'm hard at work on it.
  • What, a sign that says "Axle Grease On Road" isn't enough to slow them down? Drat ...
  • Inflatable/deflatable speed bumps set off by speeding detection is the best I can do. Now, I have to move on with my life and think of something else.
  • I know! Raise the paving a little in those spots, so that drivers slow down over an uneven road! Brilliant!
  • My method is a bit low-tech. I like to throw crap at the windshields of speeding cars. Half full water bottles are my favorite, though trash or fruit also works well. People rarely stop and yell at me. Probablt beacuse of my 185lb english Mastiff who is usually accompanying me.
  • Well, as for the details, I ain't telling, that is unless you come up with some cold, hard cash, or are a mechanical/electrical engineer. And then you need to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
  • I like to throw crap at the windshields of speeding cars. My very first thought in fact, and the crap I chose was baseballs. The only somewhat practical/obvious thing I could think of, however, was a stoplight/sign that goes off when someone is speeding, and there's a sign on it saying why they were stopped. I've also pondered various mechanical speedbumps, ramps, and treadmills. In short, I've tried to warn squidranch of even mentioning the intent of his idea. Who knows if someone with a more reasonable/stable/creative mind than my own was inspired to figure it out in 15 sec.
  • Creepy Timecube-esque signs worked for my dad. "NO POLICE NO SPEED LIMIT DEATHTRAP USA YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK," something like that. Bearing in mind that most people probably didn't top 35 mph on that road. And when I say "worked" I mean "deflected his obsession until something else came along." Also, he was only about 50 at the time. Bringing it up with some sort of local government wouldn't be an option? People love to lobby for stop signs and speed-limit signs and such in my area. Not as fun as a giant flashing "Slow Down, You Durn Kids" marquee, but effective.