<![CDATA[SoliForum - 3D Printing Community — Print the legend]]> 2014-09-30T11:49:18Z PunBB https://www.soliforum.com/topic/7826/print-the-legend/ <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> Tin Falcon wrote:

http://www.brickarms.com/

Just goes to show you that you can make a business just about out of anything.  Never would have thought about that niche for legos.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/134/ 2014-09-30T11:49:18Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67348/#p67348 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> Her is a guy that took an Idea from his son  and turned it into a successful business. doing all design work r & D production distrubution and sales.  Not saying it is easy but it can be done.

http://www.brickarms.com/

Tin

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/6775/ 2014-09-30T11:04:30Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67347/#p67347 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> Lots of good "food for thought" and great suggestions.  Makes me wonder how I can help also.
If you have any use for a businessman that knows how to make things happen let me know.
Seems to me you just got offers from some of the greatest minds you've ever had the pleasure to work with.  Sounds like a very powerful arsenal to me.  I guess the ball is in your court.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/2291/ 2014-09-30T00:18:28Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67339/#p67339 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> I have just recently joined meetup after convincing my wife it wasn't a dating app.  I have joined a few inventor entrepreneur groups and plan to go to one on 10/15 to start the process and gather information. 

I'm convinced there is a place in this world for inventors, otherwise there would be no licensing deals.  I'm not at a place where I can take the risk of starting a business right now without a good deal of help.  I have one kid starting college and two kids under 5.  Not the time for a life savings gamble right now.  I will be contacting a few off you for further advice though, thank you for the generous offers.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/78/ 2014-09-30T00:13:00Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67337/#p67337 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> Im just gonna be the hater in this discussion. A good idea is worth nothing if you do nothing with it. And most 'entrepreneurs' work harder than most other people to make their product a reality. Having a great idea is not just gonna land you a fortune just  because you though it. Quite frankly, someone has probably already though it too. They just simply done less than even you with that idea (props for making the prototypes).

I can also promise you that no matter what you do, someone will copy it. And if you do not jump up, patent it and aggressively market it with triple the amount of effort you put into your 9-5, then someone can see your prototype once, tell someone else, and someone else can do that effort and make the 'piles' you think you deserve.

In short, get off the couch and make reality. Actions make money. Thoughts are worth as much as a fart if nothing is done with them.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/2747/ 2014-09-29T23:55:34Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67336/#p67336 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> Tim is correct in that the biggest value for his company right now is the Filastruder name (Tim, Hope you copyrighted it!).  The Filastruder brand reflects his strength in providing a well-designed and high quality product.  Very difficult to develop a brand.

Regarding Patents:
Patents (even badly written ones) are the most powerful while they are unpublished as your potential competitors cannot see what specifically you are protecting.  A Provisional application ($130.00) which allows you to brand "Patent Pending" all over your product, is NEVER published and is effective for one year at which point you must file a full Utility application ($5,000+ for a good Attorney).  From that point, you have 18 months until the application publishes...

BTW, in my earlier post, I said I sometimes have to work around Patents, but I have never stolen anyone's product...it goes like this:
If I have an idea or am working on a project resulting from an in-house idea and then I come into an infringement issue; then I will work around that issue so my project can succeed.

however;

If an inventor submits an idea that we had not thought of, and then I work around their Patent, then that's stealing.  I have never done that and never will.

Do not let your ideas gather without acting on the best ones.  I have done this for myself and with other inventors and have created successful products and helped start 2 sustainable companies which are doing very well.

With that in mind, I too am willing to assist you...PM me if you want some guidance!

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/131/ 2014-09-29T23:47:19Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67335/#p67335 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> Depending on what kind of thing it is, it is easier now than it has ever been to invent and produce something on your own.  It is still hard if it is something that will use anodized aluminum, injection molding and be something you could package for a retail store.  On there other hand there are niches where those things aren't necessary, Filastruder being an example.  The problem with niches is that since most people haven't heard of them, you haven't either unless it happens to be your interest.  Finding areas like that which are relatively unknown and underserved by the mainstream is an art of its own.

In the context of the whole world and everyone on the internet, a tiny market might be 100k people, which is plenty big enough for a one man band.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/14/ 2014-09-29T22:44:54Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67334/#p67334 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> I'd find someone you trust that has done before what you want to do, but doesn't seem to want to steal ideas (or doesn't have the means to). Read small business/entrepreneur boards, and then reach out to someone. I help someone about once a month in your position, usually with one or more of the following:

CAD work
Finding machine shops
Sourcing from China
Ecommerce and shipping
Kickstarter advice
BOM review (DfC/DfM)

So far, I've only charged for the CAD work (hourly), as I like seeing people move things forward. If you're serious and think I can help, shoot me a PM. If not, look to find someone that is 1-2 steps ahead of you in a somewhat different field (so they are unmotivated to steal anything from you) and make it happen!

And if you're coming up with 2-3 ideas a day, roll the dice and trust someone. If they steal it, you have what, 600 more ideas a year? smile

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/221/ 2014-09-29T22:39:47Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67333/#p67333 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> The other problem with selling the IP to an existing manufacturer is that sometimes they buy the rights and sit on them so that nobody else produces a disruptive product to their existing line. 

