a new idea for a tool for all bushcrafter,s to enjoy!

[the interceptor boy]

Hi everyone, I would like to know who is the best person to get in touch with about an idea rolling in my head about producing a bushcraft tool for everyone to enjoy/ use ,while in the outdoors. the company involve already has all the technology in place just need a few minor tweeks to get the new product on the market. The company does not have to do a lot of research and trials before putting the product on the market. so if anyone is interested to hear about my IDEA and getting in touch with this company please send me a pm. cheers the interceptor boy.

 

[Barn Owl]

sounds good but I've no idea how to help.

Good luck.

 

[Paganwolf]

How do we know who or what company to suggest when you dont tell us what its for or needs manufacturing from?

 

[Elines]

Sorry - can't understand what you are saying - are you after money?

 

[Toddy]

Okay Hans you've got our interest

Do you mean you want someone to market it on BcUK, and if so, contact Tony would be my best advice; or do you mean you're looking for recommendations for someone to produce the tool ?

cheers,
M

 

[Corso]

It does seem a little odd - if the company is all set up what are you asking for on here - a supplier/retailer?

 

[mountainm]

Sounds like you have an idea but want someone else to risk the production? Put some cash and faith behind it and make a prototype (it's a great idea right?). Then you will be in a stronger position to be taken seriously by buyers and manufacturers.

M

 

[TeeDee]

If its the right area , I'm involved in Engineering , so if its metal or composite I may be able to push you in the right direction.

PM if I can help.

 

[the interceptor boy]

I am not after money!my humble intention was to see if anyone would freely point me in the right directions. who to approach and so on. what do I have to do as a new innovator? I only have the company email address. cheers the interceptorboy.

 

[lannyman8]

more info would help?????

what sort of tool, made from what, how will it be used????? they are just 3 of 1000's of questions that may be asked....

a bit more info please....

regards...

chris.

 

[Toddy]

Ah, you mean to protect your copyright but to know to who to contact to see about developing and producing your bushcraft tool ?

Sorry, I don't know. Hopefully someone else will, but if you have a manufacturer in mind, you could maybe contact their product development dept or person and ask how to go about things ?

atb,
M

 

[paul standley]

I am not after money!my humble intention was to see if anyone would freely point me in the right directions. who to approach and so on. what do I have to do as a new innovator? I only have the company email address. cheers the interceptorboy.

Hi...

I'm assuming from what little you have said so far that you have developed an idea for a bushcraft tool and want to find a way to have it manufactured and that you would presumably be looking to make some money from your invention.

If this is correct then here are a few tips:-

Think about how unique it is, is it different/new enough to patent or to protect the design ? - if it is then BEFORE you tell anyone about the invention/item you need to consider protecting it from other people copying the idea and this will cost quite a lot of money and takes quite a period of time to complete.

If you tell anyone about your invention and key features before it is protected then you will forfit your ownership of the idea and anyone can copy it and produce it.

If it's not unique, then think about what would make people pay good money to buy your product instead of other similar products and think about how it compares to other similar items already out there. For example, a bushcraft knife is just a knife at the end of the day but lot's of people make money selling hundreds of different bushknife designs and so things like functionality, quality, size, durability, design, price etc differentiate one knife from another and you need to consider your market.

What do you want out of this... do you want a single one-off payment for selling the idea to a manufacturer or do you want to earn royalties on the sales or do you want a company to just manufacture it for you for a price per item so that you can market it yourself - Basically, you need a plan.

Getting an idea off the drawing board and into the market place takes some doing and needs some serious thought and usally involves some investment - BUT it can be done so good luck if you take it forward.

If you want to discuss further, PM me...

Paul.

 

[ged]

If I understand you correctly, what you need is called a "non-disclosure agreement". People in the new product development business call them 'NDAs'. I can let you have something to look at but I'm sure if you search the Web you'll find something perfectly acceptable. Before you discuss your idea with anybody you have to get him to sign the NDA, in the presence of an independent witness who also signs it, to say that he saw it signed. If you have a NDA then the person with whom you have agreed it is legally bound by its terms. If he ignores that (steals the idea, or tells other people when he shouldn't, whatever) then it's up to you to do something about it. That probably means the courts. That will be expensive, and everybody knows that, including the guy who signed it.

