Intellectual Property 1

Intellectual Property: Safety ignition for a barbeque charcoal

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
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Safety ignition for a barbeque charcoal

Market investigation

The barbeque market in the United States rose by 560 million dollars between 2015 and

2021. While gas powered grills make up a giant share of this amrket, a significantr 39% of the

market is made up by charcoal and other solid fuels[ CITATION AJP21 \l 1033 ]. This is obviously a

market that is growing very quickly. It is also reported that there are a significant number of fires

every year that result from barbeques. A huge percentage of this fires happened when liquid fuels

were used.

Statistics by the NFPA indicate that 10,600 home fires in the US are the result of grills

and barbeques. On average, charcoal grills were involved in 1300 huse fires on average each

year, and this translates to about 12% of all the fires caused by grill are the result of charcoal or

another solid fuel being used[ CITATION Pet21 \l 1033 ]. This indicates that even while charcoal is

the safer option for grilling, it is still hazardous. While several gadgets have been made to make

grilling using charcoal safe, there is still a gap in the market. Many people who grill using

charcoal still find the need to use ligher fluid which lends an unwanted flavour in the food and in

also unsafe.

Due to the possible risk involved in barbequing, there is need that a safe way of lighting

the grill is deviced. This also becomes more important when it is considered that the market for

grills is expanding every year, meaning that more people are using grills and consequently

having to light them. Most lighters in the market currently claim to be safe and to have child

locks as well as hooks to hang them out of reach, but none of these methods are foolproof. The

arclighters, for example, can burn adults and children in equal measure whne still hot. The idea
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with this project is to make a product with so many opportunities for accidents to have as little

risk during use as possible.

Refillable butane lighters are used in many cases to light barbeque fires. However, these

types of lighers are highly flammable and and therefore many precautions are required in their

use. There are products already in the market that make lighting a charcoal grill easier include a

handheld ligher which is powered electricity and works by directing superheated air is directed to

the charcoal. This is called the looftligher, and it has a 9-foot long cord. It has the advantage of

speed, only taking sixty seconds before the coals catch on fire[ CITATION Abo21 \l 1033 ]. It is

however quite costly, with the all electric one being US $70 and the batter powered one being

US $300 approximately. In addition, since it is so easy to use, it can be accessed by children and

be the cause of unforeseen hazard. This product limits users to a 9 feet radius on an electric

power source or makes them pay more to get an option operable using a battery. We aim to make

a product which can integrate the two options in one.

Our idea is to make a device that makes it easy to light a charcoal barbecue safely, but

also has less risk of resulting in accident when it is accessed by unauthorised people. This means

that the lighter is connected to an application on the phone which turns it on and off, therefore

controlling when it can be in use. The application can also ensure that the ligher is on for the

exact time that is needed for the charcoals to catch fire. This is of course in addition to the

manual controls on it. Phone applications have been in this age been used to ease many activities

including enabling the tracking of temperature of steak on a grill[ CITATION Lar21 \l 1033 ]. There

is no shortage to what phone applications can be sued to accomplish, and this is something that

ill be exploited for this product. This product would also be rechargable like other lighters while
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still being affordable. One major con of this product would be that once an application is used for

operation of a product, then web hosting for the application becomes a continuous expense.

Patent databases(prior artwork and novelty)

The patent database has several handheld lighters with most of them being rechargable,

arc lighters which are also called plasma lighters, and refillable ones. Looft is the only one that is

all electric and makes use of superheated air.

Design databases(existing similar or same designs)

The design for this product shall have similarities to the looftlighter which is flameless,

handheld and can be used for furnaces as well as barbeques. Its larger size makes it less likely to

be a toy for a child. In addition, it is fully electric and does not have any fluid inside it, maming it

environemnt friendly. Its also has an easy to grasp handle.

Inherent copyright between ideation and commercialization stages

A copyright is gotten by a creator so that their ownership of the works is recognised

legally, and so that other individuals need to get permission from the creator to use these

creations.

