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The Lambert Review Of Business-University Collaboration, published in December 2003 looked at the relationship between industry and academia in scientific research and commercialisation of that research. It broadly supports the Government’s approach to ‘third stream funding’ which promotes knowledge transfer. The amount of money spent by UK companies on research and  development (R & D) is low compared with other industrialised nations: about $410 per person compared with $700 per person in France and $1300 in the USA.

There are barriers to commercialising university IP, including lack of clarity on ownership in research collaboration and in the variable quality of university technology transfer offices. Universities perform well by international standards in science and technology. There has been a marked change of culture, with many universities casting off their ivory tower image and playing a much more active role in their regional and national economy. But, there had been too much emphasis on spinouts over the last decade compared with licensing fend other forms of commercialisation).

When we received the Notice of Allowance for our first patent, meaning that we would be awarded the patent, and were able to obtain a license agreement, that all changed. Our licensee was immediately able to place Ghostline® in all of the stores we had coveted, and more. Our new product had immediate nationwide distribution. If we had continued to manufacture and distribute the product ourselves, we would never have obtained that level of success.

The more of the above-listed criteria your invention meets, the greater are your chances of success. This does not mean that if it does not meet all of these criteria your product cannot be successful; it just means it is not as likely. For example, an expensive item that is a one-time purchase can be a successful invention if the potential market is large enough.

Inventors who are operating on a shoestring budget would be well advised to seriously consider each one of the listed criteria. Among your many great ideas, maximize your chances of success and minimize the likelihood that you will spend money unnecessarily by carefully choosing the idea that will require the least amount of cash outlay with the greatest potential for commercialization.

The importance of matching your product to the manufacturer with the best “fit” for that product should not be underestimated. Your best chance of getting your product to market is in having it picked up by a company that already distributes similar products to the various retailers. Retailers almost never make the time to talk to an independent inventor with only one product and they will rarely, if ever, disrupt their planogram, or map of the store space, to make room for a one-product vendor. Getting your product  with a manufacturer who already has the retailer’s attention and shelf space solves these problems handily.

Our own personal story is the perfect example of this. While we were patent pending we manufactured and sold Ghostline® ourselves. We sold it to small office supply stores and teacher stores. That obviously was not our marketing goal at the same time, so we were also contacting all the large mass merchandising stores, such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Kroger, Fred Meyer, etc., where we eventually wanted to see Ghostline® offered for sale.

When we were able to get someone to talk to us, which was a rare event, we heard the same refrain over and over again. They all said, “We don’t carry products from one-product vendors. Get your product with one of our distributors and we’ll be happy to carry it.” Most of the retailers would not talk to us at all because all of their buyers’ time was taken up meeting with their regular distributors. It would have been much too time-consuming to meet with inventors of individual products.

Contact retail buyers in a professional manner if you choose to manufacture and distribute your product yourself. Do not attempt to get their attention with gifts or gadgets. This is a dead giveaway that you are an amateur and it will destroy your chances with them.