There are, more or less, two other ways to protect what's called 'intellectual property'. They are copyright and patent. Both have drawbacks.

You don't need to do anything to obtain copyright. Not even draw a 'c' in a little circle. If you produce something original, such as a drawing or a design, copyright is automatically yours. Proving it, however, is something else entirely, and anyway copyright doesn't really do a lot for you unless you're prepared to spend a lot of money in the courts at which point I'd say the game's up already. Copyright is world wide.

If you have an idea that is patentable and you intend to patent it then you MUST have an NDA with anyone to whom you show or describe the invention because if you don't, you have 'published' the invention. Whether something is patentable or not is a book in itself, but (even if it's patentable in principle) you can't patent anything which has previously been published. Patents are unfortunately not world wide, you have to apply for patents country by country, and the rules are all different in the different countries, and so are the fees. It is just about possible to patent something yourself, but given your skills with words I'd advise against it. It is possible to lodge with the UK patent office something which gets you started on a patent application and helps you to protect the invention while you talk to potential partners such as manufacturers. This only lasts a year, however, and you have that time to decide whether or not to proceed with a patent application or to withdraw the application unpublished. Once you have a patent it lasts for 17 years in the UK. UK patents are considered amongst the best in the world. They have a "high presumption of validity". There are European patents, I have no experience of them. American patents, well, do not have a high presumption of validity.

My personal opinion is that the best thing you can do is get to market fast and make a quick killing. Forget all about copyright and patents unless you're absolutely sure that the entire world is going to want one, and also that you really don't mind a few hundred rich lawyers and agents getting a lot richer by skinning you.

Oh, PS: This is not legal advice.

 

[paul standley]

......My personal opinion is that the best thing you can do is get to market fast and make a quick killing. Forget all about copyright and patents unless you're absolutely sure that the entire world is going to want one, and also that you really don't mind a few hundred rich lawyers and agents getting a lot richer by skinning you.

Actually, this is very good advice and has my vote...

 

[Ape_Ogre]

When studying Industrial Design we were always advised to send the design to ourselves via first class post in a sealed and dated envelope and leave it unopened as proof of when you had the idea. A very basic form of intellectual property.

Be very careful contacting big companies with your idea, a friend of mine had an idea for a board game, sent the rough idea to a well known game company who replied saying they weren't interested. A couple of years later a game was released which was very similar indeed...

As someone already stated you need a non-disclosure agreement. I have had to sign a few of these in the past in my job as a draughtsman / designer so they are quite commonly used. I had to sign one once for a fellow who thought he had created a 100% efficient electric motor and wanted me to model it for him in 3d. Within 5 minutes I had explained to him why his design couldn't possibly work, it was horrible watching the realisation make his face drop, and I had stupidly talked myself out of some work...

If the idea is fully formed and of a reasonable size you might benefit from having it modelled and then having a 3d protoype made, either the old fashioned way or by using 3d printing (loads of layers laminated together into a 3d form).

 

[robin wood]

Most folk have the wrong idea about how "invention" and "design" work. Folk think it is all about a flash of genius that gives an idea that is worth money. Frankly it's not. The difference between something that works and something that doesn't is mostly down to the fine detail, the prototyping, the production and the marketing.
So it sounds like you have an idea that a company (say spyderco) could make a killing if they came out with this new product (say a UK legal folding bushcraft knife with scandi grind)
The idea is worth next to nowt. There is tremendous cost in the R&D and my guess is you would have great difficulty in giving your idea away and getting it made. If you really believe in it then get some prototypes made yourself, then gear up for production, market it and good luck.

