Help troubleshooting a product that I believe in

[focusedontheneedle]

Hello y'all, I am here to ask for advice on producing and selling a product that I had an idea for. I truly believe this product would be a great and sought after product but the problems I am seeing is that are that

A) The product is cheap to produce but also cheap to sell. It is not something, that even at the best possible quality version of the product, a person/business owner would spend more than 3-4 dollars a unit on (even that is pushing it).

B) The product is essentially plastic. R&D and Making molds would be a large part of the cost. After this, because it might be easy to replicate, how can I guarantee that some Chinese company with tons of access to plastic molds and the relevant technology won't rip off the product and sell it at a fraction or just put me straight out of business after I invested the money to design and build the preliminary models of the product.

Just for some clarity, and so that you can help think through these issues or even bring up new issues I have not thought of, the product is a spin on a classic squeeze bottle that restaurants use to store sauces or that customers use for ketchup or mustard.

Thanks for your input and thoughts.

 

[columba7]

@focusedontheneedle You can't guarantee it.

Someone will knock it off. And not just there, but beyond. When I invented my product, I opted not to worry about China. I focused on protection within the United States. If someone steals your idea in China, generally speaking, you will have to hire local attorneys to go after the infringing parties. Probably too expensive for most businesses to take on this type of expense. Also, China has different rules governing what patent infringement actually is in comparison to other countries. A backward or upside down version of an existing logo may not necessarily be forbidden. In the states, the litmus test is anything that is confusingly similar is generally protected. That said, you can file a patent in China and elsewhere to somewhat protect your idea. But it won't guarantee full protection. It just gives you the right to be able to defend your idea by excluding others from making/selling it without coming through you first.

 

[focusedontheneedle]

@columba7 Thanks for that. I really appreciate it.

Are patents taken as seriously in China as they are here or in the U.S. (I am in Canada)?

 

[columba7]

@focusedontheneedle Yes, but there will always be both unintentional and intentional infringement.