[...]... decision, proceed to Chapter 3 to learn how to define and develop your idea.) If you are a typical inventor, you will probably want to license your invention and collect royalties, or even sell it outright I ll call this person the “inventorfor-royalties.” Licensing is a simpler, less-expensive route than manufacturing and selling your invention All you’ll need is to find the right people to review your. .. Market Your Invention .3/29 3/2 J ALL I NEED IS MONEY: HOW TO FINANCE YOUR INVENTION ust as a plot is not a novel, an idea for an invention is not an invention Until you can communicate the details of how your idea works by showing it in sketches and written specifications and instructions, all you have is a great idea And ideas—adjusted for inflation— are a dollar a dozen nowadays I frequently... “licensee.” What makes a license appealing—assuming it is the “right” license is that the licensee assumes all of the business risks, from manufacturing to marketing to stopping those who infringe on the product’s patents 2/4 ALL I NEED IS MONEY: HOW TO FINANCE YOUR INVENTION The licensing inventor sits by the mailbox and waits for the quarterly royalty checks Unlike a license, an assignment is a permanent transfer... licensing, but the price that is paid personally and financially can be disastrous Charting Your Course Your success in gaining finance depends on your intellectual honesty in analyzing your inventor personality This is not a trivial concept Keep in mind that even if you determine that you are a pure inventor, some degree of enterprise is still required I don’t mean that you will to turn the idea into a success,... creating what is called the lockstitch But even with a precise definition, a prototype, and sufficient investment, Howe was unable to successfully market his invention In other words, even though his machine was innovative, it did not take the sewing machine to its predictable end as a marketable invention That was accomplished by Isaac Singer, who built the first commercially successful sewing machine In... Entrepreneurial inventors become involved in more complex financing than an inventor-for-royalties—for example, selling shares of stock (or other interests) in the business and invention To some extent, your decision is influenced by your invention Certain innovations, because of their complexity, scope, or exorbitant cost of produc- tion, may lend themselves to licensing Often, however, the decision is based... one-time payment or continuing payments called royalties Your power to make this kind of agreement is based on the premise that you control the patent (or other legal rights) to your invention Think of a license as giving a company permission to use your patent As owner of the invention, you will always be the “licensor,” and the party receiving the license for your invention is called the “licensee.”... be in place either to attract the investment or as a condition of the institutional funding There are obvious dissimilarities between bank loans and venture capital Angel financing refers to private financing, specifically individuals willing to finance speculative ventures with higher-thanusual risk (The term “angel” originated on Broadway to cover investors in stage shows, which are almost always high-risk... used to design your future product, make a prototype, and protect the invention with a utility 1/4 ALL I NEED IS MONEY: HOW TO FINANCE YOUR INVENTION patent Be prepared; the prototype expenses may balloon if your invention is complicated—for example, an electromechanical device prototype may exceed $35,000 Sometimes seed money is also used to create a business entity—for example, to form a corporation—that... manufacturing and marketing your invention yourself In the case of licensing, what’s usually required is money to patent your invention, create a prototype (or other suitable presentation to potential licensees), develop marketing materials, and, perhaps, solicit and negotiate with potential licensees On the positive side, a successful licensing WILL YOU LICENSE OR MANUFACTURE? deal will free up an inventor . consult an attorney licensed to practice in your state. NOLO please note 1st edition All I Need Is Money How to Finance Your Invention by Jack Lander FIRST EDITION MAY 2005 Editor RICH STIM Book. $15,000] Seed money is commonly used to design your future product, make a prototype, and protect the invention with a utility 1/4 ALL I NEED IS MONEY: HOW TO FINANCE YOUR INVENTION patent. Be. & Cover Design TERRI HEARSH Proofreading JOE SADUSKY Index BAYSIDE INDEXING SERVICE Printing CONSOLIDATED PRINTERS, INC. Lander, Jack. All I Need is money : how to finance your invention / by Jack