Category: Financing
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What Money Do You Spend First
What Money Do You Spend First I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about what the first steps should be for an inventor and what money needs to be spent on initially. Inventing is not easy, and it is not free. Coming up with your idea may be free, but I can’t sell an…
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The First $$$ an Inventor Spends: Professional Comprehensive Patent / Product Search
I frequently talk to inventors who jump into engineering a prototype and / or filing a patent before having the professional product search done. I understand: it’s the fun part. However, it can be a critical financial error. Most inventors are on a budget; and while you can fix anything if you throw enough money…
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The Cost of Patenting
I had a client call me last week for the sole purpose of venting. It seems that she had received an office action from the USPTO and was upset over how much it was going to cost her to have her attorney answer the office action. Her telephone call caused me to reflect and resulted ultimately…
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Inventor Warning: Caution is the Keyword in Dealing with IPHC’s
I recently had a call from a patent attorney who wanted me to introduce him to my clients so that he could offer to buy their intellectual property from them. He has, what is called, an “Intellectual Property Holding Company” or “IPHC”. IPHC’s come in essentially three different flavors. The first category consists of those…
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The Inventor’s Business Plan
Inventors frequently swing to two extremes when it comes to their business plan. The first one is simply: have idea – get patent – make money. I can’t even tell you how many ways this is a flawed plan. This plan is relevant only in fantasy land and real inventors can’t afford to live in…
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Too Soon To Manufacture?
A few weeks ago an inventor told me that he was checking into the cost of manufacturing before having his patent search reviewed. This was a bit out of order but not a huge issue. You want to understand the costs involved before jumping off the cliff. However, I found out later that the inventor…
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The Greatest Challenge
The greatest challenge for an inventor is money. You have to have money to invent. No one invests in an idea. You have to have intellectual property protection and a working prototype or a very detailed 3D-CAD drawing. Unless you are working for a company and invent under its name, you have to be able…