Forum Discussion

Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
14 years ago

Some questions regarding an idea I have...

Hello all,

I am new to the forum, and was doing a quick search of automotive safety forums and found this one. Now, my question is, how would I go about presenting an idea for vehicle safety that I have come up with in order to see profit from such an idea? I have no background in designing anything automotive or any experience with design tools. I'm merely a guy with what I think is a good idea, and could see this idea being used in future vehicles all around the world. The work involved, I would think, would be relatively simple to design.

Am I pretty much needing to find someone I trust or just come up with the design and prototype myself, or is there a way to actually present ones idea to individuals while still reserving some rights to it?

Any help with going about this would be wonderful.

-J Mc

4 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    14 years ago

    i don't have any useful advice for you, though your story reminds me of the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/robert_kearns

    if you are serious you should talk to a patent attorney and look into building a prototype. it won't be cheap
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    14 years ago

    Thanks for the input! When you say "won't be cheap", do you have an estimated figure of about how much it might cost? Granted, you don't know exactly what i'm going to be designing...but if I think it's worth it, I might just try to find an attorney.

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    14 years ago

    i have no experience with filing patents, but the number that sticks in my head is around $10k

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    14 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    Thanks for the input! When you say "won't be cheap", do you have an estimated figure of about how much it might cost? Granted, you don't know exactly what i'm going to be designing...but if I think it's worth it, I might just try to find an attorney.

    --- Quote End ---

    This will put you off the patent system http://www.tinaja.com/patnt01.shtml. Unless you have deep pockets to defend your patent then you may think twice about going down that path.

    If you have a good idea that can be encapsulated into some software and hardware your best insurance is to make sure your IP can't be copied and get your product out to market as quickly as possible because no copy protection is full proof. Automotive companies are renown for paying virtually nothing for the components they use so economies of scale apply here.

    EPLD's are great for copy protection but unfortunately some of the older devices have been compromised and can be copied if you are willing to pay someone to do it.

    regards