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Growing a business

How to Sell Your Invention in Canada

Protecting your intellectual property and selling the inventions you create from it is a great way to build up more and more business opportunities. You want to know the right steps to take to ensure your invention is not stolen, you reach the right market, and you know how to successfully market your invention.

Research

Before you invest time and money in creating an invention, research your idea, and determine how unique it is and how willing consumers may be to buy it. A good start is figuring out the primary market for your invention. Understanding who can benefit most from your invention, how willing they are to pay for your invention, and how much they can and will pay for it is vital to successfully market and profit off of your invention. Consider looking at consumers in specific age ranges, geographical locations, or income brackets. This not only helps you in finalizing the design of your invention, but it also enables you to come up with cost-efficient and successful marketing campaigns.

Patents

Once you come up with an idea for an invention, or even if you create a rough prototype, it’s imperative that you apply for and get a patent to protect it. This ensures no one else can steal your idea or benefit financially from it. A patent is the legal right the Canadian government gives you to make, sell, import, export, or otherwise commercially use and benefit from your invention. As of 2017, a patent is valid for 20 years from the date the patent is filed, meaning from the date your application is approved and you are actually granted a patent. There are several basic elements required to apply for a patent. Your invention must be new, meaning it hasn’t been publicly revealed or sold. To file, you must also be the original creator. Your invention must serve a purpose or have some form of basic functionality and work properly. On top of this, your invention must be unique; a basic invention, an idea that others could design easily, isn’t patentable. The Patent Office in Canada is part of the larger Canadian Intellectual Property Office. It’s generally best to have a professional patent agent obtain, prepare, and submit your patent application. This makes it easier to manage and resubmit rejected applications; first patent applications are frequently rejected.

Networking

Once you successfully patent your invention, and with your market research already prepared, it’s a good idea to find networking opportunities to help you pitch, fund, sell, and profit from your invention. Inventor conventions, which are held all around Canada at different times, are a great way to network. You can connect with other inventors, especially with those who have successfully patented and sold inventions. Consider using their experience and recommendations to shape the way you approach marketing and selling your invention. There are also a lot of investors or people willing to fund good inventions at these conventions. Again, use tips from other inventors to help you win the attention and support of potential funders. This often makes the difference when it comes to fully funding the production and distribution of your invention. Knowing how to protect, fund, market, and successfully sell your invention is vital to benefiting financially from your creation.


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