Over the years we’ve found that inventors ask us many of the same questions about how we work and the terminology we use when discussing new products in the toy, gift, and juvenile products marketplace. Perhaps you have similar questions. If so, please take a few moments to read through the questions and answers below. If you still have questions (or even unaddressed concerns), please don’t hesitate to let us know. Are we an "invention marketing" company? No! Invention marketing companies have no expertise or connection to the industries they claim to work in. They’re in the business to sell inventors virtually useless 'design' patents at inflated prices, and to charge inventors thousands of dollars to represent their concepts. NewFuntiers is not in the patent-mill business, and we never charge you for representing your concept to our manufacturing clients. Representation is always at our expense. When you add in the fact that we have over 27 years experience working in the toy, gift and juvenile product industries, the difference between us and invention marketing companies is clear. One last point: Our manufacturing clients are really our manufacturing clients... and they do not work with invention marketing companies Will we keep your idea confidential? Absolutely! We’ll work together under a fair and clearly written Confidential Nondisclosure Agreement, and we will never disclose your idea to anyone outside of our company without your written permission. What if Newfuntiers has a concept similar to yours? If your idea overlaps one of our own, we will send you photos of our models and graphic presentation materials, along with a concept description and a list of the manufactures who have already seen our concept. If your idea overlaps one from another independent inventor, we will give you their name, address and phone number so you can speak, directly, with them. What concept materials do we need to evaluate your idea? We need a good description of your concept, along with photo copies of any drawings, or photos of models you may have. If you prefer to send us a short demo video tape, please make sure you keep a second copy for your records. Do you need a patent or copyright before you can submit your idea for evaluation? No. Our Confidential Nondisclosure Agreement allows us to work “confidentially” together. All of the new product ideas that we show and license to our manufacturing clients are presented to them under similar Confidential Nondisclosure Agreements, and many are not patented or copyrighted until after they are licensed and, subsequently, fully developed into production products. How do we evaluate the new product ideas sent in from independent inventors? We use the same 'licensing criteria' our manufacturing clients use in the category the product idea falls into. Our background and experience in the industry, along with our close working relationship with our manufacturing clients, provides us a constant flow of updated information on product categories of interest and the specific new product needs of individual manufacturers. Why should you work with NewFuntiers? Good question. The answer: We’re one of a select group of creative companies that licenses new products to major manufacturers in a variety of consumer product industries, and we’re very good at what we do. We are are also extremely knowledgeable about product innovation and design, as well as our manufacturing clients’ new product needs. What other services do we offer? NewFuntiers is an innovative, design & development company. We offer independent inventors the same creative services we offer our major manufacturing clients. Please keep in mind, however, that you are not obligated to use them. Concept evaluations and consultations are not intended as a come-on for you to spend any additional money with us on services you may not need, want, or can get elsewhere. We will represent your new product concept regardless of where you choose to to have any additional creative work done. Can we help you manufacture and sell your idea? Yes. If you decide you want to market your new product idea yourself (rather than license it), we can help you from concept to production, including: engineering; design; packaging; and manufacturing sourcing. We can also put you in touch with regional sales representative who can help you sell your new product to major retail buyers. Why do we charge an evaluation fee? The easy answer is, our professional time and expertise has value. We have also learned that we would be quickly overwhelmed by concept submissions from independent inventors if we didn’t charge for our evaluations, and the insights we provide into the licensing requisites and new product needs of our manufacturing clients. Since the fee is refundable against successfully licensed products (or deductible from any creative work we might do on your behalf) we feel it is a reasonable approach to managing our professional time and work flow. Most importantly, it allows us to provide our inventor clients with a high level of information feedback and personal service. Why does NewFuntiers get 40% of the Royalties on successfully licensed products? Successfully licensing new products to our manufacturing clients is a speculative business that requires a significant amount of industry background and experience. Having a good idea from a ‘consumer’ point of view is a good start. However, that does not mean you have a viable product from a manufacturer’s ‘licensing’ point of view, or even the ‘purchasing’ point of view of a retail buyer. We’ve seen a lot of good ideas that consumers might like, but few that fully meet the licensing criteria of our manufacturing clients; and that’s where our background and experience comes in. By providing you insight into the inner workings and needs of our manufacturing clients, your product ideas can be transformed into viable and successful license products. Therefore, when you add the extensive input and experience we provide, to the significant expenses associated with working closely with you and representing your new product idea (expenses we bear in their entirety), a simple fact of licensing toys, games, gifts and baby products becomes clear: Our manufacturing clients only review and license new products from a very select group of industry professionals. We’re fortunate to be among them, and we’re going to work hard to license your product idea and earn our 40% share. If NewFuntiers successfully Licenses your Product Idea, Who Owns It? The inventor always retains ownership of their product idea, even when it is 'licensed' to a manufacturer interested in marketing a product based on the idea. For simplicity sake, you can think of a license agreement as being similar to a car rental agreement. When you rent a car, you pay the rental company for the time you are using the car. During the rental period the ownership of the car remains with the car rental company. Instead of a rental fee, a manufacturer, under a license agreement, pays a royalty on every product they sell, for as long as they offer the product for sale. At the end of the license agreement the ownership of the product remains with the inventor. Have More Questions? Just give us a call or send us a fax or an e-mail. The only way you’re going to feel comfortable working with us, is to feel satisfied that you know what to expect from us. |