The most common mistake an independent inventor makes in royalty negotiation is asking for too much. The second most common mistake is settling for too little. The middle band where deals close ranges from 2% to 10% of net sales for most product categories, and the...
Two patents can be filed the same week, by inventors with similar resources, and produce very different licensing outcomes. The structure of the license, not just the strength of the patent, shapes how royalties flow over the life of a deal. Choosing between an...
Most first-time inventors get the cost math wrong in one of two directions. They either underestimate everything because they only count the patent fee, or they overestimate because they read forum threads written by inventors who tried to self-manufacture and learned...
A founder who came through our office last year had hired a freelance industrial designer for $6,500 to “do the product.” Six weeks later she walked out with beautiful renders, a clay model, and a deck of mood boards. The freelancer’s invoice was...
Free invention help exists. It is real, it is useful, and it is also less practical than most first-time inventors expect. The federal government, several nonprofits, and a few state programs offer free patent searches, free attorney time, and free education for...
The first 30 days after a new invention idea are the cheapest period of the entire project. You have spent nothing yet, your time investment is small, and the decision to keep going or stop costs you almost nothing in either direction. The mistake most inventors make...
The Twin Cities metro hosts more than 700 medical device companies and supports 35,000-plus manufacturing jobs across the seven-county region. If you have a product idea and you live within driving distance of Minneapolis or Saint Paul, you sit on top of one of the...
Most inventors with a consumer product idea spend between $4,500 and $9,500 to get a complete, presentation-ready prototype package built by a professional firm. Add $399 if they want a patent search up front, and $1,499 if they file a provisional patent before the...
Most inventors imagine an invention prototype as a physical object. A hand-built model. A 3D-printed shell with working parts inside. That picture is out of date. The first invention prototype most licensing-track inventors should build is not a physical object at...
Most inventors hear “market your invention” and picture Facebook ads, influencer posts, and retail launch budgets. For an inventor planning to license the product to a manufacturer instead of self-manufacturing, almost none of that matters. The audience...
