China just stole my invention

China Just Stole My Idea!

It's a fear I've heard a lot.  How can you source your manufacturing without giving away your idea? The fact is you can't. International patents are expensive and the last thing you should purchase when progressing along ICE (inventors chain of events).  The good news is that you should be so lucky to have an idea so good that someone would want to steal it.  You need to contact China if you are going to be able to calculate your cost of goods.  You need your cost of goods to be able to pitch your product, determine retail value and basically estimate how successful your idea is going to be.  So, given that, follow these steps:

1. Search for existing patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
   You will probably find many ideas that are close, or expired.  If too close for comfort you'll need to ask a patent attorney for advice if you still want to pursue your idea. Many companies, such as As Seen on TV, could care less about your patent ability but more on that in another post.
2. File your provisional patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
   You can do this yourself.  The cost is $200 and will protect your idea/invention within the USA. Start there and as your business grows you can handle the foreign patent arena later. You will have 1 year from the date of filing this to move your idea along and get to a point to file the actual Utility patent.  If you need more time, you can refile your provisional patent to gain another year.
3. Get your bill of materials, cad files, design specs together.  You will need to send Chinese manufacturing companies enough detail as to give you an accurate estimate on production costs.  Don't skimp on this as that one detail you hold back on might increase cost exponentially in the future.  
4. Create a non-disclosure agreement. There are many examples of these on the web and many USA manufacturers you talk to can send you a template of what they use.  When I did this and started talking to CAD designers and plastic injection molding companies here in the US, I felt a bit weird saying here you must sign my NDA before we can talk.  I shouldn't have felt strange as everyone is so used to this as good business practice they are expecting it. 

Keep strong. Bringing a new product or idea to market is hard work, takes patience and more than anything determination.  You can do it.  

Stephen Rekstad: Everyday-Inventor

 - products moving forward: ToasterShield, KidCap, Zoomr and more -you must sign my NDA to hear about those :)