Ithiel Modgridge's non-caustic paint and varnish remover has a patented recipe of ingredients

Inventors are well known for being overly secretive about their new ideas. But if your new product has commercial potential and includes some kind of original technical innovation that is ownable, the sad reality is that you need to take the right precautions. And those precautions go beyond simply protecting your Intellectual Property.

Ithiel Mogridge is a chemist by training. She could see that widely used paint and varnish stripping products were unnecessarily harmful to users and the environment. So she developed a number of innovative recipes for effective strippers that are not dangerously caustic.

Nearly ten years down the line , and with her patented products on the shelves in major retailers Homebase and Wickes, she has a good perspective on the practical things you can do to protect your IP AND your commercial interests.

Audio: 34:49 mins

In this interview, Ithiel Mogridge talks about:

• What's so unique about her paint, varnish and artex removers.
• The 6 years it took from the point of applying for her patent to grant. And the strain that lengthy IP work puts on licensing and distribution relationships.
• Having captured the home sales market through distribution at Homebase and Wickes, the aim is to get product to tradespeople and professional restorers suffering the side effects of using toxic removers.
• The process of negotiation with manufacturers to reach agreement.
• The 2 years it took to sort out the packaging and branding for the products.
• Never try to fix a licensing deal without an IP lawyer - it is specialist work.
• But do get references for a lawyer from satisfied clients.
• Make sure you get a cast iron agreement in your manufacturing deal that you own all the Intellectual Property for any future variants developed out of your product, even if they have been instrumental in development.
• Watch out for manufacturers who are desperate for business lying about their capabilities. If necessary, inspect them before you sign a deal.
• The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) has a good database of reputable manufacturers. And it's free. 
• For technical new products, the expense of technical translation costs can more than outweigh the cost savings by having development or manufacturing done overseas.
• With product manufacturing worked out in the UK, you can then go on to offer overseas customers finished product with their own label, cutting out any worries about quality and control.
• This also lets you test distributors before you get locked into any licensing deals. 
• For technical/ chemical products, to save costs, develop as much as you can at home, and send out to professional laboratories for key testing.
• For biodegradeable products, be aware they have a limited shelf life. And for microbiological products, be aware you need special capabilities to be allowed to develop them.
• Be constantly aware of changing standards and regulations, in particular watch out for EU regulations blacklisting certain materials and chemicals.
• Seek a licensing professional to help draw up the terms of a licensing agreement. Such as royalties, guarantees and performance of audits.
• Ithiel's royalties are based on invoiced wholesale price, not the shelf price. They can be on a sliding scale too.
• Every market area has different pricing structures. You have to do your own research and make your own mind up about a deal.
• To help you decide whether a potential licensee or distributor can afford to take your product, download their accounts from the Companies House website and look at their ratio for sales to cost of sales figures. This will give you a broad idea of their mark up.
• The key thing is that you do your own numbers and you understand what is going on with the business figures.
• All inventors/ product developers should keep a hardback bound notebook in which they record and date their idea's development (positive and negative steps), because this can be used as evidence of your ownership. Don't take this to meetings however, and don't leave it lying around for visitors to see.
• The greater the potential value in your invention, the more people will try to steal it.

To find out more about Ithiel Mogridge, visit Action Products Ltd or British Female Inventor of the Year 2002

Share this Article on Bookmarking Sites? Click on icons below...

del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Facebook  StumbleUpon  GoogleBookmark  Technorati  Furl

Related Articles

·  The Quick Guide To Know-How & Confidential Information - IP Basics 6 of 6 ·  The Quick Guide To Trademarks - IP Basics 5 of 6 ·  The Quick Guide To Registered Design - IP Basics 4 of 6 ·  The Quick Guide To Design Right - IP Basics 3 of 6 ·  The Quick Guide To Copyright - IP Basics 2 of 6 ·  The Quick Guide To Patents - IP Basics 1 of 6 ·  Tools To Protect Your Idea - The Basic Types of IP