While they focus on the issues commonly faced by lone inventors struggling to get their ideas to market, the answers to these frequently asked questions are also relevant for anyone involved in the invention process
There's no clear-cut answer. Entrepreneurship requires lots of different skills, money and commitment but can be highly satisfying and rewarding. Licensing 'simply' needs you to persuade a suitable company to take on your idea and is by far the better option for many inventors. However, such persuasion isn't easy. Some inventors - for example Ron Hickman whose Workmate was first rejected and later sought out by Black and Decker - solve the problem by first setting up their own business to establish a market, then selling or licensing on to a bigger company.
Invention brokers or promoters - some describe themselves as product developers - offer to take on your idea and, for a fee, place it with a company. A few may be worth the money but others arouse suspicion by taking on all ideas offered to them when the reality is that few can ever succeed. A licensing agent has a much more specific role that consists mainly of negotiating a deal with an interested company. Experienced agents are not cheap but can make a huge difference to licensing prospects.
You can't know for sure - no one ever does - but you can reduce the risk. First do thorough prior art searches and market research (which can cost little or nothing) to establish that your idea is original and has good IP and market prospects. Then sit down and spend a lot of time assessing the pros and cons of taking the plunge, and then what you can do to reduce cost and risk to everyone involved as your project develops.
Not necessarily. Each patent must make specific claims that are different from those made by others (which is why it's possible to find many patents for what seems like the same idea). You therefore need to look at all the cited patents and identify what's different enough about your idea to give you a distinctive edge. You may need a patent attorney’s help to make your final decision.
Absolutely not. Anything from anywhere at any time can constitute prior art and can thus lessen your chances of strong protection for your idea.
Until your idea has reached prototype stage, most conventional business funders won't consider you. That includes banks (you're too risky) and venture capitalists (you're too small). Friends and family can be good sources of funding at the earliest stage (consider a deal where they get their money back immediately and retain a stake if you land more substantial funding). The main public source of substantial funds is probably the DTI Grant for Research and Development, but it can't fund every applicant, so you'll only win funding if you're seen as a better prospect than others. Competitions and local or regional innovation funds come and go; to find out what’s currently available, ask your local Business Link. See Funding section of ‘Where next?’