Seeking Financial Benefit from Scientific Innovation: A Discussion

[hagopbul]

Hello All :

hope all are fine and well :

during my scientific reading i may found a way to enhance the efficiency of some sort of simple engines , now i am working on a prototype which should be ready in few weeks for testing , the question is what next ? i am interested in solid state physics , not the above mentioned stuff , that means i am not after publishing a paper or writing a book , i need to find a way to benefit financially from it , so i can use that resources in things that is more interested to me , the problem i don't know how ?
so i thought why not ask my colleagues and fellow science teachers and professors on the subject ?
of course if the prototype works out

 

[Dale]

The usual approach would be to patent the idea and then sell a license to use the patent to engine manufacturers.

 

[hagopbul]

i thought about patient but
i don't know how much time i need to patent the method isn't it in the years rang ?(never patent before )
2 don't know how to approach the manufacturers without losing the patient ?
i live in the middle east so wouldn't that put me in weak negotiating place , how can protect the so called invention , and the manufacturer don't take advantage of my work ?

and as i wrote above wouldn't that take years , isn't there any other method so i can work it out in few months other than years rang if the prototype worked .

 

[jrmichler]

If you want to benefit from an engine idea, here is a path forward:

1) Prove that it works. This means a working model.

2) Have performance measurements that show the advantages. If this is some sort of fuel burning engine, be advised that fuel burning engines are soon to be obsolete technology.

3) You can now show to those who might be interested. You can do this without a patent application if you have them sign a nondisclosure agreement first. It is best to have patent application first.

If you still want to get a patent, here are some steps:

1) Patent search. Search both USPTO (U S Patent Office) and EPO (European Patent Office). Both of these are online, they have help pages, and all patents ever granted are public information. You are free to incorporate anything from any expired patent in your work. Copying expired patent is both legal and ethical. If there is an existing patent that covers your idea, you are out of luck regardless of what country that patent is in. Also study the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. You can do a patent search yourself. It will not have any legal use, but will tell you if somebody else thought of it first.

2) Decide if you want a patent so that you can name yourself as an inventor, or if you want to make money from it.

3) Decide what country or countries you want to get a patent in. Then look for a patent attorney.

how can protect the so called invention , and the manufacturer don't take advantage of my work ?

With a patent application.

dont know how to approach the manufacturers without losing the patient ?

First get it to work, prove that it works well enough that somebody will pay money for it, have a patent attorney do a legal patent search, file for a patent, then ask your patent attorney.

i don't know how much time i need to patent the method

My most recent patent was applied for in 2016, and issued in 2020. This is a normal time for patents, some are faster and some are slower.

 

[Vanadium 50]

A few questions to consider:

• What is your engine's efficiency?
• What is the equivalent diesel efficiency?
• What is the equivalent Carnot efficiency?

 

[Nugatory]

My most recent patent was applied for in 2016, and issued in 2020. This is a normal time for patents, some are faster and some are slower.

Worth adding that under American patent law an inventor has substantial protection even while the patent is pending. That’s if the patent is eventually granted of course - if it’s not granted then there never was anything to protect.

 

[Dale]

isnt there any other method so i can work it out in few months other than years rang if the prototype worked

Filing a provisional patent gives you one year to file the full patent. You are protected once you have filed the provisional patent. I don’t know the engine industry, but in the medical imaging industry your hope for a quick payout would be unlikely.

 

[berkeman]

during my scientific reading i may found a way to enhance the efficiency of some sort of simple engines , now i am working on a prototype which should be ready in few weeks for testing , the question is what next ?

This:

1) Prove that it works. This means a working model.

2) Have performance measurements that show the advantages. If this is some sort of fuel burning engine, be advised that fuel burning engines are soon to be obsolete technology.

Do that all by your lonesome, and report back the results here (not the details of your invention, just what kind of engine and the efficiency increase and how you measured it).

Don't tell us details about how you did it, just how you measured it and how big the efficiency gain is. Then we can try to help you with the questions about how to file a provisional patent application, etc. We will need to know your country/region at that point, but until you use valid measurements to determine the actual improvement, there is little more to talk about.

PM me with your measurement data and I'll reopen this thread if appropriate. Thanks.