I've an idea !

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124fan

Active Member
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Nov 13, 2005
Messages
192
Car
1997 C250TD auto / 2013 VW Golf 2.0 tdi DSG
Hi folks,

I was watching TV a few nights back and an idea came to me that I feel is brill ... I think all cars will have this in the future, but I don't know what to do / where to go with my idea ! I know I'm not in a position to do it myself, what should I do / see?

Thanks folks I know I'll get some sensible ideas from here

TIA

Cheers

:thumb:
 
Thank you, I've dropped them an email. Its such a simple idea I don't know why its not already out there! I'm so excited.

Cheers

:)
 
I suspect you'll need to pay for a UK and European patent search first to see if anyone else is already sitting on the same idea.
 
Bit disappointed with their reply ... 'There is no provision for the protection of ideas or concepts within the scope of Intellectual Property'

So I'm still open to ideas ...

Cheers

:dk:
 
So it seems you need to develop your idea in to a technical specification to then take out a patent.

I've read quite a few patents and they can be very general indeed.
 
I guess so ... thankyou for your valued help.

Cheers

:)
 
I hold a couple of US patents associated with Auto Business modelling...

The first two hurdles in obtaining a patent in any jurisdiction are novelty and inventiveness. In other words it has to be new, and it must not be something blindingly obvious to someone with knowledge and expertise in the subject area.

The IPO will do a free basic assessment for you - be prepared to spend considerable time and money if it is patentable.

If you can get a patent - great. But not having one doesn't prevent you from developing the idea - protection through CDAs is pretty robust (I work inside CDAs and NDAs all the time) and can allow for basic ideas to be developed and researched into marketable (and potentially patentable) products.

Mine are lodged in the US as they will patent unique business process and modelling techniques which, I believe, they won't do here in the UK. Fortunately my company ran the process and, as they own the IP rights to what I do in work anyway, I don't receive any royalties (but did get a nice bonus :) ) I've also had a number rejected on the inventability test - if it's a truely blindingly obvious idea then it'll fall down there. For example, I developed a simulation game to introduce lean processes and concepts into Auto OEM design. Although new and (I thought) clever, the concepts were obvious to someone with lean process expertise. So the game materials are copyrighted instead which provides a certain amount of IP protection.

I hope it goes well for you.
 
Thank you Mr E for that ... I'm afraid all I have is the idea, I still believe its brill and it will eventually be mainstream for all vehicles. But as I do not have the time nor know how to take it further, I'll just thave to wait for someone else to think of it :doh:

Cheers

:)
 
Thank you Mr E for that ... I'm afraid all I have is the idea, I still believe its brill and it will eventually be mainstream for all vehicles. But as I do not have the time nor know how to take it further, I'll just thave to wait for someone else to think of it :doh:

Cheers

:)

well if you really do think its that good you should put some effort into developing the idea, atleast getting it to a state where it can be patented. if you really do believe your idea going to be the mainstream for all vehicles then there will be a lot of money to be made, and i wish you the best of luck with it.

have you done any research on whether this idea has been looked at before?

if all you've really done is send a quick email and got a negative response and are now giving up, then, to me that says the idea isnt really that strong or you dont truly believe in it.
 
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well if you really do think its that good you should put some effort into developing the idea, atleast getting it to a state where it can be patented. if you really do believe your idea going to be the mainstream for all vehicles then there will be a lot of money to be made, and i wish you the best of luck with it.

have you done any research on whether this idea has been looked at before?

I'm afraid I have no experience of developing anything this size, and so far i can't find were anything like it has been discussed.

My father had a friend years back that went bust and nearly mad trying to protect/ develope an idea he had ... and it was eventually stolen from him and made someone else a lot of money.

I've emailed someone I met in the motor manufacturing industry, perhaps they can point me in someones direction.

Cheers

:thumb:
 
if all you've really done is send a quick email and got a negative response and are now giving up, then, to me that says the idea isnt really that strong or you dont truly believe in it.

Or perhaps I'm just too busy with whats on my plate or maybe just plain lazy.

Cheers

:thumb:
 
I've emailed someone I met in the motor manufacturing industry, perhaps they can point me in someones direction.

i hope you didnt tell him your idea :doh:

i wish you all the best of luck with it anyway. if you do really believe its that good then please try and pursue it, maybe by support by other interested parties? definatly dont give up on the idea before you've exhausted all avenues. however big it may be i am sure there is some way of approaching whoever deals with whatever you're idea relates to, but i know nothing about that sort of thing.

obviously its impossible to know how big the idea is - for all i know we could be talking about something that sits in or on the dashboard or a whole new way of running the car vs standard engine etc.
 
I used to work for a medium size automotive Tier 1, ~£500m turnover ~7000 people.
They would take out patents which were then stolen by OEMs.
The OEM would simply say if you want to win any business from us in the future you'll have to accept the situation. It was also doubtful whether my company could afford any legal costs even if they wanted to take action.
It's a dog eat dog world and even holding a patent will not always protect you.
 
Thanks folks for all the support, I had a reply back from him, much the same as we've already came up with, 'get a patent'

Sadly I've only just got the idea and need the experts to make it happen.

I'll be out of the country for a few weeks, so I'll ponder over my options!

Thanks again ...

Cheers

:)
 
Thank you Mr E for that ... I'm afraid all I have is the idea, I still believe its brill and it will eventually be mainstream for all vehicles. But as I do not have the time nor know how to take it further, I'll just thave to wait for someone else to think of it :doh:

Cheers

:)

Can you sketch out the idea on paper and/or describe it's manufacture and operation? That is all you would need to do.

Don't give up on it too easily :)
 
Be careful who you disclose the idea to.

My dad came up with a very simple but useful idea when I was just a lad, and together we drew up some plans, and got a friend of my dads to fabricate some prototypes to prove the concept.

Black & Decker were an obvious company that would market such a product, and so he contacted them, sharing the fundamental principles of what it was and how it worked.

They replied to say they weren't interested. A couple of years later they marketed the exact same product.

You live and learn.

So anyway, tell us, what's the idea??!! You're secret's safe with us!! :D
 
tell me and I can help......
 

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