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Inventors First Steps: Introduction

So you have an idea…

You are convinced it will work; it will save time or money or both; make things easier, faster, safer or all three; its so good it will sell and make you rich; it is new and so good it definitely should be patented!

So what do you do next?

Join the Inventors Association and gain access to the great information and tools in the Members Next Steps section.   

When you join any of the Affiliated Inventors Associations, you will be issued with a username and a password. You can use these to log in to this website and when you do, you will unlock your Members Services menu shown below.

Inventors First Steps - includes information to get you strated. A list of Do's and Don'ts is included to help make it easy.

Developing Strategies - includes information about the bigger picture of invention development. Here you will learn many of the important tips, tricks and techniques used to avoid trouble and to develop winning strategies.

Protecting Your Invention - Patents, Design Registration, Copyright, Trade Secrets and other forms of Intellectual Property are all explained here. This section also includes an article that details some of the common myths about patents. So if you have heard anything about patents through the proverbial graprevine, check here to see if it is true.

Avoiding Trouble - Inventors who are unaware are often the victim of scammers, unscrupulous operators, a commercial and competitive world they are unprepared for and sometimes they are victims of their own expectations. Here you will learn how to keep your eyes open to the dangers.

Useful Links - This section houses a list of links to other organisations and to websites with useful information. It is categorised by subject heading for your convenience.

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions. Here we try to provide answers to the questions we get the most. Check out this section to get some quick answers to your most immediate questions.

Members Forum - Here you can talk to other inventors from all over Australia. All are members of an Affiliated Inventors Association. Members are often keen to answer questions, offer assistance, give out useful information, get stuck into a debate or to catch up and chat. Nothing is deleted so you can scroll through past conversations to see what people were saying.

Newsletters - This is our repository for state association newsletters. Here you can read back through past newsletters from your own state association or you can catch up on news from around the continent.

What you MUST do:

• Join Us and schedule an invention assessment
  
• Check that your idea really is new, Google it, using a range of descriptions.
• If it is not on the market – Why? Too expensive, too difficult, too…
• Check that it really will sell – check the market and the competitive environment.
• Check that it will work – build a prototype and test it.
• Develop a strategy for developing your invention.

What NOT to do:

• Delay in joining the Inventors Association.
• Disclose your idea publicly until you have an appropriate protection strategy.
• Spend money on patents or design registrations until you have developed your strategy and checked the viability of your invention.
• Try and do it all yourself, - get appropriate expert help when and where needed.

Follow your planned procedure with determination, but keep an eye out for changes in your market and competitors. Abort if your invention is superseded or becomes unprofitable.

To Join the Inventors Association please click here. We look forward to seeing you inside.

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