Will It Sell?TM
How to Determine If Your Invention Is Profitably Marketable
(Before Wasting Money on a Patent)

Table of Contents

                 (Links to excerpts should be underlined.)
Contents

 About the Book  . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1 . . 1
   Crass Commercialism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
   Inventor's First Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
   Not About Marketing—It's About Getting There  . . . . 2
   Self-Opinion  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
   Negative Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
   The Individual Inventor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
   Inventor or Entrepreneur? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
   Step Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
   Not Edison? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
   Rules "Guarantee" Success, Right? . . . . . . . . . . 9
   The (Ugly?) Origins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
   Inventor Stories  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   A Patent Means Success, Right?  . . . . . . . . . .  11
   Internet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   Specific Numeric Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   Communication Skills  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   Homework  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   My Communication Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   Join Them Rather than Try to Blame Them . . . . . .  18
   Preachin' Ain't Stop't Sinnin'  . . . . . . . . . .  19
   Dry Wit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20

 What is a Patentable Invention? . . . . Chapter 2 . .  21
   Patents Are Granted For...  . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   What the USPTO Really Does  . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
   Patentable? Commercial? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25

 What is a Profitably Marketable Invention? . Chapter 3 27
   Will it Sell? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
   Everyday Ideas  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28

 Steps for Idea Development  . . . . . . Chapter 4 . .  31
   The Easy Rules First  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
   Patent Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
   "STOP IF" Issues  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
   "THIN ICE" Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35

   STEP 0—Seek the Alternatives ALREADY on the Market.  36
     What's the Problem? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
     Does Your Invention SOLVE the Problem?  . . . . .  37
     Go Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
     Any Competing Solutions?  . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
     How You Are Perceived . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
     "Gimme That Hammer!"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40
     "Fixing" the Problem  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  41
     Check Thoroughly  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
     How Do You Compare? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
     What a Killer Step  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  45

   STEP 1—Ask People and Critically Examine Their
       Responses.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  50
     Disclosure Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  50
     "Cheaper" Alternatives  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  50
     The "Snicker Test"  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  51
     An Elevator Speech? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
     Industry Jargon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  53
     A Model Is Worth 1000 Words . . . . . . . . . . .  54
     Get Expert Opinions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  55
     Is It Real, Or Is It Your Memory  . . . . . . . .  57
     What a Gut Wrenching Step . . . . . . . . . . . .  58
     Idea Theft  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  59

   STEP 2—Get a professional, Reputable, Marketing
       Evaluation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  63
     Do A Patent Search Yourself . . . . . . . . . . .  63
     University Evaluations  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  66
     Marketing Firm Evaluations  . . . . . . . . . . .  68
     Other Firm Evaluations  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  69
     Self Evaluations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  70

   STEP 3—What Will It Cost to Produce
       (Approximately)?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  74
     Margins, Profit & Contribution  . . . . . . . . .  75
     "Costs" From the Store Shelf  . . . . . . . . . .  77
     Should You Bother a Manufacturer? . . . . . . . .  78
     Finding a Manufacturer  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  79
     Look Professional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  81
     The Fax (Mostly)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  83
     Quotes & Bids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  84
     I'm an OEM? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  85
     Can't (Or Won't) Get Manufacturer Quotes? . . . .  86
     Evaluate—Again? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  87
     Quick & Dirty Business Plan . . . . . . . . . . .  88
     Success Stands a Chance . . . . . . . . . . . . .  90

 Steps for Product Development . . . . . Chapter 5 . .  94
   Have Some Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  94
   Licensing Alternatives  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  94

   STEP 4—Fully Design and Refine Your Product . . . .  94
     Simplify  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  95
     Try Restating the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . .  96
     Evaluate Yet Again  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  98
     A Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
     Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
     Finally, A Prototype  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
     Rapid Prototyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
     Problems With Manufacturers . . . . . . . . . . . 104
     The Cat's Meow  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
     Cost Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
     Design & Engineering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
     Design References List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
     Familiarize a Patent Attorney With the Prototype  109
     Take Charge of the Patent Process . . . . . . . . 112
     Not Patentable? So what!  . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

   STEP 5—Sell a Few of Your Product . . . . . . . . . 118
     Provisional Application for Patent Misconceptions.122
     Make a Real Batch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
     Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
     Patent Pending  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
     Liability Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
     Market Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
     Price Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
     Should I Go On? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
     Alternatives to Retail Test Marketing . . . . . . 135
     Trade Shows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
     A Business Focus Group  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
     How Many Mistakes Can You Make? . . . . . . . . . 137
     Last Gasp Marketing-Make it a Promotional Item  . 138

   STEP 6—Create the Marketing Materials and GO! . . . 142
     Real U.S. Patent—and PCT? . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
     Do You Infringe?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
     Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
     Liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

   STEP 7—Keep an Eye On the Competition . . . . . . . 154

 Pitfalls to Avoid . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 6 . . 155
   1. Free invention evaluation services.  . . . . . . 155
   2. Starting with a patent attorney. . . . . . . . . 156
   3. Expecting to just license it and collect
        royalties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
   4. Forgetting to do expected return calculations. . 160
   5. Ignoring industry rules. . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
   6. Approaching tough markets. . . . . . . . . . . . 162
   7. Believing in improving the retailer's percentage 163
   8. Hiring hungry help.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
   9. Waiting for financiers, marketers, etc. to
        appear.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
   10. Telling everyone who might help all about you.  167

