It’s hard to sell a design to a company without knowing if someone already owns the rights to it (a patent) so I’d say you have a lot of work to do before you could interest a company in your idea.

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ANSWER from Joe Cote, Director, Business Development Arthur D. Little Enterprises, Inc. (Please visit our web site at www.adlenterprises.com)
You have asked the classic new inventor question of the ages “How do I market my great idea for a new product?” Unfortunately the answer is not an easy one, nor uncomplicated.

My usual best source answer to new inventors is to talk with the experts inventors who have been there before and know exactly what you are facing. Without giving away your idea, they can counsel you on the process they went through and what the pitfalls are. Most states have a local inventors group that can be of great assistance to you.

These inventors and various sources on the Internet and local libraries can help you identify whether your idea has been pursued before or can reasonably be considered a patentable invention. But before you spend any serious time and money on this endeavor, try to determine what the size of the market is for your product. Is there a business to be made from your product or is there a BUSINESS to be made. The larger the ultimate market the better the chance there is for a company to buy your idea­assuming your idea is protectable. Without some kind of legal basis to protect your idea (patent, trade secret, copyright, etc) companies rarely pay for access to your ideas.

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ANSWER from Bob Bell, patent attorney
I don’t mean to discourage you, but trying to sell an unproven idea to a company is probably the hardest way to proceed and the least likely to be successful. Crooked invention brokers promulgate the myth that “companies are eager to get new ideas” –it just ain’t so!

If you are prepared to spend the time and money developing your idea into a product, you are much more likely to be successful but even then the odds are against you! Don’t risk or spend your life savings, retirement money, or mortgage your home. Don’t risk more than you can afford to lose.

As for crooked companies, you are doing the right thing by subscribing to INVENTOR’S DIGEST . ID is a beacon of hope in the dark sea of con-artists, come-ons, and outright frauds.-

Robert Platt Bell, Registered Patent Attorney, 8033 Washington Road, Alexandria, VA 22308, Ph. (703) 768-0340 FAX (703) 768-0650robertbell.marksee@erols.com

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ANSWER from Carol Oldenburg, Administrator, United Inventors Association of the USA
In general, if you’re at the beginning of the process of product development, it’s always a good idea to have your product concept evaluated for both technical and commercial feasibility. This would also include a preliminary patent search. There are a few recommended innovation assessment centers that can provide this service for a relatively small fee, ranging from about $175 to $500. It’s important at this point to be aware that there are also several fraudulent invention promotion companies operating around the country who will also offer to do an evaluation for around the same price, but they will not be valid evaluations. Furthermore they will try to convince you to spend further monies to patent and market your idea, irregardless of its true feasibility. Your best bet at this point is to contact a local inventors support group in your area for guidance and referrals to reputable service providers. You can also learn a lot about the do’s and don’ts through reading and a visit to the nearest Patent & Trademark Depository Library(PTDL), where you can do your own preliminary patent search.

To contact a local inventors groups or to learn where your nearest PTDL is located you can contact this office and we’ll give you that information. You can reach us at UIAUSA@aol.com

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ANSWER from Jim Petruzzi, co-creator of PatentPro software
Be cautious when thinking about dealing with an invention marketing company. Very often the Federal Trade Commission considers them to be engaging in unfair trade practices. Contact the FTC before writing a check to any such company. Also refer to prior Inventors Digest articles regarding these types of companies and the FTC.

Low cost methods of obtaining patent protection can be through PatentPro, computer software to help inventors prepare patent applications that comes with support by registered patent attorneys. Also check out the web site (www.4patpro.com) to prepare your own trademark and copyright applications. Many companies will not want to purchase product ideas without protection.

PatentPro-Customer Service – PatentPro includes attorney review of application Kernel Creations, Ltd. http://www.4patpro.com toll free 1-888-472-8776 Do-it-yourself Patent Application Software

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ANSWER from Paula V. Serber, partner in Princeton Products and a product development/marketing consultant.
If you are just at the idea stage, you have a ways to go before you need to worry about how to commercialize your product. Do you have a prototype? If not, get to work. Prototypes serve many different purposes primarily to insure that your design works, but also to show others that is works.

Once you have established that your product works, you need to do some product evaluation. This requires some research. Look at existing products which accomplish the same or similar task as your product. Will the manufacturing costs of your product allow for a retail price comparable to these products? Get quotes from manufacturers to get an idea of the manufacturing cost of your product. Look at the market. What is the size of your market? If it is too narrow, it may not be worth the time or effort to develop the product. Will the market bear the retail price of your product? Is it easy to understand? Is it unique? Is it labor-saving? What is the window of opportunity for your product?

You will also want to make sure you are not infringing on any existing patents. Hire a patent searcher to do a search for you. You can get a search done for about $200. This will not be a comprehensive search, those are far more costly, but an experienced patent searcher can almost always do a much better than you would do. The search results will give you a good idea of how difficult it will be for you to get a patent.

At this point, if you feel your product is viable, it is time to decide how to commercialize your product. Since you mentioned your funds are limited, probably your best route would be to locate a licensee. A licensee is a manufacturer who is granted the right to make and market your product in exchange for a royalty. Many inventors find this task unpleasant because one must usually hear several no’s before these is a yes. The best companies to target for licensing are ones that manufacture similar products and already have the right channels of distribution set up.

If you choose to go with a new products marketer or “inventor assistance” firm, be very, very weary. Caution is the name of the game. There are some companies that will work to get your product commercialized, there are many who will just take your money. There are many articles explaining how to differentiate the good from the bad, read them. The best thing to do is get a list of references from a company and talk to those references. If a company refuses to provide this information (usually they claim reason of confidentiality) you can pretty much bet it is because they do not have any clients who can say anything good about them.