I have an Idea for a computer peripheral (its quite an easy design & could possibly be made/copied by any DIY ethusiast). Lets say in design terms, its somthing as basic & simple as a USB Hub.

Any Idea how I can patent it on a worldwide scale? Dont want my Idea stolen & mass produced in Asia without getting anything in return.

Pay a patent attorney a good sum of money

Quote from: BigSoyPay a patent attorney a good sum of money

attorney? Im not american! Cmon.. on the Cheap!! Or can I sell my Idea to someone/somwhere?

There should be some help available from the government, ask about small business start up schemes.

Remember that patents arent cheap or quick.

Quote from: SeriousThere should be some help available from the government, ask about small business start up schemes.

Remember that patents arent cheap or quick.

I dont want to start a business.. I just want to patent my idea & then try to sell it to some 3rd party company. Quick Buck idea.

Erm.. If I patented in the UK, would that mean the product couldnt be sold in the UK without paying me a royalty fee? I would guess the Item would cost about Ã,£2 to make & prob. would sell for Ã,£20

Is protection of designs an option ?

Quote from: bearIs protection of designs an option ?

Yes. That would be exactly what I want to do. Its a simple Idea that would be useful to a lot of computer users. Not everyone, but a lot.

Quote from: Eggtastico

Quote from: BigSoyPay a patent attorney a good sum of money

attorney? Im not american! Cmon.. on the Cheap!! Or can I sell my Idea to someone/somwhere?

Easy there - if you look into it, youll people who do the legal legwork surrounding patents in this country are called patent attorneys...  

As far as I know there is no way to patent an idea through intellectual property laws. There are lots of places that claim to help you patent you idea and will take a lot of money from you for the work they claim to do but they are just scams. Think about it logically, patenting an idea to say that you had it first? Its just plain absurd.

If you want to copyright anything get designing and then building. Only then can you legally patent it and have any form of protection. Once youve got something that you can copyright declare it as such and get it registered as a copyright. Then youve got some form of legal backup.

Edit : Dont fall for that daft "mail yourself the idea" thing either. It doesnt give you any rights to whats contained in the envelope.

Quote from: Chris HAs far as I know there is no way to patent an idea through intellectual property laws. There are lots of places that claim to help you patent you idea and will take a lot of money from you for the work they claim to do but they are just scams. Think about it logically, patenting an idea to say that you had it first? Its just plain absurd.

If you want to copyright anything get designing and then building. Only then can you legally patent it and have any form of protection.

Hmmm... My biggest concern would be the Far East ripping of my idea, doing it better & cheaper than my idea

Look at Baybuss used to control Fan speeds inside PCs. Someone must have thought of that Idea, but wasnt in a position to market/sell it. - its that kind of thing.

Quote from: Eggtastico

Quote from: Chris HAs far as I know there is no way to patent an idea through intellectual property laws. There are lots of places that claim to help you patent you idea and will take a lot of money from you for the work they claim to do but they are just scams. Think about it logically, patenting an idea to say that you had it first? Its just plain absurd.

If you want to copyright anything get designing and then building. Only then can you legally patent it and have any form of protection.

Hmmm... My biggest concern would be the Far East ripping of my idea, doing it better & cheaper than my idea

Look at Baybuss used to control Fan speeds inside PCs. Someone must have thought of that Idea, but wasnt in a position to market/sell it. - its that kind of thing.

If you think youve got a good idea then put in the hard work now and itll pay off in the future; get working on a prototype and work out some form of buisness plan. If you want to patent the idea then you need to work with the product and make it your baby before you even think about aproaching the patent office with it.

Good luck with it Egg, I hope you do well out of this.

Quote from: Chris HIf you think youve got a good idea then put in the hard work now and itll pay off in the future; get working on a prototype and work out some form of buisness plan. If you want to patent the idea then you need to work with the product and make it your baby before you even think about aproaching the patent office with it.

Good luck with it Egg, I hope you do well out of this.

Thanks. It sounds like to much hardwork. Im not the most motivated of people. Ill look into it though. Ill try & produce a Prototype.

A cheap and fairly reliable way to secure your idea whilst youre investigating the patent is to send yourself the designs by recorded post. DO NOT open the designs/package when you receive them but store them somewhere. Should you ever feel that someone has gone to market with *your* idea you can use the plans as proof that you had the idea on a certain date; hopefully before their eairliest proof of concept.

This method is not 100% but can help in protecting an idea that is "patent pending".

Quote from: NimrodA cheap and fairly reliable way to secure your idea whilst youre investigating the patent is to send yourself the designs by recorded post. DO NOT open the designs/package when you receive them but store them somewhere. Should you ever feel that someone has gone to market with *your* idea you can use the plans as proof that you had the idea on a certain date; hopefully before their eairliest proof of concept.

This method is not 100% but can help in protecting an idea that is "patent pending".

Yes, But that wouldnt protect me against an Asian ripoff. Thats the problem about the design. Its something simple enough to be knocked up in a few hours by an ethusiast. Its basically a Useful Mod for a Computer.

Quote from: Eggtastico

Quote from: SeriousThere should be some help available from the government, ask about small business start up schemes.

Remember that patents arent cheap or quick.

I dont want to start a business.. I just want to patent my idea & then try to sell it to some 3rd party company. Quick Buck idea.

Erm.. If I patented in the UK, would that mean the product couldnt be sold in the UK without paying me a royalty fee? I would guess the Item would cost about Ã,£2 to make & prob. would sell for Ã,£20

You dont have to start a business, the whole idea is to get some advice from people who arent trying to rip you off and without coughing up dosh.

In the UK you would definitely need documentation and a prototype.

You are always going to be running up against people trying to rip off your ideas.