guideforinventors.com

Invention - what matters?

Invention starts with an idea - And that idea needs researching before you can call it an invention.

Is patenting an invention a good or bad idea?

Patenting is by far the most misunderstood aspect of invention. For a much longer and more frothing at the mouth read, see

Where do inventors go wrong?

Statistically, most inventions fail. According to research, only one in a hundred more than covers its costs, only one in 300 makes a significant difference to a company and only one in 1400 is a world beater. This isn’t the luck of the draw. Most failures are either inevitable because the idea is flawed, or made inevitable by the mishandling of some aspect of development or exploitation.

Where do companies go wrong?

Innovation is widely regarded as an awfully good thing, but mainly by those who don’t have to do it. On the ground, innovation = uncertainty = risk, and few companies or investors want either uncertainty or risk. Most innovation is therefore incremental, based on modifying existing components or designs. You know where it’s come from and you know where it’s going.