I have an idea for an invention. Where do I start?
My advice would be to read my book. I’ve written a book called “Protect Your Great Ideas For Free”, and it’s all about little baby steps. Where you start is, in my opinion, you write up your idea and make a tangible record of it and get it witnessed so you can prove you’re the inventor. And then you keep it zipped. You only talk to people after they agree to keep your idea confidential by way of a written contract called a Non-Disclosure Agreement. And then my advice is investigate the commercial viability of your idea, because just getting a patent on something is no guarantee you’re going to make money. You can get a patent on something and you can’t force people to make, use or sell it. So if your idea is a commercial dog, the patent’s not going to help you. If it is a viable commercial asset, then of course, you have a monopoly for a limited period of time, and that’s the good news.
