Re: Question

A) Re: Advice;

I need some advice and I am hoping you can help me:

I am having dinner with a former co-worker tonight. He is a friend who is
an engineer, and I have asked him if he can help me execute / prototype 4
products, (but we will focus on 1 tonight).

What I am wondering is this.
1) Should I ask him to sign a confidentiality agreement? I do have a
draft.

***sure, if only because it is standard operating procedure..if he expects to
sign one, don't disappoint..but never think a nondisclosure agreement will
protect you in any way, or somehow help. For my part, I never enter into
necessary contracts, so when students ask me to sign one before they tell me
their ideas...I decline.***

2) Should I offer a percentage of potential sales as his payment or a flat
rate (I think the % would be the better way to go), but I am not sure what %
is appropriate. Can you help? :)

***Well, in the coming weeeks we will do research on this topic...the royalty
depends..what is the going rate, etc... this will emerge downstream..in the
meantime, look up similar items in the patent gazette and ask other inventors
what they think is fair.***


B) Re: Patents;

I understand part of the reason why you say no patents, but I still keep
thinking that patents have their value. I'm sure you will really laugh at
this: If I were to file a Provisional Patent Application ($75.00), I will
be allowed to put "Patent Pending" on my label, from the moment I sent the
certified letter to the Patent office. I would have protection immediately
through the sampling and presentation process. Even if I had no intention
of paying the $$$ to fulfil the patent, I would at least have bought some
time. I know you will tell me this is a bad idea, but I need to know why.
This makes sense to me.

***I'd rather spend $75 on dim sum and tsingtao with potential suppliers and
customers, but if it makes you feel more secure...do so.***

Also, could you explain to me roughly how long an innovator company would
have with the product alone in the market place b/4 a conservator comes in?

***this is a function of how innovative and how profitable the product
is...the less innovative, the sooner... the more profitable, the sooner...but
trust me..they will at least let you find out if there are customers before
they steal it...so go ahead, go find it. ****


Here's my deal: My dad is an expert in hunting. He's been hunting since
1939 and we've come up with some products that we both think will sell in
the hunting market. I'm doing a huge market research project now to see how
large the market is, etc.

***You cannot do any such think for less than an MBA in marketing and a few
million dollars in research funds. At best you'll come up with a wide array
of useless factoids that in no way indicate anything relating to your
product. We must show respect for science, and never claim to do market
studies. What we do, though, is we get enough orders against samples to
generate a purchase from a supplier that matches the supplier's minimum produc
tion run. This obviates the need for any market study. Again, save your
time and money to get a customer. the stores you are contacting is an
excellent start. Sounds exciting.****

John

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