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Do you have an idea for a great new invention that will change the course of human history? Maybe you have something cute or fun that kids will like, or a new tool that will make hanging pictures easier to do. No matter what kind of invention you might have, you can easily make money with it if it is genuinely marketable. It might be the next big craze like the Hula-Hoop, the Frisbee, or some television infomercial item that sells to millions. The biggest thing is coming up with something that has not yet been created.

So many people have gone on to make money with their great inventions. If you are sure your new item works for the task it was created, can be reproduced easily to make millions of units, and can sell at a reasonable price for what it does, you have a winning creation ready for the world to enjoy. While some things are more technical than others to create, use what you know to make something you are sure will be a hit. Do not waste your time trying to reinvent the wheel, but come up with something unique to ensure originality. Maybe you have had an invention of your own that you have used personally for years and never thought of marketing it. Now might be the time to pull that thing out of your old shop or garage and show it to the world. The ability to make money easily with it could not hurt, and even if others find it not as useful as you have, you have little to lose by trying to market it, and a lot to gain.

How much can you make from your invention?
The exact amount you can expect from your invention depends on risk levels and who takes on that risk.
These questions can help determine the numbers:

The larger your payments and royalties, the more the inventor spends to get the invention to the market. More precise figures can be determined by comparing the gross profit per unit of expected market size and the life cycle of the product. If you know that the product does not last long, it helps everyone make smart long-term decisions.

Making money from your invention- The process to ensure your invention makes you money

A long-term invention is safe for investment, while a short-term invention can be a profitable fashion and then disappear – at least if you get the timing right. If you have an idea for an invention, you might be the next in a long line of success stories. Make sure your idea is completely original, even if you do not think someone has already invented it, do some research. Do a lot of research, because you might end up wasting a lot of time on an idea that is already been patented, but if your idea has not already been patented and is worth it, then you are ready to make a lot of money from your invention. Once you ensure that your idea is unique, you have some options to choose from.

Invention contests –
This is not the best way to make money with an invention as there is not any guarantee that you will earn anything. If you have a good idea, and you want to make money with it, then you should make it happen on your own. Do not just throw your ideas out there and hope that someone pulls your name out of a drawing. Sometimes in these contests, they will send the ideas straight to companies and ignore the actual contest. With that being said, there are inventing contests that yield a very high monetary reward, as well as getting your invention out there.

Patenting –
If you think that you have an excellent idea, one thing you need to think about is whether you want to patent it or not. When you patent your invention, you are preventing other people from copying and utilizing your product. If you are planning on selling your product to a company, it is very essential that you patent your idea. Many companies will not even consider working with you if you have not patented your idea. Having a patent on your invention will give you full rights to do what you want to do with it. You can sell your patent as a whole to another company or person, or you can sell it partially.

You could end up spending altogether for the cost of a search fee, filing fee, examination fee, publication fee, and an issue fee which turns out to add up to $1,500-$2,500 to have your invention patented. However, if you pay all of these fees, then you do not have the possibility of consulting a qualified professional patent attorney. However, if you use the services of a patent attorney, then you could end up paying anywhere from $6,000-$11,000. So many people prefer to get a patent on their own to avoid spending that much money.

Licensing your patent –
Be sure that you understand you need to license your patent rights and not your invention. You have to have a patent or have to have applied for a patent to get any licensing. Licensing your patent is a four-step process. You first need to find manufacturers. You should find 30-100 manufacturers that want products similar to yours. Next, you need to prepare your marketing materials. This would involve making a professional brochure or a marketing letter. It would help if you make a website for your product and your marketing materials. Next, you need to turn in your marketing materials to the manufacturers, and then discuss your licensing. When it comes to discussing the licensing, you should hire an experienced attorney. When it comes time to sell your idea, you should make a prototype. This is a great way to explain the true key points of your product. You can use outside help to make your prototype, or you can do it yourself.

A great way to get tips on becoming a successful inventor is to meet other inventors who will help you understand what it takes and how to get your name and products out there.

