Patent Attorney and Founder
Today’s question: How do I protect my invention when working with a manufacturer?
Hey, I’m JD Houvener—founder and patent attorney at Bold Patents. I’ve been helping inventors for over a decade, and in that time, we’ve worked on nearly 500 patents. I also wrote Bold Ideas: The Inventor’s Guide to Patents. If you’re just getting started, check out the Bold Inventor Kit below. It’s packed with helpful stuff.
Alright, let’s get into it.
This is a really important question—one I wish more inventors asked early on. If you’re thinking about working with a manufacturer before you’ve filed a patent, pause. There’s a right way to go about it.
Start with a contract.
It might sound obvious, but it’s the first (and biggest) step. Before you share your idea—before you make a single prototype—you need a written agreement. Yes, even if the manufacturer is just down the street. And especially if they’re overseas or out of state.
There are two big things to include in that agreement:
1. Confidentiality
Before any conversations start, get a signed confidentiality agreement (also called an NDA). This protects your idea from being shared, stolen, or accidentally leaked. The NDA should be baked into your main contract—not a separate doc floating around.
And don’t go it alone. Find a business attorney in your state to review the agreement. That way, if something goes sideways and the manufacturer breaks their promise, you’ve got a shot at holding them accountable in court.
2. Invention Assignment
Here’s where things get tricky. As you work with a manufacturer, they might suggest ways to improve your design—different materials, faster production methods, or ways to cut costs.
Sometimes those changes are small. Other times, they’re big enough to be considered a new invention. And if it’s not clear in your contract who owns those improvements… things can get messy.
So make it clear: you own any new ideas or improvements that come out of the process, even if the manufacturer helps develop them. That way, you can patent the final product—and keep control of it.
There are other contract terms to include too—like performance expectations and a clause that lets you switch manufacturers if needed. But if you remember nothing else, remember this:
- Protect your idea with a contract
- Lock in confidentiality
- Cover invention ownership
- Get legal help to back it up
That’s it for today. Hope this helped!
Go big. Go Bold.