New tool concept

[joker]

Hello guys. Got a question. I have developed a new tool concept and I'm wondering who I may contact to either sell my idea? I have built three prototypes and have used them for over a year with great results. This item would be very useful to the beginner as well and the master crafter. I have contacted Tandy and they stated that they don't take outside ideas. Any help would be great!

Thanks for the help

Everette

[kiwican]

First thing I would do is check to see if its been done before. Patent office!

[joker]

I can try to check that. I've never seen anything like it. I really thought Tandy would at least be interested, oh well.

[bikermutt07]

I would contact a patent attorney. Those invention places are liable to rip off your idea.

[kiwican]

plenty of other places out there that are not Tandy, depends what you want to do with your idea. Do you want to sell the idea or do you want to sell the product

[joker]

I would like to sell the idea if possible. I am a full time welder and blew out my back about 4 months ago. Looking to do leather full time and that would come in handy for start up money.

[Norton Custom Leather]

the poor mans trademark / copy write,

you can take pictures of your product, & measurements.

 put your ideas on paper explaining what your product is & what it does or is for.  then mail it to yourself.

when it arrives to your house DO NOT open the letter. it is sealed, date & time stamped. 

then get your copy write / trademark applied for. this will secure it as yours thru the proper channels, (gov). 

iv done this & it is sustainable in court if you had to go that far  

[chrstn53]

Save yourself some time from the get go and do a thorough patent search. Back when I was in school I spent a fair amount of time on patent law in my business law class. The professor specialized in Patent law and stated that about 90% of the ideas that walked in his office had already been patented one or more times. He would tell us about all of these crazy things that people would come up with that seemed unique, but there would already be a patent on the creation or some major function of the creation. According to my professor a big portion of the patents have never been produced and that there are people/companies who do nothing but file patents for everything they come up with in hopes that down the road someone will buy the idea. The plus side is that if your idea is already patented and you can improve the designs function you might still have a shot.

[bikermutt07]

7 hours ago, Norton Custom Leather said:

the poor mans trademark / copy write,

you can take pictures of your product, & measurements.

 put your ideas on paper explaining what your product is & what it does or is for.  then mail it to yourself.

when it arrives to your house DO NOT open the letter. it is sealed, date & time stamped. 

then get your copy write / trademark applied for. this will secure it as yours thru the proper channels, (gov). 

iv done this & it is sustainable in court if you had to go that far  

That's a great idea.

[electrathon]

 

8 minutes ago, bikermutt07 said:

That's a great idea.

A lot of people do this and the trick is to mail yourself a letter that is not sealed.  Do it every so often and then when you need to show that you had the idea three years ago you pull out the envelope with the needed date, put in a backdated letter and seal it shut.  That way you can go to a lawyer and open it in from of them, it will prove that you had the idea years earlier (I have been told that this is why a sealed letter is not accepted as legal proof).  Keep in mind, a patent is very expensive.  $15,000 if all is easy, up to lots if it gets complicated.