14. Invention, Intellectual Property and Income¶
This week I worked on reviewing Invention, Intellectual Property and Income.
Useful links¶
Research¶
In order to understand the goals for this week I first needed to understand why these things were important. I have not done much work with these topics and know minimal information on them.
Invention¶
When inventing it is important to know what is already out in the world. By doing research you will know what knowledge has been discovered first and be able to build off of this. This will keep someone from creating something that has already been done and essentially wasting time and effort that can be used to build from previously discovered knowledge.
Invention can be built upon and expanded on at that point. It is important, however, to be sure an acknowledge previous work within the license. If the original idea was created and shared by an individual who wishes to be mentioned, as defined in their own license choice, then it is important to be included. All work should be properly attributed and accounted for.
Intellectual Property Protection¶
Patents¶
-As defined by uspto.gov (United States Patent and Trademark Office) a patent is “the grant of a property right to the inventor, issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.”
Patents can have extensions or adjustments but in general expire 20 years for utility and 15 years for design from the initial filing date.
Copyrights¶
-As defined by uspto.gov (United States Patent and Trademark Office) a copyright is “a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished.”
“The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine.”
Copyrights can simply be the symbol next to the original art work. Normal format however includes the symbol followed by the year of the original artwork and the name of the holder. Once the artwork is created it is technically already copyrighted, however registering and working with the USPTO will help with official documentations.
Trademarks¶
-As defined by uspto.gov (United States Patent and Trademark Office) a trademark is “a brand name”.
Trademarks (or service marks) can include “any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination, used or intended to be used to identify and distinguish the goods/services of one seller or provider from those of others, and to indicate the source of the goods/services.” A trademark protects the owner from others using similar or confusingly close marks. This however, does not protect or cover the same product or service to be created or sold under different marks.
In Comparison¶
-A patent is to grant the inventor with the property right. This means the inventor owns the rights to the property designed/created. These are to protect new ideas that have yet to be invented and needs solid documentation to prove the idea is unique and new.
-A copyright protects a form of expression or written words. So this would cover the description of the product or service. Copyrights are used for things such as sculptures, written works, or photographs.
-A trademark is to protect a specific or unique name so that others can not use or reproduce anything similar.
Income¶
Motivations¶
-There are may different motivations to have the product be for profit. This can be social, impact, or financial.
Sources¶
-Income can come from adding a product to a kit to be sold, to consumables, or providing a product or service.
Types¶
-The income can have three options. These are non-profit, for-profit, and a hybrid of both.
Funding¶
-Initial funding can be hard to find and may come from a variety of sources. Family and friends can donate or invest, loans can be taken out, there can be purchase commitments, crowd-sourced, bootstrapping, or many more places.
Lifecycle¶
-When planning the lifecycle of the product or services being offered the owner should come up with a business plan, decide if they need a management team or if there will be problems with scaling and even a pressure to exit or limit founders.
My Plan¶
To draft my plan I needed to determine which items I would attempt to obtain in order to reproduce and mass sell my Solar Panel Leaf Light. I would want to try and obtain a patent for the property created or the physical light, a copyright for the description of how my product works, and a trademark for the name Solar Panel Leaf Light. For these rights I would file with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
My income plan would need to consist of my motivations to provide a product from monetary gain. I would be selling this as a product that can be purchased in stores. My for-profit funding most likely would come from a personal loan until growth could be established. I would want to prepare a small business plan to start. This will then grow as the business grows to include a growth plan and a large business model. A traditional business model is much more in-depth and involves a greater amount of time. These would be necessary when applying for a small business loan. I would also want to create a plan to expose my product to the marked to being sale gains.
My Drafts of Invention and Intellectual Property¶
Draft of my Patent¶
-A patent is not needed in my case. A patent is for a completely unique idea. Despite the shape of the product and the design behind the product look being unique to me, the idea of a solar panel powered light is not a new idea or concept.
Draft of my Copyright¶
-A copyright is not needed in this case either. As mentioned above a copyright is to protect a creative work. The shape of my product is not a new one. The only thing I may want a copyright for would be to protect the unique upcycled qualities of my design such as the upcycled materials or the design of my board to fit within the light and include the bluetooth capabilities.
If needed:
Copyright 2020 Alecia Gorski
-The copyright symbol can be used here or it can be completed in the following manner and added to my project.
Draft of my Trademark¶
I began by searching the USPTO web site for existing trademarks to be sure what I wanted is not already registered or in use. I used to USPTO link listed above. Once I believe there is no other marks similar I can file my application with the USPTO.
My Draft of Income¶
Small Business Plan¶
-A small business plan outlines where you are with the business, where you want to be, and helps to identify how you are going to get there. For my current intentions to being the business process I will show the one-page business plan.
Summary Slide¶
Final Presentation¶
Final Decision¶
I do not wish to produce this product at this time. I do not think it would be profitable as a stand alone product. The research above was to better understand the steps it would take to make this project profitable if so desired.
However, I have chosen to document this project thoroughly on the Fab Academy archive. This allows any interested party to replicate this if they are so inclined, as long as they have noted the CC license I have chosen.
License¶
Leaf Light - Solar Powered by Alecia Gorski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- CC - Creative Commons
- BY - Credit must be given to you, the creator.
- NC - Only noncommercial use of your work is permitted.
- SA - Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.