The Vine: August 3, 2012
I have a 7-year-old son who is a budding scientist, and he has come up with an idea for an invention. I have researched it, and I don’t think his idea exists in the consumer marketplace. It’s a great idea — very marketable, all of the technology exists — they just need to be brought together, and it’s clever.
So of course, I have no idea how to help him. Neither his father nor I are scientists, and we don’t have the technical expertise to even help him create a prototype.
What do you do when your child has an invention? How do you help shepherd it into reality? With whom would you even talk to determine if the idea is viable?
Necessity (the mother of inventor)
Dear Nec,
I wouldn’t know where to start either. I do think you need a patent lawyer, at some point, to represent and protect the product, but in terms of building a prototype or how you get it in front of manufacturers, I have no idea.
I can’t wait to see what the readers have to say, though, because I am going to make this Bloody-Mary-to-go kit happen. Readers?
Tags: Ask The Readers kids
This doesn’t answer the main part of Necessity’s question, but it’s a start.
The Patent and Trademark Resource Center program (formerly known as the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program) is a network of public and academic libraries that have committed to providing resources and services to assist members of the public with researching patents. The librarians can’t provide legal advice, but they can help people with no legal background whatsoever to understand how the system works. Typically these libraries also have great collections intended for inventors of all backgrounds to get started in creating, protecting, and marketing their creations.
You can find your local PTRC here: http://www.uspto.gov/products/library/ptdl/index.jsp. If there’s none within a close drive, just give the nearest one a call and they should be able to get you started with a reading list.
Do you have a University near you?
Many Universities have programs to help locals take ideas and turn them into small businesses. I think they use the term “Business Incubator” or something like that. If your son’s idea falls into an area that the University teaches in (engineering, agriculture, chemistry, culinary, etc.) you might try contacting that program directly. Often professors are willing to work with young budding scientists to help them develop their ideas and research.
I would think you’d need to find an engineer to help your son to further develop his idea, build a prototype, and get things ready for a patent application — at which time, you’d definitely want to get a patent lawyer involved.
A quick Google search (hire a product engineer + prototype + patent) yields two seemingly-promising contacts:
http://www.my-product-engineer.com/new-idea.html
http://www.arttec.net/Industrial/Design.html
Good luck to your son!
I have a few tips for you (courtesy of my time as a clerk in a patent lawyer’s office:
– in terms of how to get started (prototyping, selling the idea, etc.) I’d suggest you look for resources in your area for small businesses, or start-up incubators (I’d hit Google for “small business resources near my city”, “business incubator”, etc.
– definitely consider protecting the idea via patent – you’ll need a lawyer who specializes in Intellectual Property for this one
– find a firm who can create a prototype, if applicable, to help determine if it’s physically/mechanically/cost workable
– above all, tell as few people about the idea as possible, and try to make sure you can trust anyone you do tell
That last may sound like overkill, but getting a patent is a long, arduous, expensive process, and could be killed by any indication that someone’s already had, used, or patented the idea. Before even sharing the specific idea with someone local who’s doing a prototype or helping you with resources, I’d try to find out what kind of agreements they would typically offer for nondisclosure or confidentiality.
I will caution that if you determine it’s a viable idea, you’re probably going to need to commit some start-up capital to get it realized. Prototyping, drawing specs, small-scale production, filing a patent, etc., all come with fees, and even if you just want to document, patent, and then sell the idea, you may need to buy access. You may be able to save yourself some aggro by doing your own patent search online (http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/search/) before investing too much time or cash; just because no one’s selling the gadget your son invented doesn’t mean that someone hasn’t already patented it, and the USPTO inspectors will search the same “prior art” when determining whether to issue you a patent – another reason to keep as mum about it as possible.
What sort of construction/prototyping are you looking for? Electronics? You mentioned that “all the technology exists” so if it’s a matter of soldering things together or making a circuit board and doing some programming or the like, I might be able to help out – I do consulting work as an electrical engineer.
If you can be a little more specific on what you need, I might be able to at least point you to some people who do the type of work you’re looking for, assuming you want to hire out.
And go your son! And go you! How cool is it that you’re supporting this?
Is a prototype necessary for a patent? It seems to me your son might be better protected, from a legal point of view, if he got a patent first, and then worried about developing prototypes, looking for funding, etc.
I absolutely agree with Meredith. Also, I am an assistant to Patent Prosecution attorneys and we file stuff all the time at the USPTO.
One of the programs one of my guys participates in is a Pro Bono Science Fair workshop. Every year, he judges a local science fair at a magnet high school and the winner of the competition gets to have their idea patented for free by our firm.
I do not know where you are located, and I don’t think we’ve ever worked with a 7 year old before (or their guardians) but it might help you to contact any firms in your area to see if they have such a program in place. It definitely makes the high school kids who have some super aweome ideas pretty happy.
