The Inventor’s Guide: How to Protect and Profit from Your Idea

Anyone who wishes to pursue an invention from its genesis through to a marketable process or product needs to be more than an inventor. The demands of the law, economics and market as well as practical finance, development, and commercial issues must be responded to and managed. Since it is unusual for all these attributes to be incorporated in any one person, it is generally the case that the inventor and would-be commercial developer must rely upon the judgement, services, and resources of others. This text is written for the benefit of the inventor who is in this position. It provides a step-by-step guide to the process of taking an invention from conception through to marketable products. It describes what to do and where to go for help, and explains why each step is important. It incorporates checklists and sample documentation. Compiled by The Patents Information Team at the British Library, this guide should be valuable to those wishing to exploit their invention successfully.