You Have Your Patent ... So Now What?

For creatives and inventors, getting a patent on a product or design that's been many months or even years in the making can seem like an end in itself. After all the hard work that goes into getting an idea to the point where it's ready to be protected, getting the patent granted can bring with it a huge sigh of relief and a cause for celebration.

However, once the design is protected it's the start of a whole new phase. While in development of the idea, what comes beyond the patent can seem like an impossible dream but unless the idea is taken beyond its protection through patent the designs aren't worth the paper the patent certificate is printed on.

Going into development

One of the first things that will be needed once the idea is protected is to find out if it will really work in practice. While some of this work may have been done in the development of the original design - after all, you have to know what you're protecting in order to protect it - going through the process of proof of concept testing and product development will really bring a dose of reality to the idea and find out if it's going to work well in practice.

Part of that process is likely to be the development of prototypes. This can serve a number of purposes as part of the process. Firstly, having a product in three dimensions is a good deal more helpful in ironing out problems than looking at something on a flat piece of paper. It's not possible to really understand the utility of a product until you can test the real thing.

Secondly, unless the inventor has an unlimited supply of capital it's likely funding will need to be secured to properly develop the product to the point where it can go to market.

Securing funding

An idea is just an idea unless someone's prepared to pay for it. The point of developing an product is ultimately to get it to market and in order to do that, funding will need to be invested in development, production and marketing.

There are two main ways to get a product out to market with a new product. The first, licencing a product to an existing company, means giving away the idea for an agreed sum either up-front or through a share of the profit revenue generated from sales. The other way to get a product out into the marketplace is to start up a business to develop, manufacture and market a product directly.

Whichever route to market is chosen for a product, both involve a huge amount of work finding backers to fund the project. Convincing an existing company to take on a new product (and, more importantly, that this specific product is the one they need) is a tricky business and will involve a lot of shoe leather in the process of finding a company to take the idea on. By the same token, seeking investment, funding and venture capitalist input for the establishment of a new business to develop and manufacture the new product is also a long and intensive process.

At the end of the day, it depends on what the designer hopes to get out of the process. Not all designers want to be small - or even large - business people and not everyone wants to hand over the rights to their ideas to a third party. It's always worth considering the pros and cons of both approaches before taking the plunge in either direction.

Conclusion

With a new idea secured and ready for further development, considering the next steps is important. Finding funding for that process is going to be vital to ensuring success, although the way that individuals choose to do that depends on a number of factors unique to each situation.

Editor's Note: Written by Nathan Griffiths who recommends http://www.innovate-design.co.uk for more ideas on patenting.

image source (ideas) | image source (funding)