- Posted by: Robert DeBardeleben
- Category: Design
Inventors Trust Your Design Firm!
Though not the largest side of our client projects, our most common product design business comes from the invention side. We provide our services to inventors, start-ups, corporations and government agencies. I would like to share some thoughts and talk about inventions in hopes this will help those of you that need this advice. Most inventors are exploring their first experience with product design and development. There is a TON of information from online forums, TV advertisements, and other websites that target the invention business. Unfortunately, nearly all of that information comes from other people that gleaned their information from reading the same or other forums. Internet trolls getting their expertise from other internet trolls.
Our team has been designing inventions for nearly 40 years and in some cases and to a certain extent they have even driven the industry’s processes as the invention industry has grown and matured. The most common points of confusion come from the need to reveal the invention, what that invention idea is worth, and the processes to convert that invention concept into a viable product. I will address each of those concerns.
The Non-Disclosure agreement is the worldwide standard for sharing an invention idea or other proprietary information. There is plenty of online forum critics of the NDA process. Some say they are worthless. To those internet experts I ask if they are worthless, then why do the largest corporations and government agencies use them! Disclosing the idea of the invention is essential to getting the idea from the inventor’s head and into the realm of those persons the inventor needs to realize their dream.
The Non-Disclosure agreement is the worldwide standard for sharing an invention idea or other proprietary information. There is plenty of online forum critics of the NDA process. Some say they are worthless. To those internet experts I ask if they are worthless, then why do the largest corporations and government agencies use them! Disclosing the idea of the invention is essential to getting the idea from the inventor’s head and into the realm of those persons the inventor needs to realize their dream. However, if the inventor has every skill needed to not just create the idea but to design it, engineer it, prototype it, patent it, manufacture it, and market it then the NDA is not needed. Personally I have never met one person that can do all those things. It takes a village as they say!
I have encountered many inventors that truly believe their invention is the next new widget that will revolutionize the world’s society and economy. I admire that passion, and that sort of passion is what it takes to keep pushing the idea through every obstacle one will encounter as the idea develops into a commercialized product. But paranoia (a reluctance to share the idea through the NDA process) will derail every invention whether a good idea or not. I work with several patent attorneys on a regular basis and I have heard similar stories about the inventor paranoia. One patent lawyer even told me that one of her clients was so obsessive that he wouldn’t reveal the invention and yet still wanted a patent filed on the invention that he wouldn’t reveal!
Inventors please STOP reading from forums and get an NDA in place and trust the people that will help you be successful! Without them, your invention will wallow around like a fish out of water and never see the light of day. You must STOP thinking that everyone is out to steal your idea! I call this “Inventor-itis”.
What is an invention idea worth? Well, without the help of those skilled experts you will utilize to see the idea become reality, your invention idea is worth nothing! Sorry to break the news to you but ideas are a dime a dozen, and what has the real value is the idea put into practice. News for inventors: NO ONE WANTS TO STEAL YOUR IDEA!
Each step that you go through adds value to the invention. An invention increases in value as it starts to mature, taking on form and function through the design and engineering process. Many invention ideas are so outlandish as to violate the laws of physics! The process of design and engineering will evolve the invention idea into something that is not just a dream but something that is physically possible to create and one that will still perform the desired function or the nearest function that is physically plausible. Now you have REAL VALUE!
The product development process is well defined through logical steps. I do see online there are various opinions what those steps are. This is where some inventors fail. I have encountered inventors that have become experts at the product development process through forms. While each design firm may have slight variations, the process is still a logical one based on the physics of any product. Once you, the inventor, settles on the firm you prefer to do your development, you must let them drive the process.
As I mentioned, failure is a pretty big option here. My firm has experienced the occasional inventor that demands a certain process based on their online research. This causes a costly disruption to the steps we have developed over 40 years and thousands of examples perfecting the product development process. Not trusting your design firm that you hired for their expertise, is a certain recipe for failure.
Inventors please sit back, relax and let your design firm drive your product from concept through to manufacturing and even sales and marketing. This is your first foray into product development so don’t try to tell them they are doing it wrong! This is the trust you must develop with your firm as they will have your best interest in mind and ultimately be the least expensive path to see your dream become a reality.
Robert DeBardeleben