Problem: How does someone become an inventor
Rob Kessler from Million Dollar Collar explains how he invented his product and what the process of writing a patent and launching a product is like.
The Steps of Patenting a Product
It is an expensive but necessary process to go through with a patent. Rob talks about how the patent process works.
Step 1: Do a Patent Search
Let your attorneys do the patent search for you because as hard as you Google, you won’t be able to find everything you need. Things can stay hidden from even the best search engines. For two to three thousand dollars, you can get a guaranteed thorough search from an attorney. Spending that money is also a good way to say, “Hey, I’m into this so I should go forward.”
You can Google all you want but there’s a lot of stuff that can be hidden.
Step 2: Write the patent
The process of writing a patent is a careful one based on balance. The patent office wants patents that don’t monopolize the market. Meanwhile, you and your attorneys want to write a patent that gets as little competition to get past as possible.
Step 3: Get your patent approved
Every time it goes back and forth, it’s a couple of thousand bucks and it’s six weeks to six months before you get a response.
Copyright Infringement
Does it deter copyright infringement? Yes, and it also comes in the form of another stream of revenue.
If it is a strong enough patent and your product is good enough, it certainly can be a benefit.
Launching the Product
- Develop the design
- Get feedback
- Look at the market and analyze
- Talk to the big companies (after you get the patent)
- Go into production
I did a lot of feedback in the two and a half to three years of developing the material, developing the design.