How to Sell an Idea?

In roughly escalating complexity, consider 1) copyrighting it, 2) trademarking it, 3) design patenting it, 4) provisionally patenting it, and 5) full-bore patenting it. I haven't looked lately, but I think the USPTO offers some guidelines. You might also be able to get a free or inexpensive initial consultation with an intellectual property lawyer. Best wishes on your project.

Start with a search.
Three Steps to Selling Your Idea | Entrepreneur.com
How to Sell Your Idea in Less Than 3 Minutes | Inc.com
You Might Have A Great Idea, But Can You Sell It? - Forbes

Thanks so far... If I can go by Apples example of patenting things all I need is a sketch and some details of it. It's just some handy functions that could be incorporated that I think is very useful. Nothing revolutionary (at least I don't think). It would probably get kudos or even a promotion for an employee within the company.

You can patent improvements to existing patents. That's done all the time.

no ideas happen in a vacumn..knowledge,including your own aha moments are built upon the accumulation of human knowledge over time...Your novel insights are generally when viewed dispassionately not all that novel...Patents etc try to make these developements.aha moments legitimately unique but imho they tend to be iterations of what has happened before allowing one to get to this patentable moment..Patents like currency are a way to control development which may or may not be useful for the entire human race.It is from this wealth of human knowledge that the patent springs but is,like the monetary system we also believe in,limited to a very few individuals or organizations..ah heck ego wins...humility loses everytime

It is very common for many people to come up with the same ideas at nearly the same time in different parts of the world. This is why so many people rush to try to patent ideas when they are first conceived and spend a lot of money foolishly with people who prey on them claiming to be able to file a patent quickly. It is not all that easy. I worked for a large company who filed and obtained many patents, but I remember some that failed for a lot of reasons. Sometimes something which seemed new and breaking was patented more than a hundred years before when there was no knowledge of why something worked or did not work, but something was observed and patented.

There is a process by which you can cheaply file in many countries an application for "intent to patent" and this is quite cheap compared to the normal patent process. It gives a limited time to come up with the patent application and has quite a lot of protection in itself, but it announces to everyone that there is an idea that someone thought was valuable, so the risk is that when the time runs out, anyone else could file in your place.

I do remember, since I young, that I would come up with ideas, and then within a few months, read about them in a magazine. It is the normal process that when technology and ideas move to a certain point that human knowledge moves forward and you may not be the only one to have the same thoughts. The internet makes that even more acute since we are more "in sync" with one another as we trade ideas and move forward. There are many people who believe that the patent process is obsolete but I have not seen anything proposed to replace it with anything better.

First, continue your research into your idea, but also why it hasn't been done yet. You may find that it's not novel but there are good reasons it's not been made real. I found out that military pilots don't usually get electronic flight bags, and devised the solution to their problem, long before I knew what an "electronic flight bag" was. It took me a week to hit on the right search keywords and I wasted time on powerpoints and meetings trying to convince leadership to tackle it.

A trick I heard of long ago is to registered-mail (in the US, or some other mechanism involving government records) yourself technical data. That's a cheap way to establish prior art in case someone steals your idea or invents it independently.

I think we have all had eureka moments yet do not wish to get involved.
The answer (IMO) is to look at your options? Do nothing; get involved, or give it away.

This simplifies it a lot. Do nothing - forget about it. (the ideas) Get involved, as the
members say above with patents, expense, time and effort. Or, give it away, hopefully
to obtain some credit along the way. Not attractive options, but realistic, and you have them!

In the past I have sent ideas to: BT, National banks, agricultural firms, etc.. explaining
the benefits of my ideas (for better or worse.) and only one was ever adopted 3 + years later,
with no credit nor reward offered. (unlikely others at any future time.)

The point is, it was not even easy to give them away, let alone sell them!

So now consider getting involved: is it likely your ideas are unique? Do considerable
research to see if anything like them has already been considered? e.g. I patented
a "unique" device at very considerable expense, and with the "guidance" of a patent
agent, who after payment found the identical idea had been invented previously in Australia.(!)

The point is, think well upon, and take care upon, getting financially involved, when
you "take up arms to conquer all."

The only "choice" remaining is forget them. But then, you have the continuing "niggle"
that something "good" could come from them? Your idea just "could" be sliced bread?
To solve this I would recommend you try to find someone who may grasp your ideas,
and you trust to their honesty? You may get nothing - but you have put nothing in?
You may get some credit or money - depending upon the honesty of the contact.
And, if very good, you just may make your fortune? Albeit small?

What you will have achieved is personal satisfaction, of seeing your ideas in action;
and, if no one else in the world knows it was your idea, at least you will know.

That's the best I can advise from my personal experiences. I wish you good luck.

jt.

A duck walks into a bar and asks: "Got any Bread?"

Barman says: "No."

Duck says: "Got any bread?"

Barman says: "No."

Duck says: "Got any bread?"

Barman says: "No, we have no bread."

Duck says: "Got any bread?"

Barman says: "No, we haven't got any f**king bread."

Duck says: "Got any bread?"

Barman says: "No, are you deaf?! We haven't got any f**king bread, ask me again
and I'll nail your f**king beak to the bar you irritating bastard of a f**king bird!"

Duck says: "Got any nails?"

Barman says: "No"

Duck says: "Got any bread? (never give up.)