American Dream is on its last legs.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/78/ 2014-09-29T22:36:47Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67332/#p67332 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> IanJohnson wrote:

It's often said that ideas aren't worth very much.  All the value and the vast majority of the work comes from turning the idea into a finished, manufacturable product, marketing it and selling it.  Without doing that, you won't likely have the capital required to enforce your patents.

Probably the only real way to make money from ideas and patents without manufacturing them yourself is to sell the rights to a patent troll who will give you a cut of the settlements when they go after other people who had the same idea and tried to make something from it.

You guys paint a really bleak picture for my future.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/78/ 2014-09-29T22:35:11Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67331/#p67331 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> It very much is crippling.  It doesn't stop my innovation, but it does stop my profiting from my innovation. 

I have more than enough money to keep the roof over my head and live a comfortable lifestyle, but it requires that I work and that my wife works to afford it.  My primary motivation is that my wife not have to work, and eventually that I don't have to work in the current job at the current hours that I'm working at.  Left to my own devices I can come up with 3-4 product ideas a day that I would say better than 50% of them are received well by those I trust to disclose them too.  And at least 25% of which they enthusiastically say you need to do something with that, or at least make me one so I can use it right now.  I use 3 inventions of mine every weekend when I golf, I sleep on a pillow that I designed and sewed myself that is unlike any other on the market for overweight stomach sleepers, I have so many things ready to go fully prototyped working and debugged but don't know how to take one step further without being ripped off.  For those of us without the drive or means to start a business and be first to market, what is the option to make money from my concepts? 

Chris

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/78/ 2014-09-29T22:33:48Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67330/#p67330 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> It's often said that ideas aren't worth very much.  All the value and the vast majority of the work comes from turning the idea into a finished, manufacturable product, marketing it and selling it.  Without doing that, you won't likely have the capital required to enforce your patents.

Probably the only real way to make money from ideas and patents without manufacturing them yourself is to sell the rights to a patent troll who will give you a cut of the settlements when they go after other people who had the same idea and tried to make something from it.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/14/ 2014-09-29T22:30:41Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67329/#p67329 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> cmetzel wrote:
elmoret wrote:

cmetzel, I don't think you realize that a published patent does more to give away your idea than it does to protect it...

The patent for me would be protection for long enough to sell the rights to my idea.  I'm not interested in being a manufacturer.  I have too many other obligations that are more important to me to be chasing around a 90 hour a week company startup.  The company that I license to could chase around all the legal issues. 

First to market and best to market play an important role, but some of the products I have are just changes to existing products that take it in a different direction.  It would get copied and stolen before I could get the first one for sale.  It's the very reason I bought the 3d printer in the first place so I didn't have to trust my IP to a prototype shop.

Again, it won't help you much here. A patent is basically a blueprint on how to recreate the idea/product. They have far more dollars for patent attorneys than you, so it would be no problem for them to use the patent as a blueprint (once you drew attention to it), then find the loopholes (with their $$$ lawyers), and move on without paying for your IP. Happens all the time in industry.

If you wanted to sell to a manufacturer, you would want a NDA and/or a non-compete, not a patent.

Living in a world of paranoia and fear as you describe must be crippling!

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/221/ 2014-09-29T22:11:52Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67328/#p67328 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> cmetzel wrote:

surprises me

I would have welcomed it. Most of my competition has actually purchased a Filastruder, presumably with the intent of reverse engineering it. I have seen several aspects of my design show up in the designs of my competition. That is fine by me. To be honest most of the value in Filastruder is the name (which didn't hold much value in the beta stage) and the list of my suppliers (which is a trade secret, not patentable). I mean, some of my competition has stolen pictures (of Filastruder accessories) off my website - thievery is not limited to design aspects.

For me, making more than I need to keep a roof over my head is just icing on the cake. I'd rather see innovation and new ideas from other people than I would more dollars in my bank account.

I say this as someone that does work under NDA, having a lot to do with patents and very cutting edge technology - work that has nothing to do with 3D printing. Of course my personal views are not always reflected by those I work with in industry, and I respect the desires of those who I consult for - but I'm well versed on this from all angles.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/221/ 2014-09-29T22:08:04Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67327/#p67327 <![CDATA[Re: Print the legend]]> elmoret wrote:

cmetzel, I don't think you realize that a published patent does more to give away your idea than it does to protect it...

The patent for me would be protection for long enough to sell the rights to my idea.  I'm not interested in being a manufacturer.  I have too many other obligations that are more important to me to be chasing around a 90 hour a week company startup.  The company that I license to could chase around all the legal issues. 

First to market and best to market play an important role, but some of the products I have are just changes to existing products that take it in a different direction.  It would get copied and stolen before I could get the first one for sale.  It's the very reason I bought the 3d printer in the first place so I didn't have to trust my IP to a prototype shop.

]]> https://www.soliforum.com/user/78/ 2014-09-29T22:04:57Z https://www.soliforum.com/post/67326/#p67326