Helping inventors commercialise inventions
I have been helping inventors, both private and from companies, for nearly 20 years as a patents expert at the British Library. The Library’s Business & IP Centre offers free access to the UK’s most comprehensive collection of business and intellectual property (IP) information, including around 53 million patent specifications, unique databases on trade marks and registered designs.
However, in all my years of offering advice I’ve noticed that the same mistakes and preconceptions turn up again and again. You can certainly learn from experience, but it is better to plan carefully the process of commercialising an invention. Here are my suggestions to guide the lone entrepreneur on demystifying the patenting process.
1. Employ a balanced perspective to seeking advice. Don't give away details of your invention, and do use confidentiality agreements, but don't be paranoid either. The other day someone seeking my help would only tell me that the invention involved “technology”.
Some companies will not sign agreements. Procter and Gamble claim to source half their innovation from outside, and prefer to buy out inventors. The reason is that few are so well-rounded that they can develop, make and market the product. Be prepared to use others to help with production and marketing.
2. Always check to see if someone has already published details of the invention. Many say to me that they haven’t seen it in the shops. That’s useful, but it’s not enough.
3. Visit institutions like the Library’s Business & IP Centre to carry out market research to identify the nature and size of the market for your product. Many inventions I hear of have a very limited market. If possible try to estimate production costs and cost per unit. Have figures at your finger tips when you meet possible backers.
4. Always be business like in dress, punctuality and in dealing with paperwork. Call yourself a designer, not an inventor, to avoid the “mad scientist” reaction. Don’t break agreements: you wouldn't like it if the other side did so, yet some inventors delight in telling me that they went back on contracts at the last minute.
5. Take off the rose tinted glasses! Many inventors, especially first-timers, fall in love with their invention. The problem is that the business person on the other side of the desk is interested in making a profit, not in how clever you are, or your need to support your family.
6. Spell out how they can make money out of your invention, and begin by explaining the benefits of the product to them. For example, “You can reduce wastage by 20% with this product yet it costs the same as similar products in the sector.” Don’t expect delight if your invention involves tearing down assembly lines, which happened when compact discs replaced cassettes.
7. Remember that the person on the other side of the table also wants to make money. Be aware, and sensible, about production and distribution costs, and about markups/ profits: 4% is usually the top royalty available on the retail price for inventions. Many inventors expect to be showered with money, and a common question is to ask how large a royalty is expected. I often ask inventors if they would sell all rights for a million pounds: few inventors say yes, and one angrily told me that such an offer would cheat him. Not so, if you accept it.
8. Get a lawyer to sit with you when contracts are being negotiated. You are unlikely to be an expert on contract law. In his book ‘Against the odds’, James Dyson tells how he mistook the wholesale price for the retail price when negotiating a Japanese contract, so that his royalties were well below what he expected.
9. Finally, join networking groups to learn more about business and innovation. You can learn a lot by just listening.
The Business & IP Centre hosts the UK’s largest freely accessible collection of business and intellectual property information and is an invaluable resource for businesses. To inspire you and help you make best use of the Centre, we offer a range of workshops and events. Access to the British Library’s Business & IP Centre is free. Users need a Reader’s Pass, for more information visit: www.bl.uk/bipc
Steve van Dulken is a member of the Research Service, which supports the Business & Intellectual Property Centre www.bl.uk/bipc at the British Library with the customised research needed by companies of all sizes to support their business activities.
To contact Steve or a member of the Research Services team with a business enquiry please e-mail research@bl.uk with the subject field listed as ‘The Venturer IP Column’.
