Few weeks ago, we published a well-known statistic which however results shocking every time we see it. Around 95% of patents end up being worthless because they don’t justify the costs of patenting. While the costs of filing and registering a patent may seem low and worth the shot for many people, still remember that there is no “patent police” which means you are responsible for enforcing your patent and this has its own cost. So how to make the difference between ideas that belong to the 95% and those good ideas that belong to the 5%?
Nowadays even patent law firms and attorneys advise their clients to do a bit of research and not make patent filing the first move towards starting a new business. First of all, you need to ask yourself if your idea is really new. For this you need to do a bit of patent search either yourself, or by an attorney. Then you have to understand that it is much easier to get the patent after you build the product prototype, than securing a patent and then trying to build the prototype. There are many unknowns in the process, so be careful in this step. Next you have to do some business calculations. Start by defining your target market and perform research on the cost of manufacturing and the predicted price of your product. You can even ask friends or family on how much they are prepared to pay explaining the qualities it offers.
Only after you have performed these steps you should consider about filing for registration in order to turn your idea into a profitable business. Patent protection offers the best benefits for your valuable ideas whichever way you want to go, either by producing everything yourself or license & sell the patent to other companies that can be highly interested.