It is obvious that with every new innovation, there are always companies waiting in the wings to copy that idea and make money on it. If this is to be avoided, it will be necessary to lodge that idea so that no one can steal the plan or idea before the owner brings it to the market. For a list of available experts, look for “patent marketing services” on the internet which should give you some idea of what is available.

Making use of a patent marketing service enables you to draw up a draft of the plan or idea in such a way that it is obvious that no one else has thought of the idea yet. This is not an easy task as the draft may have to be redone several times before it is accepted for registering. Even they do not necessarily get their qualifications the first time that they sit for them, and since this training is expensive, they will surely pass this cost on to the consumer who needs their services.

As an example of this, the first draft which is registered, if it is a simple one, starts at around seven thousand dollars. To maintain it, the fees will come into play about three and a half years after the first registration. But the goodness of doing all this is that it will be protected for about seventeen years which means that the one who thought it up will not lose out. If the idea hits big time as they often do, they could stand to make millions out of the idea so it must be protected at all costs. Even famous logos are now protected to prevent others from manufacturing products and then establishing that brand. Of course, the originating company could stand to lose many millions, and get a bad reputation to boot if the goods are substandard, over the course of a year or two. Once the copyright has been registered, the company can sue anyone who tries to influence their product. The public is also protected to some extent because the resulting publicity will surely warn anyone who pays attention to these fakes and avoids them, as they can even be unsafe.

For those people who think that they are wise enough to work this kind of paper out for themselves, they may want to reconsider. Because it is a complicated way of registering, any mistakes that they make may give the competition a loophole to produce the same goods but with some slight changes. Then they will not have to pay even the license fee to the owner of the idea, and they will get away with it quite cheaply. So anyone who has found a great idea or product, or developed it over some years, should have the good sense to get it registered as soon as possible. Those who delay, or take a risk, will often end up losing out on something that they may have worked very hard for.

What a Patent Marketing Plan Provides

A marketing plan will help guide you through the large project ahead of you. The process of selling your invention idea is long and can often be frightening, but a marketing plan can help you feel more secure and less overwhelmed. Due to the relatively long sale process of your invention, a marketing plan will keep you on the right track.

Like a business plan, a patent marketing plan will act as a way of convincing companies to invest in an invention. Your marketing plan will be a means to show the research you want to create to the companies to which you want to sell your patent. The research provides evidence of how your invention fits into the market and generates profits. Companies will often be interested in how your product fits into their business, and an explanation of this can also be included in a patent marketing plan.
Selling your invention is an entrepreneurial process that most inventors are probably not familiar with, and a marketing plan can simplify the business process. Research and analyzes can reveal what companies you should approach to potentially do business with. By knowing which companies make similar products, you can identify many of the factors that determine the success of your product.

What a Patent Marketing Plan Should Include:

Executive Summary
The first thing that should be included in a marketing plan is the executive summary. As its name implies, this is a summary of everything in your marketing plan.

Product and Market Analysis
The next section more specifically explains and analyzes the product description and the competition and target market analysis. You may choose to break down your product design by describing the advantages of its size, weight, classification, materials, shape, color, etc.

Marketing Plan
The last section is your marketing plan, which describes the series of steps you must follow to succeed with your invention. This should incorporate the interests of the manufacturer and how they will be involved. You should also include a list of companies that may be interested in buying your patented invention and how it will expand your business. You should outline any unique steps you would have to to get your product to the market.

Time and Cost of a Patent
The average time to get a patent depends upon the type of patent you want. There are design patents and utility patents. The design patents are easier to obtain and therefore are shorter in time and less expensive. The utility patents need to have the claims that you are asking to be explained to distinguish your idea from others. These are what enable the patent office to say that the concept is unique and worthy of a patent. They take about two years to finalize. Part of the reason for the lengthy process is the overload of applications the patent office receives. The cost to have a lawyer apply and finalize a patent varies depending upon whether it is a design patent or utility patent. A design patent can range from $500 to $800, and a utility patent can range from $5,000 to $20,000, depending upon the complexity of the concept.