Idea

daniel_i_l

Lets say that I have for example, an idea for a cool new way to bottle ketsup. How would I go about patenting it and selling it to Heinz?

tribdog

being that getting a patent is such a pain in the butt, and that heinz is pretty happy with their current bottles I'd say just go ahead and write up your plan, get it notarized so you have a date on your idea then send a copy to heinz. if they use it they'll pay you if they don't pay you, you sue them and win easily because you have the proof that you thought of it first.
Is ketchup really spelt ketsup? Catsup?Catchup? Katsup? Ketsoup? make sure you get that right or they probably won't even open your letter, which they probably won't do anyway.

Moonbear

Well, if you want to go the patent route, you spend about $20,000 on a good patent attorney to help you write the patent and follow through the entire process to get it approved (if you write it yourself or get one of those hack attorneys to do it, you will instead spend $50,000 on litigation when Heinz finds some loophole in your application and insists it infringes on a current design already covered in one of their patents, then makes your bottle without paying you another dime because it's already their patent). After you own the patent rights, you can then negotiate a license with anyone who wants to use your bottle design. You negotiate the fee for them to purchase the license. Keep in mind that unless it's really something spectacular that they couldn't possibly resist, or wouldn't want to see sold to their competitors, they might not be interested. But the licensing is where the money comes from if you have a patent on something you'd never use or market yourself.

jimmie

check out

www.intelproplaw.com

A forum that provides answers, from intellectual property lawyers, on various intellectual property questions. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc...

Danger

If your cool new idea is to grow the tomatoes in the bottle, don't bother. I already own the rights to it.

tribdog

wow, very good idea. way better than mine. I got a patent on the ketchup paint balls you shoot at your food.

Danger

Another excellent approach. You should look into teaming up with Serj and his electric paintball gun.

tribdog

electric paintballs? you'd need a long extention cord

Danger

Hmmm..... a Taser with metalflake paintballs? Add insult to injury.

tribdog

that's why I always poke a person in the eye after I tell them off. add injury to insult

Danger

It's good that you do it after. If you did it before, they wouldn't be able to see who's telling them off.

tribdog

what happens if you poke a blind person in the eye? besides getting bit by their dog. would it disable them like it does me?

Danger

If he has a glass eye, you'll break your fingernail.

tribdog

I knew a guy with a glass eye. He got killed when a pelican flew into it.
I tried to warn him. I yelled "LOOK OUT FOR THAT PELICAN!"
he started swinging his dog around his head, but the dog clipped a guy on a motorcycle and got dragged out of my buddy's hand
It was really sad. but you gotta go on. These things happen

Danger

Was the bike okay?!

tribdog

no, BMW
nice bike, rare. The driver was fully enclosed and it had four wheels. You don't see many of those motorcycles anymore.

Danger

Yeah.
Every time somebody comes up with a really good idea, it gets pulled off the market.