(I believe some of that comes from not understanding the development process -- which is part of the stimuli in writing this article.)
Patent Searches can be done in a few different ways. You can do it yourself -- at the library or on-line. www.uspto.gov and www.FreePatentsOnline.com are a pretty good on-line sources. Or you can hire someone to do the search for you.
(Note: I strongly suggest avoiding the "Invention Centers" that exploit inventors and their wallets. See comments below.)Perhaps the best source -- though they are expensive -- are patent attorneys. They won't develop your invention, but they can do a thorough search and can give better advice on patentability and infringement. After all, a patent is only as good as it can be defended.
Protecting Your Idea: The Hewlett Packard web site had a great article on Patents: Protecting your big idea that can shed some good light on the types and processes for protecting intellectual property.
Read about When to Patent. Don't rush off to get a patent first thing as that is usually a waste of money. Make the business plan around a patent you might expect, then develop the product so when you do patent it, the patent will cover the product.
Another good resource I've found (hopefully the blog persists) is at www.LearnAboutPatents.net.
Also, many patent attorneys have information available like the Frequently Asked Questions about Patent Law from Gould & Whitley at http://www.gouldwhitley.com/ > Patent Law that also tell about prices.
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Market Research -- Depending on the scope of the project, market research is usually desired. This should include things like competitive analysis, market availability, costs of getting product to the consumer, etc.. It should also include justification (in hard numbers) as to why your product will be able to penetrate the market, and how fast. Since I am not an expert here, I'll leave this topic to others.
>>> Open invitation: Submit an article about Market Research, and if I approve it, I'll add the article here and a link to your site. <<<
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Business Plan -- The summation of gathering information combined with the product specification and a healthy dose of common sense will help in writing a Business Plan. The plan (with real numbers - don't cheat here or you'll be cheating yourself) must justify continued effort and money spent on the project.
Sadly, when this step is skipped (or over optimistically completed), time and money are usually wasted. It's OK to determine that the product can't make money, and it's much better to do it now than later. Take some time and develop the business plan. Get some help if you need it -- I did. It's important, and it's eye-opening.
>>> Open invitation: Submit an article about How to Write a Business Plan (detailed), and if I approve it, I'll add the article here and a link to your site. <<<
Concluding Thoughts ...
Make sound, realistic plans based on good information. Great things that come from taking a hard look at the above items are:
- First - a revised and improved product specifications (step 2 again).
- Second - the start of intellectual property protection for your idea -- and knowing you are not treading on someone else.
- Third - a sound business plan as a road map for success.
- Fourth - a good foundation for explaining why your product will succeed -- if just for peace of mind to have something concrete to support your feelings, but also as a great foundation for getting investment money if you need it.
sumber : http://www.synthx.com/articles/pdp3-info.html
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