Invention: 25 Brief Questions for Inventors
By Jeffrey Dobkin
After serving on the Board Of Directors for 14 years, Jeffrey Dobkin is the President of The American Society of Inventors, a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to helping inventors at low or no-cost in the Philadelphia area.
What state is your invention in – scribbled on a napkin, written and sketched idea, professional drawings, 3-D rendering, proof of concept prototype, handmade prototype, manufacturing prototype, several samples made, finished?
Here are the questions:
1. Do you have a budget?
2. Are you going to manufacture and marketing it, or license it?
What are your goals?
3. Have you done a patent search?
4. Are you going to patent it, or not?
5. Is your product “Commercially Feasible”? – (can you make it and sell it at a profit)
6. What industries will your product sell to?
7. Will it sell itself from a store shelf?
8. Can you make a few prototypes?
9. What is your own field of expertise?
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10. What are your next 10 steps?
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11. How much will it cost at retail?
12. How much will it cost to make?
13. How much will you make per sale?
14 Has it been field tested?
15. Have you researched this product on the web?
16. How many other firms make one similar?
17. Why will yours be better, cheaper, faster?
18. Who are the most likely people to buy one?
19. What catalogs will carry your item?
20. What is your product name?
21. What are some other names for your invention in case that one is taken?
22. Is your “product name” website taken?
23. What is your website name?
24. What products compete with yours?
25. What stage is your invention in (idea, sketch, prototype, working
prototype, finished?)
This is the first in a series of fast paced articles by Jeffrey Dobkin, “119 Brief Questions for Inventors!”