[jefemeister]

I've come up with an interesting idea for the grocery food industry that I think has alot of potential. How do I go about relating my idea to them without losing my rights to it? It specifically has to do with tortillas. I imagine I would just call the tortilla company and tell them that I have an idea and would like a confidentiality (or similar) agreement first. Seems kind of like overkill for a silly little idea though. I'm not sure they would take it seriously and want to proceed. Any ideas?

 

[minya]

Been hitting the bong, eh?

"Duuuuude... duuude, get this... we could, like, sell... frozen quesadillas... tortillas, dude... dude, that'd be sweet..."

- Chris

 

[daycart1]

File a patent?

 

[rwooda]

Yeah -- if you are going to sell your idea to someone else (or license it to them), you are definitly going to want to protect your invention first. That means patent it.

I suggest you check out www.nolo.com and get their patent book (or see a lawyer).

And don't tell anyone what it is without a confidentiality agreement -- once you go public with it a particular clock starts ticking.

Good luck!

 

[Wodgy]

Last time I looked into this, you could expect that a relatively simple patent with few claims would cost between $8000 and $12000, the bulk of that in legal fees. You may be able to find a cheaper patent attorney in Michigan though, so YMMV. You're looking for someone relatively experienced in prosecuting patents, since a poorly written patent is worthless to a small inventor (it often makes it cheaper for your potential licensees to work around your specific claims, or challenge them directly, rather than paying you royalties).

 

[Music Fanatic]

I'd pay some money for an initial consultation with an intellectual property lawyer. He'd know what the range of options were.

 

[Orpheus]

yes... i would strongly suggest you to not give your idea to the industry before protecting it. they are bigger than you. doesn't matter how good this confidentiality thing is, they will ignore it and steal your idea if it's worth it to them. and you won't even have the money to hire the lawyer to fight back.

anyway, that's the whole idea of a patent. to protect guys like you.

 

[jefemeister]

I understand the patent process pretty well. What I'm not sure of is if changing the shape/color/texture/etc (don't want to give away my idea specifically) of an item is patentable.

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by jefemeister I understand the patent process pretty well. What I'm not sure of is if changing the shape/color/texture/etc (don't want to give away my idea specifically) of an item is patentable.

If it is not obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, then yes, it is protectable.

 

[rwooda]

Quote:

Originally posted by Music Fanatic If it is not obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, then yes, it is protectable.

Yes, but depending on what we're talking about, it might be protected under trademark law if it is brand-related, not under patent law.

I do agree that you should see an attorney. My suggestion about Nolo Press is that you will get a lot of background knowledge and education about the topic for relatively little (instead of paying a lawyer to teach you).

 

[jefemeister]

well, if you can patent this tortilla idea, then my idea is definitely doable.

edit: cut and paste the patent abstract of the above link:
Quote:

A food product and a method for making the same. The food product is comprised of a tortilla (either flour or corn) and a pliable, tabular food filling member. The food filling member may be an omelet, for example. The food filling member is dimensioned to overlay and substantially cover most of the tortilla. The food product is produced by laying the food filling member on top of the tortilla and rolling the two up together so that, in cross section, the food product comprised of alternating layers of tortilla and pliable food filling member.

 

[Gariver]

The cheapest way to show that you had the idea first is to put all the data about your idea into a large envelope. Then you mail it to yourself. Just make sure that the postmark is easily read. People at the post office will help you in that regard.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gariver The cheapest way to show that you had the idea first is to put all the data about your idea into a large envelope. Then you mail it to yourself. Just make sure that the postmark is easily read. People at the post office will help you in that regard.

My understanding is that this is a myth... mailing something to yourself affords exactly zero legal protection (someone correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[gpalmer]

Yup, I think that would get laughed out of court myself, too many ways to fake it!

 

[elnero]

Actually I've heard of that before. When I was taking audio engineering we had a representive from SOCAN come to talk to us and he specifically mentioned mailing oneself lyrics or music as a cheap way to cover ones butt in case of legal problems down the road.

Edit: Although that still doesn't mean it would necessarily hold up in court but it's better than nothing I guess.