Military Careers, Second Careers - Marine Corps Times

A patented plan for protecting your ideas

First of all, CitiKitty was Workbytes’ idea.

We came up with it about 10 years ago. And if we had done something about it back then, we would be high on the hog right now, rather than locked into this 9ish-to-4:30-or-thereabouts grind.

Check out http://www.kittygoespotty.com to see what we’re talking about. (Go ahead, we’ll wait.)

For those of you with a dial-up connection, CitiKitty is a complete feline waste handling system. It’s basically a $29 piece of plastic and a few pages of instructions, but it will eliminate the need for a litter box and train your cat to use the toilet.

The concept is simple. And the product is effective, as the video and accompanying testimonials will attest.

Again, it should be noted that Workbytes thought of CitiKitty first. Our version, of course, had a catchier, two word name. (The first word was “kitten,” and the second word rhymed.)

But in the high-stakes world of inventions, one maxim holds true: If you snooze, you lose. (Unless you invented the snooze button, in which case, thank you. Thank you. Thank you again.)

CitiKitty could have been our ticket out. Instead, someone else — specifically, CitiKitty Inc. — has cashed in on what took Workbytes at least four beers and the better part of an afternoon to develop.

We snoozed. And we loozed.

History is full of regular schlubs who were smart enough to cash in on their ideas and walk away from mundane careers:

• Levi Strauss was a canvas salesman in the 1850s when he noticed that gold prospectors’ pants did not withstand the wear and tear of their profession.

• George Stephen was a factory worker who loved to barbecue but struggled with uneven heat and flame. So in 1952, he cut a metal buoy in half and fashioned a dome-shaped grill with a rounded lid. Then he met a guy named Weber.

• Sorenson “Sam” Adams was a salesman for a dye company in the early 1900s. Until he put spring-loaded snakes in a fake can of mixed nuts. He is also credited with practical-joke itching powder, stink bombs and the dribble glass.

These folks, despite their varied areas of interest, had one thing in common: They took steps to protect their ideas and thus reaped the rewards once the concepts became bona fide products.

Workbytes’ new friend, Brett J. Trout, says no matter how good (or bad) an invention is, the first thing to do is to get a patent.

Trout is a Des Moines, Iowa, attorney who has helped hundreds of people do just that over more than 15 years in the field.

“What holds people up is the fear of talking to a lawyer,” he said. “That’s the first hump they need to get over. But they need get off the couch and take that first, critical step.”

Trout says it costs about $8,000 — and more than two years in most cases — to get a patent, whether it’s for a high-strength industrial adhesive or an upscale restaurant that operates on a carnival ride (we’re calling it “Ferris Meals,” so don’t bother.)

Trout will provide a half-hour, free consultation to get the process started. Just like he did with Brett Ware and his Stealth Diver, a vibrating fishing lure. (U.S. Patent No. 6035574).

Trout’s advice and expertise will become more and more important as the heat gets turned up under America’s inventive spirit.

We’re talking about a pair of new television shows designed to let average people pitch their inventions. First there’s PBS’s “Everyday Edisons,” in which experts will judge each inventor’s idea on “design and patentability.”

“Everyone either has had an idea for a new product or knows someone who has invented something,” executive producer Michael Cable said. “Following through and executing is what trips up most inventors.”

Not to be outdone, ABC has countered with “American Inventor,” which features George Foreman on the panel of judges. (Hint: Your chances increase dramatically if you invent something edible.)

Needless to say, for every great invention on either show, there will be 5 gajillion schlubs at home who had the idea first.

Don’t let it happen to you.

If you have a sure-fire, money-making, non-patented invention — say you’ve developed a thingamajig that converts gizmos into whatchamacallits — send it to Workbytes for a free evaluation.

Our staff will get right back to you. Promise.

Until then, we will go back to work on the revolutionary Cat-Go-Flush 3000.

And, we might add: pat. pend.

(Dawn Sagario and Larry Ballard of The Des Moines Register take turns writing the WorkBytes column. Write to the columnists at The Des Moines Register, P.O. Box 957, Des Moines, IA 50304-0957.)