HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR INNOVATION

Engineering News needs your product proposal to be in a concise standardized format for publication.

The first thing you need to devise is a descriptive name for your product, something to attract the attention of the readers.

Then the three main topics to be covered are:

• The Problem
• Your Solution
• Conclusion and your expectations

If you have a photo or good 2D-3D drawing which will help to explain your idea then you should include it. What you hope to achieve in this column is to get potential buyers, investors or business partners interested in your concept or innovation. You must therefore highlight your product’s value, not show how intelligent you have been in developing it. Be brief and to the point.

Remember that the people you want to impress with your product are in business and are probably successful – and busy. They are the kind of people who can see much more than you think they can, so don’t bore them. If they want more information they will contact you.

Once you have exposed your innovation through this weekly column people may be contacting you for more information. Be prepared! Have a full product proposal available explaining your innovation in detail. Take the time to make it the best presentation you can.

An entry fee of R200.00 payable to The Masiphembe Innovators Column is required to cover direct expenses including revenue stamps, postage etc. No part of this fee is passed on to Engineering News or any other persons or organisations. A part of the fee will be refunded to you if your entry is not accepted.

How To Apply For An Award Of A Provisional Patent Application?

It is quite simple. Just obtain an application form and instruction sheet online or from the Masiphembe Design Centre. You can then send your innovation or design for evaluation for publication and an award of a provisional patent or design application. You will have to send an entry fee of R200.00 to cover the direct running expenses involved.

Your entry will then be put before the Masiphembe Technical Panel on which a group of design experts meet every two months, on a voluntary basis, to judge entries for the column. You will be notified whether your idea qualifies for publication and the award of a provisional patent application. If it does you will be told how to proceed. If your idea does not qualify you will be refunded a part of your entry fee.

What Can You Submit?

Any original product that fulfills a need. However, please note that this is not a column for undeveloped thoughts or problem stating. Your contribution should be well thought-out, at least to a stage where you are looking for partners to participate in, or finance, your development. Your idea must have reached a state where it can be manufactured. This means that it must have form and a high probability of being able to perform the function it is designed for.

Protection

If you are an award winner the first step will be to protect your rights before your idea is published. The route followed will be the provisional patent application. It will give you the right for one year (six months for design application) to file priority applications in all ‘Paris Convention’ countries. The S.A. Inst. Of intellectual Property Law supports this column and will arrange for you, as an award winner, to have a provisional patent application prepared free of charge and give you the advice you need.

More Help

The Masiphembe Design Centre is planning design databases, exhibitions and introductions to professional product designers to help the innovator further down the road towards successful marketing. Your published idea will be included in one of the databases so that your exposure to possible entrepreneurs will not be limited to the week of publication. The published columns will be on display in the centre and the information retained in a database for further reference by entrepreneurs in search of ideas.