Things we take for granted, pneumatic tires

Now that the weather allows for a nice ride, please remember, whenever you take your bike, that it runs on an invention of John Boyd Dunlop. He obtained a patent for his invention in 1894, complete with inner tube and outer tire...

Until today a company exists, which is bearing the name Dunlop..

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Inventions are special, complex or solve intricate problems

Sometimes, you may think that inventions have to be very special, complex and/or solve intricate problems.

Well in the light of relaxing covid measurements, the nice summery weather and the upcoming weekend,
have a look at this:

Quote: "The present invention provides a small umbrella ("Beerbrella") which may be removably attached to a beverage container in order to shade the beverage container from the direct rays of the sun."

Here, the message is: Inventions do not have to be very special, complex or solve any intricate problems...

Enjoy your weekend!

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Know how and trade secrets...

An alternative to patent protection is keeping everything secret. For products that may not be the best protection. Yet, specific manufacturing techniques may sometimes actually be better protected by secrecy, especially when the final product does not disclose the way it has been made.

The most outspoken Dutch example of a well kept trade secret is that of the way of producing microscopic lenses by Anthoni van Leeuwenhoek... Now some odd 300 years later, still, state of the art research is performed to find out the way he made his lenses......And it appears that he perfected commonly known techniques, at least according to this article: https://lnkd.in/dPNw2Dv

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Boost your patent

Ever thought of getting your patent in a standard? Once in a standard, selling becomes automatic...

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#standard #patent #invention

Top 20 reasons why startups fail

About two years ago, CB-insights published a research on why tech startups fail. They interviewed 102 startups that stopped operations, and listed the results in the image below.

The first reason for failing is that there exists no market for the products or services delivered by the startup. Something that happens similarly with inventions. If the market appears not to be accepting the offers on sale from the startup, or the inventor... that is a strong indication that the startup/inventor fell in love with his or her product, not with his or her client.

The second reason being that the startup runs dry of money. This reason can be closely related to the first reason, if there is no market, or no paying customer, there will inevitably come a time that the money is gone.

The third reason is that there is a lack of the right people... People who can sell, organise, have drive and amazing discipline.

All of these issues, my clients, inventive entrepreneurs are struggling with as well. What are your struggles? What is hindering you in becoming successful? I am very curious about this. If you respond in a DM, I will give you my book "ten mistakes to avoid in protecting your invention" as a thank you gift. It is full of neat tips, to improve your chances of success of your ideas, with a neat IP-strategy scheme on getting the best protection for your ideas. 

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here is the link to the original article: https://www.cbinsights.com/research/startup-failure-reasons-top/ 

How do inventors predict the future?

Marty Cooper, the inventor of the cellular telephone was in 1981 convinced that ‘cellular phones would absolutely not replace local wire systems. Even if you project it beyond our lifetimes, it won’t be cheap enough.Well how wrong could he be, some 15 billion smartphones have been produced, that is almost 2 per person on the planet. Inventors underestimate the success of their invention, however more often overestimate the success of their invention. And this can lead to a lot of frustrations.... If you as inventor has had any difficulties in bringing your invention to a success, or have found frustrations in doing so, please let me know. If you respond in a DM or in the comments down below, you will receive my latest book: "seven mistakes to avoid in protecting your invention". There are some very useful tips for inventors in avoiding the most common mistakes made. Best is to DM me in linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrikdelange/ #patents #invention #predicting

Build a prototype

Why should you build a prototype of your invention?

To see if it works and to demonstrate to potential clients or investors. Just be aware: A shown or demonstrated invention can no longer be validly protected by a patent...

So: Do not forget to first consider protecting your invention.

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