wow cant wait to see.

I have an interesting story. My daughter ran into someone from high school who did home maintenance work for a company. He told her about going to a huge, beautiful house only to find the owner was a former classmate, and they all were in their late-20s. So he asked how they were able to afford the house at their ages. The other guy told him that a few years prior he and some buddies were drinking, messing around with glue and crayons. Somehow they figured out how to mix them together to create colored glue. One of them had the sense to contact a patent attorney and developed the patent. A couple of years later a large company came out with colored glue, the guys sued them, and won.

Get the patent!,

NanaMoms is utterly correct - check the USPTO data base to see if there is already something similar out there.

http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/search/#heading-1

The USPTO site also has a lot of information on how to file a patent, recommendations, etc. It is worth browsing.

Once you do your research, and find out if your idea is new, don't forget that another option IS to sell the idea to a large company. It's no shame to be paid for the ideas and let someone else deal with the hassles of production and marketing.

Make sure you patent it. Be careful who you show it to as well. A friend of mine showed his invention to a big company. They rejected it and later on, that company produced two things from his original one.

get a patent...keep any and all original paperwork, designs etc...make sure they are signed and dated...many,many picts..wouldn't hurt to have the original design notarized as well just for the heck of it...after that I have no idea...lol...good luck...really looking forward to seeing what you've come up with...

I would also suggest you ask the advise of several close friends who also quilt, to make sure they think your idea is in fact marketable and worth your time to develop. Close friends who obviously wouldn't steal your idea, but would be honest about its worth, and not just tell you to go for it because they like you. That's very often hard to say AND hear, but would be a big help to know what others think.

I'll buy your product. Need lots of help in FMQ!!!!!!!! Dianne

I own a manufacturing company, Audioplex Technology, Inc., and have had experience with patents so here goes:

1) Conduct your search to see if your product is unique. There DOES NOT have to be huge differences.
If you find something similar to your product but you believe that your product is better, easier to use, etc.,
yours could very well be patentable as long as you do not infringe on someone else’s pattern. Example,
In the electronic field; An infrared repeating system was patented which ran on Co-Ax cable only, another infrared repeating system (same) can received a patent that runs on Cat-5 cable.

2) APPLY FOR A PATENT. When you list your item for patent be explicit in your description…..leave nothing to vague interpretation. Over describe your product, its function, etc. You may list 15 points that you want patentable, after a period of time (can be a year or two) you may receive a patent for six of your points.

3) As long as you are not infringing on anyone else’s pattern, you may manufacture and market your product BUT ONLY AFTER YOU APPLY FOR YOUR PATENT! However, you must put “Patent Pending” on your product, its manual or instruction sheet, advertising or anything else representing your product. That will protect you and allow you to market your product while you await your patent from the patent office.

4) Once you have applied for a patent and are marketing your product should anyone else copy your idea? When you receive your patent, and if they are infringing upon your patent, you can sue them. You can receive a substantial lump-sum amount of money, plus any profits that they received from selling their product.

5) Don’t be afraid…..just search for a similar product like your, then if none, file for a patent.

Best of luck….I wish you much success and financial reward!

Nancy