Advice for Inventors

Do you have a great idea? Dr. Phil, who worked in litigation for years and has experience with patents and intellectual property, offers this advice:

• Keep it a secret. "If you tell everyone, someone will take your idea and go do it."
• Be very specific in your design. "It's got to be very precise."
• Get a lawyer. If you're reluctant to spend the $5,000-10,000 a lawyer may cost, then you may not be ready to fully pursue your idea. Bringing your product to the market will cost a lot more than that.
• Do a thorough search. Is the product a novel idea? Is there anything else out there that will "knock you out of the box?"
• Develop a business plan. Without a plan, your dream is just a dream.
• Apply for a patent. "Unless you've got it patented, you can't protect it," Dr. Phil explains.

Dr. Phil suggests that any inventor ask himself/herself these questions before pursuing an idea:

• Do you have the money to really sustain the project across time?
• Do you have the time?
• Do you have the patience?
• Do you have the support?
• Are you willing to make the sacrifice and commitment?

A.J. Khubani, CEO and founder of Telebrands, a leading direct-response consumer products company, who has made millions of dollars selling products on TV, shares the biggest mistakes inventors make.

• Spending too much money "What people need is a plan. They need a budget, and time and money," he says, echoing Dr. Phil's advice.
• Not doing enough research Is there a market out there for your product?
• Premature Patent Investment "Patents are the best way to protect your idea, but they take a lot of money," A.J. explains, noting that a patent can cost $10-30,000. "The smarter way to do it is go online " USPTO.gov " and file for a provisional patent. It cost $105, and that's it. You've protected your idea."

Invention Statistics

• Only 7 percent of inventions reach the market.
• Once they reach the market, the mean survival time is approximately 10 years.
• Sixty percent of inventions that reach the market get negative returns.

-- Innovation Exit: Why Entrepreneurs Pull the Plug on their Innovations   U.S. Patents and Women Inventors

• General rule of thumb suggests that of 100 patents granted, approximately 10 actually hit the market and one succeeds financially.

-- Fred Amram, professor, University of Minnesota

• Patents are proof of "ownership" of an invention and only the inventor can apply for a patent. Early in U.S. history, women were not allowed equal rights of property ownership and many women patented their inventions under their husband's or father's names.
• In 1809, Mary Dixon Kies became the first woman to receive a U.S. patent. She invented a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. First Lady Dolley Madison praised her for boosting the nation's hat industry.
• Until about 1840, only 20 other U.S. patents were issued to women.
• The percentage of women inventor patents rose from 2.6 percent in 1977 to 10.3 percent in 1998.
• Today, hundreds of thousands of women apply for and receive a patent every year. About 20 all current inventors are female and that number should quickly rise to 50ver the next generation.

-- From "How Many Women Inventors Are There?" by Mary Bellis, About.com