I run a business that has brought a number of products to market successfully, and our client list has a number of globally recognised names on it.
Monster's post was an excellent one.
I'm in the process of bringing a new product with a lot of potential to market. I understand the concern about it 'being ripped off', but as Monster said, the reality is that anyone with the clout to make it successful would rather just buy you. It's just happened to us, that a famous (within the industry) NYSE listed firm have expressed an interest in buying us, because we are congruent with their own offering.
Successful companies are too busy perpetuating their own already successful products, and doing their own planned innovation, to suddenly, on a whim, assign a chunk of pre-planned budget and a team of engineers to steal the unproven idea of a nobody (I don't mean that in an offensive way, simply that if you were already Elon Musk, you probably wouldn't be here asking).
All that said, I trained as a lawyer, and my free, non-legally binding advice if you are UK based is to apply for a patent, however spurious. It can take years for a decision to be made, during which time there are tax incentives that you can take advantage of. The main advantage, to my mind, of a patent if you are producing something that isn't so unique that it'll revolutionise an entire industry (some niche car part that will make a 10% efficiency saving for all manufacturers, for example), is that you can use it to threaten potential competitors of about your own level, and discourage them from getting started at the same time. I am in the process of taking out a patent on my new product, but because it is an electronic device, all someone really has to do is move around the LEDs or some capacitors to get around the patent. I don't believe it has much actual value once you get to court. Where it does have value is in the legitimate threat of tying up a company with limited resources in an expensive legal battle.
As the others have said, how you execute your first commercial run, and subsequent sales strategy, will be the defining factor in your success. Protect yourself as best you can, take advantage of any tax breaks you can, but ultimately, if you can reach critical mass early, then everything will be much easier for you as a result.
Monster's post was an excellent one.
I'm in the process of bringing a new product with a lot of potential to market. I understand the concern about it 'being ripped off', but as Monster said, the reality is that anyone with the clout to make it successful would rather just buy you. It's just happened to us, that a famous (within the industry) NYSE listed firm have expressed an interest in buying us, because we are congruent with their own offering.
Successful companies are too busy perpetuating their own already successful products, and doing their own planned innovation, to suddenly, on a whim, assign a chunk of pre-planned budget and a team of engineers to steal the unproven idea of a nobody (I don't mean that in an offensive way, simply that if you were already Elon Musk, you probably wouldn't be here asking).
All that said, I trained as a lawyer, and my free, non-legally binding advice if you are UK based is to apply for a patent, however spurious. It can take years for a decision to be made, during which time there are tax incentives that you can take advantage of. The main advantage, to my mind, of a patent if you are producing something that isn't so unique that it'll revolutionise an entire industry (some niche car part that will make a 10% efficiency saving for all manufacturers, for example), is that you can use it to threaten potential competitors of about your own level, and discourage them from getting started at the same time. I am in the process of taking out a patent on my new product, but because it is an electronic device, all someone really has to do is move around the LEDs or some capacitors to get around the patent. I don't believe it has much actual value once you get to court. Where it does have value is in the legitimate threat of tying up a company with limited resources in an expensive legal battle.
As the others have said, how you execute your first commercial run, and subsequent sales strategy, will be the defining factor in your success. Protect yourself as best you can, take advantage of any tax breaks you can, but ultimately, if you can reach critical mass early, then everything will be much easier for you as a result.