Should I Patent My Idea?
Is it worth patenting your idea?
It costs about $5k-$10k to patent an idea – not to mention testing the market for it (which can range from a few dollars to another few thousand). So if you think your idea is going to make $10k / year or more, I think it seems like it would be worth it to patent it.
If it’s only going to add a few extra thousand $ per month to your profits, think about it – is it really worth the hassle?
Right now I have two idea’s I’m working with, one supplement idea that really could be potentially worth millions in sales and licensing opportunities…
And another idea which is a very simple container meant to temporarily store something. It’s a simple idea which should make maybe $1,000 a month, and it seems it would be easy to replicate (many potential variations I can see being made) – so it doesn’t seem like it might even be worth the effort, even though it is a unique idea that’s never been done before.
I could however, file a provisional patent for $65, and be able to put the coveted “Patent Pending” on my product, to perhaps scare away anyone thinking of copying the idea. (Watch a video on how to file a provisional patent in 20 MINUTES here).
Provisional Patent
Even you think your idea is not going to make that much, you never know… and that’s why it’s always good to file a provisional patent.
Gone are the days of the “poor mans patent”, where you could just sketch your idea and mail it to yourself to show proof that you thought of it first.
These days what matters is whoever filed the provisional patent first.
So at $65, 20 minutes to file, and a few minutes to a few hours (depending on how in-depth you want your provisional to be), you can make sure you have that idea filed away.
If you know you have a once-in-a-lifetime million dollar idea on your hand, I’d recommend having a lawyer draft the provisional though, and work with him to make sure you cover any potential variations in your product. A poorly written provisional can offer little to no protection.
It’s all relative. I just finished writing my first provisional patent yesterday, and filed it, and even though it’s not perfect at least I got across the point that I have been working on the idea. In case someone else has the same idea, I can always go back and reference that provisional to show I had the idea first (unless someone filed a similar provisional earlier than I did).
TEST, TEST, TEST!!!
One thing they never teach us is to test our ideas in the market. Getting people to pay for your product is the ONLY way to see if you have a viable product on your hands… if it’s worth putting your time and effort into. That fancy logo that’s gonna go on your product, finding the lawyer to incorporate your LLC for the product? Don’t worry about anything until you’ve built the cheapest prototype you could, and have sold it for real cash, to strangers (not your family or friends).
Is it worth patenting your idea? I would say the best route to take before you’d really know is as follows:
- Brainstorm any potential variations, and build a prototype that you have thoroughly tested. Make sure you really have an idea of what the final product might be (however if this is going to take a really long time, just do step 2 before you have the final idea).
- File a provisional patent for $65
- Get a prototype made of your product (preferably 30-50 units)
- Sell those prototypes on Amazon or at the swap meet… Remember you want to sell to real customers, not family and friends.
- Prototypes sell? Feedback good? Start with small test order of 100, 500, 1000+ units, whatever you’re comfortable with.
- If it’s worth the $5k-$10k to protect your idea, make sure you work with a lawyer to get it patented, ASAP! (You have less than a year from filing your provisional).
Conclusion
Hope this has helped you decide whether you should patent your product.
Make sure you watch this video on filing a provisional patent… I didn’t know it was this easy, and it’s a great way to get the ball rolling on a new venture.