What to do with a new lock idea

Sesoku

Sesoku

Joined
Oct 19, 1998
Messages
498
If someone has an idea for a new lock mechanism, what is the best course of action? Assuming it works and people would like it on knives, should the person contact a custom maker, a production company like benchmade, or what? I am curious about how the deal went when benchmade and Mchenry or whoever sold them the axis lock. How paranoid should I be about someone ripping off the idea if I show them? I appreciate any advice. Thanks!!
 
be very paranoid....only show it to someone you trust.....and then be prepared to take them out!!!
best bet is get some kind of legal thing going on it BEFORE you show it to anyone.
Like it or not....business...........in any form, is dog eat dog for most of the people out there. not all.....just most.
 
What Tom said, as well as do a patent search and see if it or something very similar has already been done. You would be surprised at the amount of knife locks that have been patented that arent in production!
 
I would also recommend consulting a patent attorney in your area. The attorney might be able to do a basic search to determine if your design warrants the "full treatment".
 
getting a patent is VERY expensive......12k for starters....
Check around very carefully before going that route.
 
Tom,
That is what I was afraid of. Is there some way I could partner up with a custom maker or production company and just sign over my idea and then they could pay me royalties or something?
 
You would be better partnering with a custom maker first, so the design could be reduced to practice and its merits evaluated. If it looks good, then you could go to a factory with it. Remember, you don't have to license the idea only once. You can license it to the customer maker or even several custom makers, and also license it to a factory as an exclusive for production purposes. I spent a lot of years in intellectual property management. It really isn't easy for an individual with a bright idea to protect themselves.

The further advantage of working with a custom maker first is so you can find out if it really works and how well, so you better know what kind of leverage you would have in dealing with a larger corporation.
 
Jerry,
Thanks for the advice. That is exactly the type of arrangment I was thinking about. I would think that most of the succesful custom makers would be very honorable about this sort of thing.
 
You might hook up with someone who would be honorable, but it could get ripped off by someone else. Ken Onion couldnt get a WEBSITE in his name because someone else had already registered it. That kind of stuff REALLY SUCKS!! :(
 
Honor can become a flexible concept, especially in the case of something as nebulous as an idea. At the minimum, get a signed non-disclosure agreement before you show ANYTHING to ANYONE. You can find standard pre-written forms for this, and skip the lawyer's bill.

Of course, non-disclosure agreements are regularly violated and then they need to be litigated ($$$). However, something is better than nothing...
 
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