Good luck!
*Disclaimer: I am a patent attorney, but this is not legal advice*
Following up on what Wehaf said, there are two separate issues here – business and legal. Getting a prototype made seems to be more of business issue here. You don’t absolutely need it for a patent unless the invention is something crazy that no one would believe would work unless you had actually produced it (e.g., cold fusion). If you’re working with existing technologies and just combining them in a new way, and the invention is not hard to understand, you may not need any sort of prototype at this point.
Of course, producing and commercializing the invention is an entirely different issue. Getting a patent (using a competent patent attorney, which you really should do if you want a patent – it’s a very complicated area of law and trying to negotiate it on your own or with someone who’s not properly qualified is a very bad idea, in my albeit biased opinion) can be very expensive, and there are reasons why it might make sense not to pursue it.
And…I was going to write some more but it could easily turn into a novel full of hypotheticals since the original post doesn’t have a lot of details. Sars, you’re welcome to pass on my email address to the original questioner, and I’d be happy to answer in more detail privately, with the disclaimer of course that I know about the legal side, and very little about the business side.
I think your first steps depend on what outcome you want for him. To see his invention become reality? See him get credit for his invention? See him make money from his invention? These are not mutually exclusive of course, but it makes a difference where your priority lies.
If you just want to see his invention become reality, the easiest route might be entering it in a kid invention contest. He’ll get credit, likely earn a prize of some sort, and top winners usually get at least a prototype manufactured. Scholastic and Klutz both run contests of this sort, as do many of the resources listed here: http://www.kidinventorsday.com/links.htm.
If this is an idea you want to see marketed and sold for profit, you probably want to seek out some legal advice before proceeding much further.
As already noted above, the US Patent Office is a goods place to start. Other USPTO information you might find helpful:
https://uspto.connectsolutions.com/conceptprotection/
http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/index.jsp
https://oedci.uspto.gov/OEDCI/
Also, before you talk to anyone you definitely want to do a thorough Google search for “inventor scams,” “inventor pitfalls,” and the like – especially if you hope for credit/money from this endeavor.
And however this turns out, keep supporting your son’s creativity and learning. Most universities, science centers, and museums have STEM programs for kids. Make sure he has access to early science and engineering resources that encourage his interests. If this is a pattern for him, also consider contacting the Gifted and Talented coordinator for your school district about resources and possible evaluation.
Good luck!
I also stress the importance of keeping the idea very close until you’ve done your patent search. I had an idea once (ONCE!), and went to a woman I know whose husband works in the patent office. She basically stuck her fingers in her ears and sent me the link to the patent office, telling me quite firmly to keep my yap shut until I knew more. I’ve never seen my idea in the market, but I’ll be darned if there weren’t dozens of related patents out there already.
I’d do a little web surfing of the various programs designed for young inventors. They may give you ideas and possible contact information for how to assist your son in turning his idea into reality.
You can’t patent a mere idea. But, you don’t need to have actually developed a prototype to have a patentable invention. Because you mention that all of the necessary technology is already available, you need to think carefully about what is novel in this invention for any future patent application. (Note – Although I’m a lawyer, I’m not a patent attorney.)
Someone may very well have already patented an invention incorporating your son’s exact idea. (Thousands of patents never get turned into commercial products.) A literature search of the patents already issued may be able to tell you whether this is just a project in fostering his love of science or a potential source of his future college tuition.
I second Wehaf’s suggestion about getting the patent before building the prototype — it’s going to be intellectual property you’re protecting, not the physical item itself. For instance, well before e-readers existed, my parents applied for a patent for, basically, an e-reader that used CD-ROMs (which were pretty new at the time). My parents definitely didn’t have a prototype, because, well, they know nothing about building computers and the like.
I’m really no help, but I’m insanely curious about what this thing is. If he makes the thing and becomes a millionaire, will you write back and tell us about it? :)
I hold several patents, and I can tell you that patenting is a nasty process to go through. My employer provides the lawyers, but even so, it can be arduous. My first patent took 10 years to get through the system, and 4 or 5 years is common. Also, you’re talking at least ten thousand dollars in lawyer fees, etc, and more if the patent is ever contested.
What I recommend at this point is that you establish the time of your invention. I keep a hardbound designer’s notebook for this kind of thing — whenever I come up with a bright idea, I make sure the page is dated and I get it signed by a witness on that day, so that later I have proof that I had the idea at that time. (In some engineering shops or labs, people are required to keep such notebooks and get them signed every day.) You could probably do something less formal — the idea is to have proof that you thought of something by a particular date, so that no one else with a later claim can exclude you.
You have one calendar year from the time of first public disclosure to file your patent, if you decide to file a patent. You (wisely) did not disclose the nature of the invention, but unless this is really groundbreaking I would worry less about patent protection and more about getting it to market ASAP. I can’t improve on the suggestions of others on how to do that. After you see how it is received by the market, you can decide on whether or not you want to go for the patent. Good luck!
