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Here it is… have you really thought through what you have to offer customers? Do you even know who potential customers are and in what markets? This might seem like a no-brainer, rather stupid thing to say. But trust me, most inventors I have met do not do so until I mention it to them!
Let’s say you invent a new type of cooling device for public drinking fountains that chills the water in a very energy-efficient manner using thermoelectric cooling before dispensing the water to thirsty people. So you pay your hard earned money to have your patent attorney prepare and file a utility patent application for your invention as it relates to drinking fountains. You then prepare to manufacture the cooling devices by have manufacturing drawings and tooling made, rent a building, and lease manufacturing equipment.
Ok, you have the commercial drinking fountain market covered and may stand to make some good money by selling your cooling devices and licensing your issued patent to other companies that make drinking fountains.
But what if there is a much larger market for a version of your cooling device if adapted for use to provide chilled drinking water in the commercial home building and retail home improvement markets on kitchen, bath, and other home sinks? You may never realize the huge market for your cooling devices in home sinks and thus miss out on making a huge amount of money in the home sink market.
Worse yet, let’s say that although your chilling device is great for commercial drinking fountains, for whatever reason (such as high redesign and tooling conversion costs on a relatively low volume of drinking fountain sales, or industry “inertia” in accepting new ideas… especially from an industry “outsider”) it is never accepted in the commercial drinking fountain market.
Furthermore, let’s say that your cooling devices would be widely accepted in the home sink market (such as because of lower redesign and tooling conversion costs, those costs being spread over a larger volume of sinks sold, low industry “inertia”, or some combination thereof).
But you have already invested lots of money, time, and effort designing your cooling devices for the wrong market, the drinking fountain market, rather than in the home sink market that could have been a major success making you rich. Now, since you missed the right market for your cooling devices, you have little or no sales and are “up to your eyeballs” in debt to pay for your patent, tooling, building rent, and equipment (not to mention “opportunity costs” such as lost wages since you foolishly quit your well-paying job to start your business rather than doing so part-time).
My point is this… if you are a typical inventor, you are very enthusiastic and who want to “get rolling” on making money from your invention as soon as possible. However, whether you realize it or not, you are starting and running a new business be it: 1) a “manufacturing business” making products based on your invention; 2) a “brokerge business” finding investors to buy shares of your business; 3) a “licensing business” to patent and license your invention to manufacturing companies; 4) a “sales company” selling your inventor’s rights or your issued patent; or 5) some combination of these requires making intelligent business decisions from the start.
Your main asset (besides yourself) is your invention, around which your business will be built. So doesn’t it make sense, as a first step towards your making money, to review your invention in a thorough manner? Think about all af the possible uses for your invention. What is the basic function of your invention? In this example, it is generically speaking “a device to electronically cool a fluid flowing through a pipe or tube in an energy-efficient manner”.
Ask yourelf, where else is it necessary (or desirable) to cool a fluid flowing through pipe or tube in an energy-efficient manner? Well, as we discussed above, another use is cooling drinking water dispensed at a kitchen sink. Where else? Well, you need to do some serious thinking and research to determine this.
Obviously, doing a “Google search” for the key words would be a good first place to start. Consulting with experts in various industries or even friends (each with a properly executed “Non-Disclosure/Non-Compete Agreement”) regarding other adaptations and uses for your invention can be a big help. The only limits are the inventor’s persistence and imagination.
Another good practice is for inventors to consider all of the alternative ways to accomplish what your invention does. Try to think like a competitor who is trying to “get around” a patent that issues on your invention. What could be changed on your invention and still accomplish the same (or similar) results?
And be sure to tell your patent attorney to cover the various versions of your invention in your patent application!
Best regards,
Brian R. Rayve
Owner, InventionPatenting.com
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Independent Inventors...
Where independent inventors learn to protect and make money from their inventions. 
Welcome, my name is Brian R. Rayve, a former product development manager and attorney who helps inventors protect
and make money from their inventions and new product ideas.