Invention Query

Peyton Manning

Im sick of not having money so at work today I was inventing things in my head. I have 2 fantastic ideas that will make sure me, my children and my childrens children will be fantastically wealthy. I plan to revolutionise the breakfast cereal industry but I need to use exisiting cereals to do so.

Question: Is it better to just reproduce these cereals as part of my invention (Im not talking about making my own version of corn flakes - I just need corn flakes as a little part of my invention) or should I just approach Kelloggs with my idea and ask them to give me money for it.

bronte

I simply MUST know what your invention is..the suspense is killing me!!
I think you'd be best to reproduce your own cereals to use..no messy lawsuits.

knird evol

Will tescos corn flakes work in your invention also.
Then you can play kelloggs off against tescos and sit there laughing as they destroy each other - and you pick up the pieces

Peyton Manning

knird evol wrote:

Will tescos corn flakes work in your invention also.
Then you can play kelloggs off against tescos and sit there laughing as they destroy each other - and you pick up the pieces

This interests me greatly. Its not just corn flakes though, I need every cereal available on the market right now but lack the ability to produce my own. Can Kelloggs distinguish their product from anyone elses (i.e. Kelloggs Corn Flakes and Tesco Corn Flakes..?)

Dennis the Stone

Can you give a teeny weeny bit more information.. the invention involves the cornflakes.. so it's more than a box

Peyton Manning

Kemos wrote:

Can you give a teeny weeny bit more information.. the invention involves the cornflakes.. so it's more than a box

So you can steal my glorious idea? Bah, away with you!

Dennis the Stone

By the way, when you got the idea did you run through the streets naked shouting Eureka

AlmightyCushion

Kemos wrote:

By the way, when you got the idea did you run through the streets naked shouting Eureka

Well of course he did. It is part of the patent application process.

Jesus Wept

AlmightyCushion wrote:

Well of course he did. It is part of the patent application process.

pretty-in-pink

ry source your own, no loss of money that way, nor will coporate cereal killers (sorry) take over your idea, and rob you blind

a food invention eh? hmmmm clues?

Peyton Manning

I actually came up with about half a dozen breakfast related inventions. One of them is just genius (the one Im enquiring about), 2 are quite promising, 2 are a bit far fetched and the last 1 could be a bit dangerous if not used properly.

pretty-in-pink

Archimedes wrote:

the last 1 could be a bit dangerous if not used properly.

my kind of idea.....

bluto63

Well won't you need money if you're not just gonna approach another company?

The tax man

Well while you were day dreaming in work today,I've perfected your I mean my invention and have already applied for a patent.
BTW don't go down the corn flake route,ended up very messy and costly.I found the rice crispy to be much more favourable when it came to manufacturing costs. I'd go on but I'd be giving my secrets away.

SimpleSam06

Archimedes wrote:

I actually came up with about half a dozen breakfast related inventions. One of them is just genius (the one Im enquiring about), 2 are quite promising, 2 are a bit far fetched and the last 1 could be a bit dangerous if not used properly.

The least of your problems are the cereal companies, you need to be worried about health and safety regulations. If you are processing food that has already been processed to hell and back (I mean can you actually spot anything corn-like in corn flakes?) you'll probably be brewing up some wild chemical concoctions there. As for the cereal companies, so long as your end product doesn't resemble theirs in any way or form (that includes taste and smell), you will probably get away with it. I mean you can legally sell chocolate rice krispie buns at bake sales.

Binomate

It's a cornflake jigsaw...

monkeyfudge

This better not be anything like my breakfast beerial idea.

Real beer molecules are released upon the flakes coming in contact with milk... the perfect hair of the dog solution.

remus808

Archimedes wrote:

I actually came up with about half a dozen breakfast related inventions. One of them is just genius (the one Im enquiring about), 2 are quite promising, 2 are a bit far fetched and the last 1 could be a bit dangerous if not used properly.

Hahah is that last one the brekfast machine from Family Guy by any chance? Buahahahahah one of my favourite scenes ever, so funny!