 

[FGYT]

Hi everyone, I would like to know who is the best person to get in touch with about an idea rolling in my head about producing a bushcraft tool for everyone to enjoy/ use ,while in the outdoors. the company involve already has all the technology in place just need a few minor tweeks to get the new product on the market. The company does not have to do a lot of research and trials before putting the product on the market. so if anyone is interested to hear about my IDEA and getting in touch with this company please send me a pm. cheers the interceptor boy.

so I assume you have an idea and the company to make it

are you asking for people to distribute it and sell it

in that case you need a box full and samples to go out and see who will risk a batch to sell or just makes some and put them up here (with the right Subs paid up ) its a fairly large market honed to the bushcraft demographic

Oh Ive got boxes of supurb ideas for Bushcraft stuff that never made it as well as hard drive space chocker with CAD drawings of those that didn't even get to be prototypes

and patients are only worth what you are prepared to pay to defend them. (only one with my name on it was put up by the company i used to work for and that was a lot of work drawing and wording correctly and to be honest i could do several workarounds to get to the same place and side step infringment)

ATB

Duncan

 

[Ape_Ogre]

1% INSPIRATION, 99% PERSPIRATION ! When I design a new product the initial brief may be quite simple or very complex, but as Robin has said sometimes the initial idea (or Eureka moment) is the easiest bit, othertimes it is incredibly elusive. As we also say 'the devil is in the detail' so when we start on a project most of the major problems with the design do not become apparent until later stages, usually after sketches etc have been said to be ok. Modelling the individual components is usually the stage when any design flaws start to emerge.

Dyson's initial idea (after seeing a cyclonic filtration system in a factory) was followed up with literally hundreds of prototypes. Dyson also had to defend his copyright, selling off the rights for the whole of Japan in order to raise the funds to defend his product against another manufacturer.

A good few years ago I was doing a design course and we were tasked with coming up with an original design. I had the idea of making a drinking bottle with built in filtration (wait for it...), one you could fill from any source and through the suction process of an in-built straw the water would be filtered of harmful elements. After many hours of design work the drawings for the design looked great, the plastics were readilly available and the draft angles allowed for easy removal from moulds.

Then when in the Lakes I saw a drinking vessel with built in filters, where upon I realised the idea wasn't original and that I must have subconsciously seen one last time I was in the shop... doh... Back to the drawing board...

 

[FGYT]

A good few years ago I was doing a design course and we were tasked with coming up with an original design. I had the idea of making a drinking bottle with built in filtration (wait for it...), one you could fill from any source and through the suction process of an in-built straw the water would be filtered of harmful elements. After many hours of design work the drawings for the design looked great, the plastics were readilly available and the draft angles allowed for easy removal from moulds.

Then when in the Lakes I saw a drinking vessel with built in filters, where upon I realised the idea wasn't original and that I must have subconsciously seen one last time I was in the shop... doh... Back to the drawing board...

lol yes that's the one Ive had Honestly lots of Original to me ideas, Only to find out later that some one some where has already done it
(my current Grenade/Pin lock Friction folder being the latest only found out last week a maker has been using a pin in a FF for years and Honestly ive never seen or heard of it )

ATB

Duncan

 

[Paul_B]

My boss at work had patents within the company. They had to pay patent lawyers money every year for them. Ended up selling the good ones and letting the rest lapse. Same with registered trademarks. However with them it is our reputation that had most effect not the registered trademark. All I can say is patents are as good as the money you have to protect them which is still not good enough unless you have the likes of a multi-national company behind you. I mean some countries seem to be able to copy anything and get away with it.

In our company's patent they licensed it quickly and that often makes it the licensee's responsibility to defend it. The reality is you just have to get the product into the market place and established before anyone copies it or comes out with something similar but with enough differences to beat a patent (if you go for a patent of course). We've both had patents (successfully licensed and then sold on) and beaten other company's patents too. Once it was as simple as adding a line of stitching and changing the name of the product. Seriously, it is very simple to beat poorly conceived patent applications. That case we got hold of a copy of the patent application, saw its flaws and beat them with a cheaper product that worked just as well (made in China of course).

I think others on here have said it all really. Cupboards and home workshops are littered with good inventions!

Of course I do wish you well and if it is really good I expect spyderco, gerber, victorinix or leatherman to come out with it sooner or later.