IP protection for a fridge magnet
The product: fridge magnet
Garry McConnell had the idea for a fridge magnet that tells you when your dog needs worming.
The strategy: Non-disclosure agreement and provisional patent application
From the outset Garry knew there were IP issues he needed to manage effectively in order to commercialise the product without losing his IP.
'First, how would I present the idea to investors, designers and potential customers without being ripped off?'
He wanted to present his concept to a potential financial backer, but not until he had some sort of IP protection:
'The cheapest protection I could figure out was a non-disclosure document - prepared by a solicitor - that had reference to a provisional patent application. The reason I chose a provisional patent application and not a full standard or innovation patent application was that information in a provisional application is not in the public domain for 12 months, so theoretically it shouldn't be able to be seen and subsequently copied'.
Rapid commercialisation for a product with short IP life span
'The product I'm selling is not rocket science, so just about anybody could copy it', Garry admits.
For this reason, his strategy was to get the product into commercial production quickly, saturate the market, make money and then get out and move on to the next idea.
Last Updated: 24/12/2012