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=UkH1jo9I76s

pretty-in-pink

i have the best cure for a cold ever. it involves breakfasty stuff. very yummy

WindSock

does it involve every piece of cereal thats nice in one big packet? coz thatd be fab.

biko

It's not another damn puzzle is it?

Peyton Manning

Well I cant go into specifics for copyright reasons, but this invention is for the lazy, which is why im so confident of my future wealth as a result of this.

AlmightyCushion

Archimedes wrote:

Well I cant go into specifics for copyright reasons, but this invention is for the lazy, which is why im so confident of my future wealth as a result of this.

It's a box of cerial that already comes with milk in it.

WindSock

AlmightyCushion wrote:

It's a box of cerial that already comes with milk in it.

Freeze dried milk. Just ass water! hehe. I typed ass instead of add by mistake

Mrs. MacGyver

Seriously, (soorry i've to be the boring person!) you will have to prove conclusively that your idea is original (so a fair bit of research is involved). Then you contact the state patents office in Kilkenny. then your submission will have to go to geneva to get a trade mark. The initial outlay is about E10,000. (my uncle invented the glow in the dark paint for airport runways and he never shuts up about patents so some of the info went in by osmosis!!!).

See Below from the Irish patents office:

' What is Patentable?

In order to be eligible for the grant of a valid patent the invention must be new, involve an inventive step and be capable of industrial application.

Novelty: An invention is considered new if it does not form part of the state of the art. The state of the art comprises everything made available to the public in any way, anywhere in the world, before the date of filing of the patent application.


Inventive step: An invention is considered as involving an inventive step if it is not obvious to a person skilled in that area of technology, having regard to the state of the art.


Industrial applicability: The invention must be capable of being made or used in some kind of industry, including agriculture.'
See the following hyperlink:

http://www.patentsoffice.ie/en/homepage.aspx

Peyton Manning

Oh well, I wont get around to inventing it anyway - but one can dream. Here is my idea in all its glory using high spec blueprints from Microsoft. I call it Pot Cereal (think Pot Noodle, only Cereal). The blue thing is a string. The Red things is alluminium foil. Obviously you would find this in the refridgerated section of the supermarket. And a small plastic spoon is included stuck under the lid. Ideal for the busy commuter.

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1677/potcerealqm5.png

pretty-in-pink

Archimedes wrote:

Oh well, I wont get around to inventing it anyway - but one can dream. Here is my idea in all its glory using high spec blueprints from Microsoft. I call it Pot Cereal (think Pot Noodle, only Cereal). The blue thing is a string. The Red things is alluminium foil. Obviously you would find this in the refridgerated section of the supermarket. And a small plastic spoon is included stuck under the lid. Ideal for the busy commuter.

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1677/potcerealqm5.png

thats kinda like the cool version of what they gave us at ****** a few years back.

WindSock

I like it! Can I have one in Coco Pops with low fat milk please?

Crazy Christ

Try Cruickshanks

Mrs. MacGyver

I saw something like it 8 years ago, my cousin used to get it in blessington and eat it in the foyer before college. It was cereal but on top was a section with 'normal' milk that you could out in the cereal. Haven't seen something similar to it in years, must email her to find out more.

Peyton Manning

Mrs. MacGyver wrote:

I saw something like it 8 years ago, my cousin used to get it in blessington and eat it in the foyer before college. It was cereal but on top was a section with 'normal' milk that you could out in the cereal. Haven't seen something similar to it in years, must email her to find out more.

Well f*ck that anyway, guess Im back to relying on my dinner roll (a breakfast roll, but with dinner...)

shadowspider

Hmm... I know its not the same but there is that porridge in a pot thing. Who knows, archimedes could be onto a winner.

2 stroke

seriously if you do invent something, don't admit you dreamt it up in work. Your employer may have a claim on your idea.

Capt'n Midnight

Archimedes wrote:

Question: Is it better to just reproduce these cereals as part of my invention (Im not talking about making my own version of corn flakes - I just need corn flakes as a little part of my invention) or should I just approach Kelloggs with my idea and ask them to give me money for it.

