Patents Database

For a business to be successful, you need a successful idea. You could have the best business head in the world, but unless you are making or doing something that people want, you're never going to make your fortune.

When someone has a good idea that they believe in, they will usually patent it. A patent for an invention is granted by government to the inventor, giving the inventor the right for a limited period to stop others from making, using or selling the invention without the permission of the inventor. When a patent is granted, the invention becomes the property of the inventor, which - like any other form of property or business asset - can be bought, sold, rented or hired.

Patents are generally intended to cover products or processes that possess or contain new functional or technical aspects; patents are therefore concerned with, for example, how things work, what they do, how they do it, what they are made of or how they are made.

But there are many, many patented ideas that never see the light of day. This is not because they are bad ideas, but more usually because they cannot find the time / resources / expertise to carry them through, or have decided to go with a different idea instead. Often life has gotten in the way of them carrying through the idea. Maybe at the time they landed a dream job, or became parents, or could not find backing from traditionally risk-averse banks which would not lend to anything that didn't have a track record.

Or there are the patents that have been successful but whose protection has just run out. For example, Ron Hickman, the UK-based inventor who came up with the idea for the Black & Decker Workmate (a fold-away workbench with a unique clamping action), sold his patents to Black & Decker in the early 70s. They turned the idea into a multi-million dollar success, and Ron into a very rich man.

Recently the patent on the Workmate expired. Those who were ready for the patent to expire were busy setting up manufacturing sources in China, and as soon as the protection ran out, their cheaper products hit the shelves and they made a fortune. And who were 'they'? No, not big multinational corporations, but entrepreneurs.

As part of our Business Ideas Dossier, which forms an integral part of our Secrets For The Successful Entrepreneur course, we give learners full details of the top three expired patents that can be taken advantage of by a start-up business. Detailed examples with case studies can be found here. We will send students: a brief outline of the patents; what they claim to do; full specifications; and any drawings and illustrations associated with them. They will contain all of the information needed to turn them into a successful product - the rest will be up to learners using all of the secrets that we have given them.

Feel free to browse around, and if you have any questions or need more information, then simply contact us here!