Business Idea

[Yesi.Ale]

I came up with this new business idea for a product its not really new but it fits a market need however my fear is that it may come to close or infringe on a already patent idea. I want to put it into action but I don't want to catch a serious law suit for it. So my idea is to start a side hustle to build up extra capital in order to hire a patent attorney as a safe so they can let me know if my idea will infringe on the patent idea. Is this a good plan? If not How else should I go about things?

 

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[Caminsky]

Call around. An IP attorney may be able to do a consultation and advise you on the risks enough to decide if it's worth pursuing. The cost to look into it may be lower than you expect, don't be afraid to ask for an estimate. The real cost would likely come from filing your own patent.

 

[Yesi.Ale]

Call around. An IP attorney may be able to do a consultation and advise you on the risks enough to decide if it's worth pursuing. The cost to look into it may be lower than you expect, don't be afraid to ask for an estimate. The real cost would likely come from filing your own patent.

thank you

 

[MRiabov]

Read The Right It. It is the exact thing you need - I know because I needed it bad.

 

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[Yesi.Ale]

Read The Right It. It is the exact thing you need - I know because I needed it bad.

Where do I find The Right?

 

[Jrjohnny]

Where do I find The Right?

Bro… Search it up on amazon.

 

[Yesi.Ale]

Bro… Search it up on amazon.

I read what she said wrong

 

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[Mikkel]

If your idea is to so close to another product, does the product need to be created? Maybe it does. IP lasts for 20 years in the United States. If you think the product you want to make is to similar, can you change the design? There are a bunch of similar product that has design changes that allows you to work around the IP. Depending on how well IP is written, if the person who holds the patent is very general and broad in their IP and can be more difficult to work around their IP. If it is narrow in scope, it may be easy to work around the design.

Do a patent search on Google Patents and see what similarities there are to your design. If it is basically the same product, then you should see if you can differentiate your product enough.

This is what I would do. Basic patent search to see what is out there. Draw or CAD design your product idea. Try and differentiate from other products where you can that will improve the product. Reach out to a patent attorney and ask talk to them about your idea. Provided images of your product verses competing ideas. They can give you more accurate legal advise in their intro conversation that should be free. Based on what they say, make your decision on how you will proceed.

IP lawyers will want you to get a provisional patent as soon as possible, stating that you may have someone take your patent if you don't file ASAP. Thought it might be true, it is also self serving. They want your money. If you file to early, you also may run out of time filing for your non-provisional patent(one-year after filing your PPA) and will be forced to spend $5-10k for your non-provisional patent or lose the rights to the IP.

There is also pro bono work you can get from the USPTO if you earn less than 3x the federal poverty line, which is like $45,000 annually on your last tax statement. I would start with just calling an IP lawyer first though.

 

[Yesi.Ale]

If your idea is to so close to another product, does the product need to be created? Maybe it does. IP lasts for 20 years in the United States. If you think the product you want to make is to similar, can you change the design? There are a bunch of similar product that has design changes that allows you to work around the IP. Depending on how well IP is written, if the person who holds the patent is very general and broad in their IP and can be more difficult to work around their IP. If it is narrow in scope, it may be easy to work around the design.

Do a patent search on Google Patents and see what similarities there are to your design. If it is basically the same product, then you should see if you can differentiate your product enough.

This is what I would do. Basic patent search to see what is out there. Draw or CAD design your product idea. Try and differentiate from other products where you can that will improve the product. Reach out to a patent attorney and ask talk to them about your idea. Provided images of your product verses competing ideas. They can give you more accurate legal advise in their intro conversation that should be free. Based on what they say, make your decision on how you will proceed.

IP lawyers will want you to get a provisional patent as soon as possible, stating that you may have someone take your patent if you don't file ASAP. Thought it might be true, it is also self serving. They want your money. If you file to early, you also may run out of time filing for your non-provisional patent(one-year after filing your PPA) and will be forced to spend $5-10k for your non-provisional patent or lose the rights to the IP.

There is also pro bono work you can get from the USPTO if you earn less than 3x the federal poverty line, which is like $45,000 annually on your last tax statement. I would start with just calling an IP lawyer first though.

Thank you I appreciate the help