Wired magazine might have some resources to help you out.
Get the kid an adult mentor who’s knowledgeable about that field of technology. Ask your local high school teachers, a university as suggested above, or go to a community hacker-space if you have one nearby. At a first pass, you need to confirm that the idea is even possible, from someone who knows the underlying technologies and what already exists in the field. Then they can help with prototyping, testing, and redesigning.
Also, congratulations to you and your son! If he’s a budding scientist at 7 years old, you’re doing someting right :)
I have no expertise to offer, but I do have a story.
My uncle is a world-class tinkerer (He dismantled a full size pipe organ in a church and reassembled it in his basement. Because you need Bach fugues to accompany the weekly laundry.).
Anyway, some years ago, an invention of his,a piece of machinery with no retail application, but which might well have had some commercial use, got some national media attention. But nothing ever came of it, due to the fraught nature of the patent and rights issues warned about above. It worked out that Unc wouldn’t get either credit or a cut of the proceeds, so he just backed out. Happily, inventing isn’t his livelihood, so it was a no-harm-no-foul conclusion. He enjoyed his wee taste of renown, but doesn’t miss the mishegoss that would’ve gone with proceeding to market.
Good luck to you and your boy!
I agree with Erinwithans and Alioth: both you and your son sound awesome! I hope you’ll be in a position to tell us more about his invention adventures in future.
Obviously, you have received plenty of good advice and direction for you and your son. As another resource (and admittedly a shameless plug), I am a law student and part of a program that offers pro bono legal support for start-ups. The program (www.blipclinic.org) takes clients, like you, with beginning business, including patent work (my specialty). We are located in Brooklyn but a local law school may have a similar program for startups or patent work.
I don’t have patent advice… but if your son is into tech/tinkering that you aren’t in a position to support, have a look around and see if there is a FabLab or a MakerLab anywhere near you. Lots of great people and learning and resources to be found, there! :)
The intellectual property system is indeed something of a minefield (my sister-in-law, an IP lawyer, still refers to our cable-company DVR as “the infringing device”) but that doesn’t mean that your son can’t enjoy learning to build and use his invention even if it doesn’t have a future in the market. I think having an idea and figuring out what you need to know and do to make it real is an awesome thing for a 7-year-old even if it doesn’t make him a junion zillionaire. Obviously there are some equipment/expertise limitations here, but I don’t think its strict business applications should necessarily limit your decision to go ahead with it.
(Sorry if this comment goes through twice.)
There are a lot of different options, all varying in cost and time. Whatever you do, be very careful to say nothing about the actual invention to anybody who is not acting as your attorney or under a confidentiality agreement. Anything disclosed can cause major problems for securing a patent, and could also hurt you business-wise if someone gets to a marketer/developer before you do.
That sounds more scary than it is!
I don’t know where you are, but some US cities/states have pro bono attorney networks specifically for patent/invention/business issues that can help you directly or point you in a credible, reliable direction. Minnesota has Legal Corps (http://legalcorps.org/). Googling other cities/states for things like “pro bono,” “patent,” and “intellectual property” may turn up options in your area.
There are also local inventors groups (http://www.inventored.org/InvAssociationsList/) around the US and the world that may be of assistance in directing you to helpful, non-scamming local resources.
Another choice, which any patent attorney would probably suggest, is to search patents yourself for anything like your child’s idea (cheap, but not very effective, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing at the Patent Office’s website), or, better, to have a search firm do a confidential search for you. Some additional information about that and other basics are in the “novice” section of the website with the groups list.
There are also numerous inventor/science contests through K-12 schools easily found through Google, which may be a nice, low cost option, albeit one that may be more likely to end with “good job, kid” instead of “here are millions of dollars for your amazing consumer product that everybody wants” (not that that’s common!).
Also, a prototype is probably not needed regardless of whatever next steps you take (if any).
Finally, this is not legal advice, just suggestions and ideas. Good luck! It’s so cool that you have such a smart, creative kid and that you are such an obviously supportive parent.
This kind of thing gets asked very often on Ask Metafilter
Here is a link to posts tagged with “idea” – you might like to browse through them, and see if there is anything that is relevant to your situation.
http://ask.metafilter.com/tags/idea
As others have pointed out, it could be useful to know whether a prototype of the idea would be mechanical, electronic, or even biological, as there are different avenues you could explore depending on the skills required to create a prototype
Good luck!
There are companies advertising on television to help take inventions to market:
https://www.inventhelp.com
http://inventionideas.org/
As others have pointed out, it could be useful to know whether a prototype of the idea would be mechanical, electronic, or even biological, as there are different avenues you could explore depending on the skills required to create a prototype