Doesn't matter which way you go you will get screwed by the suits and their lawyers


Patent breaking is a big business, that where you look at a patent and figure out how to make a slightly different product or different procedure so you don't have to pay royalties. Even if you could defend your patent you can only do so if you have very deep pockets. US patent law is MAD, you can file patents a year later , so kellogs can say - "very nice, but we already have one"

GhostInTheRuins

If all my years of watching Dragons Den has taught me anything, and it has, is that it would be a lot easier to take your idea to Kellogs and let them pay you off for it.

Spook_ie

Archimedes wrote:

Oh well, I wont get around to inventing it anyway - but one can dream. Here is my idea in all its glory using high spec blueprints from Microsoft. I call it Pot Cereal (think Pot Noodle, only Cereal). The blue thing is a string. The Red things is alluminium foil. Obviously you would find this in the refridgerated section of the supermarket. And a small plastic spoon is included stuck under the lid. Ideal for the busy commuter.

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/1677/potcerealqm5.png

Damn those yanks and their time machine for coming to the future and stealing your idea!!!

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5167973.html

monkeyfudge

Ha... I remember being handed something like this as a free sample at a Dart station a good few years back. I guess it never really took off.

whiskeyman

that idea has been around yonks.
I think Kelloggs brought them out a few years ago and it flopped.
Think other companies tried it (using UHT milk... bleaugh!!) in a storage area in the lid, and you'd peal it back to pour the milk into the carton area.
Guess there was issues over storage... mightn't be good to store the cereal in cold temperatures that the milk needs, and vica versa... guess that's why the tried in with UHT milk.
Kelloggs deffo sell their cereals in little plastic pots too (without the milk).. probably on the basis you pick up a small plastic carton / fill it up before leaving work etc...
They probably pushed their cereal bars (more blleagghh!!) as an alternative 'cereal on the go'.

themole

whiskeyman wrote:

that idea has been around yonks.
I think Kelloggs brought them out a few years ago and it flopped.
Think other companies tried it (using UHT milk... bleaugh!!) in a storage area in the lid, and you'd peal it back to pour the milk into the carton area.
Guess there was issues over storage... mightn't be good to store the cereal in cold temperatures that the milk needs, and vica versa... guess that's why the tried in with UHT milk.
Kelloggs deffo sell their cereals in little plastic pots too (without the milk).. probably on the basis you pick up a small plastic carton / fill it up before leaving work etc...
They probably pushed their cereal bars (more blleagghh!!) as an alternative 'cereal on the go'.

I saw one of those in the spar at the head of my road. UHT milk, spawn of satan:p

themole

Archimedes wrote:

Well f*ck that anyway, guess Im back to relying on my dinner roll (a breakfast roll, but with dinner...)

Leason learned. Before even thinking about developing an invention check if anyone has done it before.

Mrs. MacGyver

Easiest way round that is to check with patents office in Switzerland. you could have an amazing ground breaking invention idea over your next pint in the local...but don't blab it to everyone!

Capt'n Midnight

Mrs. MacGyver wrote:

Easiest way round that is to check with patents office in Switzerland. you could have an amazing ground breaking invention idea over your next pint in the local...but don't blab it to everyone!

That's the beauty of the American patent system , you can blab for a year and then register and sue. PS. tell Albert I said hello.

Best thing to do is to figure out what R&D Kellogs are doing. Then patent it, but use very obtuse wording and in a different section like talk about seeds instead of corn sorta thing. you now have a submarine patent. You wait until kellogs release their musical rice krispies. Then you do nothing for years. When kellogs have made a lot of money you then point out that rice is a seed or made from a seed and you own the rights to putting milk on all musical products made from seeds and take all the money off them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_patent

Extreme examples of U.S. submarine patents include US patent 6097812, filed on July 25, 1933 and granted (and published) 67 years and seven days afterwards on August 1, 2000

ambro25

Guys, can you please stop going on about the patent system at all... it doesn't work how you describe it in any way, contacting WIPO in Switzerland is pointless (try espacenet.net instead) and submarine patents (a US-only phenomenon - for various legal reasons) have been all but eradicated in the last 6 months following recent US Court rulings.

@ OP

Best advice on thread was:

Crazy Christ wrote:

Try Cruickshanks

Second best advice follows - don't post about it on Public Forums at all.