Inventions and innovations are what has kept us alive throughout history. And if history is anything to go by, then we have not stopped inventing, nor will we ever stop.
It takes a lot of steps to turn an idea into an invention and realize its potential to humanity, take the The-BitcoinPro.com system as an example. In this article, we are going to tell you the life cycle of an invention and tell you all about how to turn an idea into reality.
Contents
1. Document Your Idea
There is saying amongst people who preoccupy their time inventing stuff. The saying goes “poor man’s patent” and it refers to the act of not having proof of your own idea. The first step towards patenting your idea is to have proof that the idea is yours. A lot of people were mailing their ideas to themselves in order to have dated proof of the conception of their ideas. However, this will hold very little in court, and it is very unreliable. One way to document your idea is to have it written down in a journal. You would then have the journal signed by a witness, which shows proof of conception. If you are truly passionate about this invention of yours, then this journal will be your bible, so make sure you keep it well hidden from other people.
Source: Forbes
2. The Research Part
Now comes the research part, and this part consist of two points. The first point is to complete an initial patent search. What this will allow you to do is see if your idea has already been realized, or not. According to techtimes.com, the researching part is the most important part as you wouldn’t want to go through the trouble of inventing something that’s already been created. The second point of the research part is to research your market or field of expertise. Before you go and start creating new inventions that will improve humanity, you must see if your invention will sell or if it will truly improve someone’s life. At least 95% of all inventions have brought no profits to inventors, so researching the market for the need of your invention is the second most important part of the research part.
3. Make a Prototype
If your idea has not been invented yet, and if the market or field of expertise has shown positive signs, then it’s time to make a prototype of your invention. A prototype model of your invention puts everything in your journal to the table, and it puts everything to practice. This part can be rather tricky as it could take you some time before you create the perfect prototype, as most inventions are prone to mistakes and re-designing. You should always start by drawing a sketch of your ideas. Next up is to create a concept mockup and a 3-D model of your invention, and the last part is to create the prototype model from all the data compiled over the previous two parts.
Source: United IPR
4. Filing a Patent
Filing a patent for your invention is the hardest part of the entire process. There are two patents you can file, a utility patent or a design patent. But before you do any of that, you must first consult with a patent professional and a patent lawyer in order to not have your patent stolen by someone who looks into finding loopholes. Patent attorneys and professionals can cost you a bit of money, but they are your best option for not losing your invention.
5. Give it Life
You’ve done everything right so far, and now it’s time to create the invention. For this, you will need to answer a lot of questions, and you do that by building a business plan. Where will you get the money from, how will you get the money, where will your invention be manufactured, how will you sell it, etc., are all questions that need to be answered before you start. As soon as you’ve got that covered, it’s time to create your invention. Do be aware as most inventions take years before they are being offered to the market, so do understand that patience always pays off, and you will need a lot of it.
The most important thing to remember is that most inventions fail, and out of those who make it, most don’t bring profits. Inventing is a delicate thing that requires a lot of thinking, and it involves a lot of sleepless nights.
