Who is advertising on This Little Idea Went to Market?

I checked out most of the invent, patent, idea advertisers that are being posted on this page by Google. I do not get any pennies for clicking on them I just get pennies when visitors to my blog click on them. The main reasons I checked them out was first to see if they were relevant to my blog, second to see what services they offered, and last to see the costs involved with the services.
The advertisements were relevant to my blog. The Google crawlers are doing their job. (When I think of crawlers I get a mental image of the Sentinels from The Matrix). Google should think about giving them a raise or a gold star or however you reward an algorithm.
So the main types of services they offered could be broken down into the parts from my Road Map post.
Idea > Record Idea > Patent Idea > Manufacture Widget > Market Widget > Sell Widget
There were companies that would do any and all of the following; patent searches, patent submissions, develop a prototype, market to industry, find a manufacturer, sell your idea, sell you an idea, etc. The one that I thought was really interesting was company that offered to record your idea for you so you would have proof of conception. They had an internet based form that you could enter everything in to, from the name of invention to the detail of the invention. Now I sometimes am not the smartest cookie, and I did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express. But I am thinking that releasing my idea out into the World Wide Web is not going to help with proof of conception. I may be a skeptic, but I think this company is up to no good.
I unfortunately do not get to choose the companies that advertise on my blog, a mathematical equation does (crawler). So while I would like to believe that all of the companies that are advertising on my blog are outstanding and honest, I am sure that some are less than scrupulous.
The cost after some quick calculations, and if I outsourced all of the work could be close to $25,000 or more. The main difficulty in trying to cost something out like this is most everybody charges by the hour. I understand this concept because when you submit a patent to the patent office (USPTO) you do not know what they will come back with. So it would be hard for a lawyer to give you a set price. I hope to do as much as the work as I can myself such as develop the prototype and perform the patent search, but feel I will most likely need a patent lawyer for the patent application.
Know any good lawyers? I did not think so. (A little humor)
Anyway please click on the advertisements they are going to fund this idea.

Road Map

A map is nothing more than detailed directions on how to get from point A to point B. If you have ever used MapQuest or a GPS you know that there is a multitude of ways to navigate from one place to another. You can change your preferences to go by certain landmarks or to avoid certain roads. With each new request you get a new map, a new set of directions.
Today I start with an idea and want to get it to market. There are no landmarks I want to see or heavily trafficked areas I want to avoid (not yet anyway). The good thing about directions is you can change them along the way to suit your needs. If you are driving down the road and you see a sign for the World’s Largest Ball of Twine, you can go. After you are done analyzing the string you can double back or just get new directions. This will be my approach.

Idea > Record Idea > Patent Idea > Manufacture Widget > Market Widget > Sell Widget

When I was a child my parents had bought some land in Kentucky. This land was well off the beaten path. We stopped at the local market to ask for directions where I could hear the locals saying things like “turn right at the big oak tree” or “it’s about 10 miles as the crow flies”. I am sure these were great directions if you grew up in this community (or if you were a crow), but they were not so good if you did not.
My point! I know nothing about patent law, patents, intellectual property, marketing an idea, manufacturing, getting something to market, etc. Not yet anyway. Your input will be welcomed.
Thanks!

How Do I Get There From Here?

When doing most anything there is a logical order to follow. Most people learn at a very young age that you must put on your socks before your shoes. Once the shoes are on your feet it is impossible to get your socks on your feet without taking the shoes back off. One way to bypass this procedure is to be like my son and just not wear any shoes, but that can lead to other problems.
Simple analogy? Yes! Getting an idea to market is far more complicated than putting your shoes and socks on. But maybe not. Think about how to explain to someone who has never seen shoes and socks (maybe an imaginary someone), how to wear them. How would you start?
“Grab a sock.”
“What is a sock?”
“The white cotton thingy over there.”
“This?”
“Yes! Now put it on your foot.”
“How?”




Well you get the idea. I think of it like trying to explain the color blue to a person that has been blind since birth.
This is where I am at. I have an idea. I have heard of the Patent Office. I have watched Law and Order so I know what a lawyer is. I have shopped at Wal-Mart so I have seen the mounds of stuff people will buy.
Now What?

Goals of this Blog

Here are my goals for this Blog.
1) Use Blog format to help keep me involved and motivated to follow through with the steps to take an idea to market.
2) Determine a clear path(s) from idea to market, a roadmap that can be followed by others (and me) for future ideas.
3) To find an expose pitfalls and traps that may be encountered through the process.
4) Develop tools and processes that can be used by all, for ideas, inventions, patents, copyrights, marketing, etc.
5) To get input from others! Comments are welcome.
6) To make money. Not from selling advertising, but by getting a product on the commercial market.

New Invention

Scrubbing Luffa!