 Before You Enter the Marketplace  . . . Chapter 7 . . 168
   Trademarks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
   Marketing Item List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
   Marketing References List . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

 Marketing 101 (Abridged)  . . . . . . Chapter 8 . . . 178
   Find a need and fill it.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
   Determining Market Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
   Census Numbers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
   Mailing List Numbers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
   Conservative Market Penetration Estimating  . . . . 189
   Other Market Statistics Sources . . . . . . . . . . 194
   Media directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
   Primary research  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
   Inside secrets  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
   Psychographic Categories  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
   The Rules of the Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
   A Couple of Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

 Advertising Claims for Your Invention . Chapter 9 . . 211
   No Lies Please  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
   You Gotta Know Your Limitations—The FTC . . . . . . 212
   Objective Claims  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
   Fuzzy Qualifiers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
   Owning the Patent Is Enough?  . . . . . . . . . . . 216
   Your Very Own Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

 Getting Professional Help . . . . . .  Chapter 10 . . 219
   You Pay For It  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
   Patent Attorneys or Patent Agents . . . . . . . . . 220
   Non-Disclosures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
   Engineers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
   University Experts  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
   Marketers and Licensing Agents. . . . . . . . . . . 224
   Fixed Payment vs A Percent  . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

 Getting Free(?) Help  . . . . . . . .  Chapter 11 . . 226
   Good Intentions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
   Agreement Issues  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
   Binding Arbitration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

 Contacting James E. White & Assoc.  .  Chapter 12 . . 232
   The Customer's Best Interests . . . . . . . . . . . 232
   Compensation IS Expected  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
   The Offers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
   Marketing Often Looks Easy  . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
   Guest Speaking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

 Doing your own Patent Search  . . . .  Chapter 13 . . 239
   Find All Probable Classification(s) First . . . . . 239
   Look at Patents to be Certain . . . . . . . . . . . 243
   Visit a PTDL  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
   The Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
   Classification "Dot" Hierarchy  . . . . . . . . . . 246
   Check the Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
   Digests, X-Art Collections, and Change Orders . . . 249
   Retrieve Patent Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
   Check the Gazette Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
   Look At Patents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
   Attorney and/or Engineer Review . . . . . . . . . . 251
   What Will the Examiner Find . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

 Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Chapter 14 . . 254
   Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
   Magazines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
   Web Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
   List of Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

 Appendixes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
   Sample Agreements, General Information  . . . . . . 270
   A. Non-Disclosure Agreement - Sample  . . . . . . . 273
   B. Alternate Non-Disclosure Agreement - Sample  . . 276
   C. Expense and Profit Sharing Agreement . . . . . . 277
   D. Agreement Addendum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
   E. Marketing Consulting Certificate . . . . . . . . 283
   F. Word Processor Readability Analysis  . . . . . . 285
   G. Foreign Economic Market Information  . . . . . . 289
   H. How to Make More Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

 Afterword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Asides
 Product vs. Invention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
 Patent Practitioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
 Online Patent Search Progress . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
 Freedom of the (Legal) Press Outlawed in Texas  . . .  33
 Don't Pick On MY Invention! . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
 That's Not a Competitor, That's Your Market Channel .  43
 Where, Really, Is Your Market?  . . . . . . . . . . .  57
 You're Liable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  78
 Patent Search Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
 Patent Application Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . 119
 Fear Words  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
 CFR "Technical" Requirements Sample . . . . . . . . . 123
 Seasonal  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
 Prosecution? Interference?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
 Different USPTO Mandates  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
 Why Can't I Buy a "Yes" Answer? . . . . . . . . . . . 174
 Original HTML as a Lesson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
 Where Lawyer Language Comes From  . . . . . . . . . . 270

Formulas
 Profit Margin per Item  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  75
 Contribution Margin per Item  . . . . . . . . . . . .  75
 Direct Manufacturing Cost per Item  . . . . . . . . .  75
 Manufacturer Contribution Margin per Item . . . . . .  76
 Census Ratio Formula  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
 Marketing Cost per Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
 Sales Projection Formulas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
 Economic Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Homeworks
 Evaluating YOUR Communication Skills  . . . . . . . .  16
 Tear Something Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
 Contribution Margin Calculation . . . . . . . . . . .  76
 Draft A 3-5 Year Business Plan Spreadsheet  . . . . .  88
 Inexpensive vs Expensive Tooling Calculations . . . . 126
 When is the Cheap Marketer Better?  . . . . . . . . . 166
 Compute Your Invention's Breakeven Sales  . . . . . . 184
 Sales Frequency, Product Life, & Competitor
   Availability Estimates  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
 Verify The Top Characteristic of Successful Inventors 300

Figures
 Product Life Cycle  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Tables
 Jewelry Product Payback Estimates . . . . . . . . . . 185
 Years Between Invention and Use by 25% of U.S.
   Population  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
 Percent of U.S. Homes with Personal Computers . . . . 190
 Estimated Gross Margin as Percent . . . . . . . . . . 195
 International Real Gross Domestic Product Ranked by
   Economic Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
 Top Goods Seized by U.S. Customs in 1998  . . . . . . 293
 Estimated Cost for Launching One Successful New
   Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Miscellaneous
 "STOP IF" Scoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
 A Secret Mailing-List Industry Rule . . . . . . . . . 186
 Psychographic Inventor Types (Incomplete) . . . . . . 208