Ok, I have an idea for a great product. Where/ how can I get a prototype made/avoid the idea being copied etc?

[katepol]

I have had this idea for several years now. It is something which has a similar product on the market, but my idea is much more sophisticated, has a longer life span, more uses and parents will definitely prefer it.

I have no idea where I can get a mock up of this product made, which I obviously need before I can tout it around companies etc. Plus, I had a look at the patent office website and got conpletely confused about intellectual property rights etc.

Has anyone here taken an idea through to a finished product, and if so any words of advice???

speak to Businesslink they will be able to point you in the right direction

Pickie
Jiust had a look at their website - looks just what I need. Thanks very much!

I have patented a couple of products, the first was the Baby Feed Wheel, a card with a dial on to help parents keep track of feed times.

I spent a good few weeks trawling the internet to see if I could find any products that sounded or looked like the idea I'd had. I used all the search engines, google images, checked UK and foreign sites. When I was pretty sure the idea hadn't been done before, I got in touch with the patent office.
As you say, the website is frighteningly confusing , so I phoned them and spoke to some really nice and helpful people.

The main problem is that if you submit your design, and it has already been patented, you lose your money. In my case, as it was a design patent (the disc used in the cards already has a full patent) this was only £60, so I thought it was worth the gamble! However, a full patent is much dearer.

There are companies that specialise in creating prototypes of new products.

I found useful info about patents etc on the Working Lunch website (the BBC2 programme) as they were doing a feature on patents at the time. The info may be in the archives now.

Some business forums may help- there is one called UKBusinessForum, which has lots of info on, so may help.

I hope this is of some help!