Inventors with a new product concept are rightly concerned with IP protection. They sometimes ask if they should invest in a patent for their new idea ASAP. Renaud and Andrew join Adrian to cover this topic here.

You'll learn about types of patents, their cost, when a product is most likely to benefit from being patented, best practices for protecting your IP that you can follow before you file a patent, and plenty of examples of real businesses that had legal issues related to patents or who got to market successfully by being smart and careful about IP.

00:00 - Greetings & today's topic: Patents for new hardware products.

03:33 - IP protection Basics 1: Always sign an NDA when disclosing the product concept to people in the industry.

04:58 - IP protection Basics 2: These actions will get your product idea copied early.

07:14 - The different types of patents.

10:39 - Approximate costs for patent applications and PPA timeline.

17:24 - If patents are too expensive, what alternatives are there for protecting IP?

22:04 - The 2 main fears of people launching a new product.

33:32 - The dangers of going to investors and pitching your new product idea.

36:37 - What to do if you have a 'home run?'

39:17 - What if your product is not a home run?

41:14 - Which version of the new product really needs a patent?

46:20 - The dilemmas you face: To patent, or not to patent, and when?

50:39 - Summary and wrapping up.

• Read a whole selection of our content about Product IP Risks & Protection When Manufacturing [Resources]

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