Questions for all you widget makers?

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

Hi everyone, I haven't posted much here and have been lurking for quite some time. I would like to find out how to get into the automotive widget business. How did you start producing your products? I am a at home inventor type who thinks he has some cool ideas...but, don't know how to get it to market. If anyone wants to pm, email me I would love to pick your brains and find out how you got started, so I can see if I can follow suit. Or hopefully we can discuss things here and everyone that has the same types of questions (If there are any) will also learn. Thanks, Sam

[cheapthrillz]

I was wondering about this too...

I know that most car guys are very secretive when it comes to successful business, but I hope that we can talk about it freely on here.

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

I was wondering about common stuff, like I see these hood hinges and carbon fiber everything now. They look awesome, do these guys just produce them and not worry about copy rights, dot approval things like that? If I design a better alternator bracket (just an example) can I just start punching these out? Or what do I need to do to protect my butt, and my idea?

[bigvegan]

It all depends. If you create a fundamentally better design for an alternator bracket, and you foresee a large market for the product, it may be worth the process of applying for a patent, as you'd then have the exclusive rights to make that product for years to come.

If you just create a similar product to those existing on the market already, you might want to trademark your company name and the name of the product, so that even if you were copied, you'd be the only one offering YOUR BRAND SUPER WIDGET alternator brackets.

I wouldn't worry too much about theft of your ideas unless a) you're pricing your product too high, or b) your product isn't top notch.

If you make a great product, then people are going to want your brand, even if there are similar products on the market, as brands have value.

If you make a mediocre product, then you'd better price it fairly. Copying quality is difficult, copying mediocrity is easy.

Ideas are a dime a dozen, it's IMPLEMENTATION that counts. (For instance, the car that runs on seawater. AWESOME idea, but the implementation is a bit tricky.) If you're afraid someone will steal your idea, then don't share it until you're ready to implement it. If you don't think you'll be able to implement it any time soon, go ahead and share it, as it's always nice to see ideas made real, even if you're not making the profit on it.

We have a number of inventors/marketers/etc. on this site, so if you're serious and don't want to air your idea publicly, pm-ing them might not be a bad idea.

Or just do a test run of your product and put them up for sale in the for sale section here. This is about the best test market you could imagine, as you'd find out in a nanosecond how sound your idea was.

One other thing to keep in mind is of course insurance / liability. If your product affects how the car goes, shifts, starts, stops, or protects the occupants, you need to make sure it's ABSOLUTELY safe, and that you've incorporated your business and got plenty of insurance, as personal injury lawsuits are a nightmare for everyone involved, in addition to the horror of knowing that your product might have been responsible.

Good luck!

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

Bigvegan, Thanks so much for taking the time to write a great reply. I appreciate the time and effort in that. I thought it was wise counsel. Especially about the insurance.
My next question is patents. I see all over how to create one, research one. But, not on what if I find one that is similar to the product that I would like to build. Do I need to get a written agreement from the patent holder to produce my part? Or if it is similar but different than described. I see this a lot like in the header business, I think there is only so many ways to build headers. But there are many header manufacturers. How does one get into building similar products? Once again, do people just build the part and not worry about patents until a ceise and desist letter arrives? Hopefully this question makes sense.

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

Am I over cautious about this? Do most people come up with an idea, learn how to produce it and then worry about patents later? How about all of these people making carbon fiber knock offs of hoods? It is the same product as the steel ones, just different materials. I imagine they use the original as a mold. This is the question I would like to find out answers to before I go and spend a lot of money making a product I potentially won't be able to sell. I am not planning on stealing someones product. Just my version of their idea.

[bigvegan]

If it's a fundamentally new product or method, then you can patent it.

If it's a new design or style of an existing product, then you can go for a trademark "trade dress" protection. See e.g. http://www.amerilawyer.com/trademark/tm_tradedress.htm

Knocking off someone else's product in another material can get you in trouble, but it's a question of whether the car company is really going to take the time to go after a company building parts that make the car company's car more desirable (to some). Some companies will, some won't, and sometimes it depends on the product.

Copying a part made by another aftermarket parts maker is a good way to end up in legal trouble (or worse, as the "self-help" route is more satisfying than court for some, even though it's usually illegal).

It would be a lot easier if you could give us an idea about what you're planning to make.

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

In my case. One of the products I am planning on producing is a different scoop on a hood. Nothing ground breaking there. But, it is different.