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Hey, First I am not a lawyer, but I hold several patents. I got back fishing again this summer and had a ldea about a new type fishing lure. I built a prototype and iterated the design a half dozen times. so far it hasn't caught any fish But conditions haven't been right so I am still hopeful. And before I go down the patent path I want to make sure the bloody thing works. ? So the point of this post. Some advice for my fellow inventors First don't disclose the details of the invitation on a public forum. (Here is a good example of where not to post pictures :p) Second, do a patent search, Google patents is a good place to do that. Not to be a downer but there's a better than 50% chace someone else already had the idea. This happened to me more than once. Talk about a gut punch, but don't let it get you down, keep inventing. Third is it novel enough? This is a hard concept to explain other than a example. "I want to patent a 4.5 inch plastic worm because no one makes one" Nope it's an obvious extension of existing art. (In this case art would be industry knowledge but it could be scientific knowledge) Fourth is there a market? I invented a novel thing for one of our customers last month, but the usage is so low it's not worth the ~80k in legal fees for my employer to patent. Simply not enough profit to warrent the cost. So it stays a trade secret. Fifth, Filing a patent. There's several options here . Write it yourself (very hard). I have literally reviewed/read over 100 patents and I think I could write my own, but it would take months and I will probably hire a patent attorney to review it (couple of $1000 at least) Hire an attorney. Expensive but worth it if you think you can make enough money from it. Talk to a "invention" , fishing bait company or whatever. Pitch your idea (e.g. Shark tank) But get a non disclosure agreement (NDA aka PIA or whatever the sexy acronym is this year) First!!!. Read it!!!!. You probably need a lawyer for this too for any contracts. I am not going to lie, inventing is easier than patenting the idea. And it takes a couple of years to get one granted (you can get a utility patent while waiting). But the feeling you get when it's granted is amazing and definitely worth the effort.. Cheers

What's up y'all? Hope y'all have been enjoying a successful year of fishing so far. I'm working on a project, and wanted some input. Since this forum is so helpful I thought that I would turn here. Is there any one gadget, or item you would like to see or have in the industry that hasn't been designed yet? Let's hear it! Thanks for the input! Happy Fishing! Tight lines. -Rob