Determine market, and market value per annum

The price for an arc lighetr than can be recharged is less than twenty american dollars at online

stores. Making it controllable from the phone for safety purposes can double the price to fourty

dollars.
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Cost of IP protection

The product here includes a tangible good which is the lighter, as well as software which

enable the user to control when the lighter can be in use. The steps include;

1. Registering the design and trademark. This is a simple process which can be 50 pounds

for a single design. The costs get cheaper when the number of designs increase, because a

total of ten designs can cost 70 pounds.

2. Filing for copyright. This denies any other person the legal license to recreate a creators

property without permission. It cost 42.50 for 5 years and 72.50 for ten years. Postal

applications for five years are 52.50, and 82.50 for ten years.

3. Registration of intellectual property and trade secrets.

4. Filing for patent. This gives the inventor ownership of the new idea that they have. This

is very important especially if this new feature gives the inventor an advantage over the

competitors. The patents in the UK cost between 1500 and 6000 sterling pounds before

value added tax.

Viability decisions, whether to invest in formal IP protection(cost and profit)

While it is important that intellectual property be protected from fraudsters, the idea to

connect hardware to software has been done for. With or without this innovation being protected,

however, being the first in the market to attempt such a thing would distinguish the project. This

could be a case of a brand name being synonymous with a type of a product.

In addition, once this idea hits the market, competitors will be able to mimic it and do the

same thing without necessarily getting source code from the inventor.
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IP protection plan

1. Know the intellectual property. The aspect that makes the proposed lighter unique, which

is the usage of the application to ensure safety around children and other unauthorised

users, should be recognised as the intellectual property. There are several applications

that have been written, but to have one control the functioning of a lighter is a new

innovation.

2. Know where the intellectual property is stored. Before the lighter gets into the market, the

details on how it differs from existing lighters should be guarded closely. Every device

on which these details are stored, be it a hard drive or a personall phone, should be

known.

3. Put priority on the intellectual property. The inventors of a products have no proof that

they made a unique product unless there is legal documentation showing proof that they

were the ones who first though of it. This includes trademark and copyright documents,

as well as the patent.

4. Put a note on the intellectual property. It is unavoidable that other individuals will get

into contact with a new product both before and after it is introduced to the market. These

other parties should be made aware of the personall nature of the product, and should be

warned not to share private information. This can be done through a requirement that a

non disclosure agreement for all employees so that they are in breach of contract if they

leak information.

5. Physically and digitally secure the intellectual property.

6. Educate employees on intellectual property

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7. Educate oneself of the ways in which intellectual property can be protected. There are

many routes that can be taken to keep a product from being appropriated by other people,

and it is the repsonsibility of an inventor to be familiar with all of them.

8. Take note of all breaches on the intellectual property. Some deliberate actions by people

involved in the making or operation of a product may lead to trade secrets leaking, and

these should be noted before they result in irrepairable damage.

Flowcharts for timeline of ip protection plan

File to protect the trade

Is this an idea worth investment of time, energy, and secret, but do no rudh to
finances? patent yet

no

Is this technology an
imitation of another
patented product by
another company?

yes production design no

What stage is the product Fie for patent

in: the design, production
or marketing ?

marketing license out

For how long have

Do we aready have a
marketing plan for the
product?
no we had the plan in
motion? Is it more Patent is needed
than a year?
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yes yes private funding

Are we willing to invest
thousands of pounds in
patents and intellectual
property protection
Do we want private
funding or to
no
license out to an
existing company?
Consult a patent attorney

yes

Process, likely success of failure

With the increase in the market for grills, it stands to reason that the market for lighters

increases each year as well. In estimating how often people buy lighters, it must be considered

that lighters last a relatively long time, menaing that homes that do barbeques and already on a

lighter will keep it for a long time. However, lighters are generally acceptable as gifts for such

events as Fathers’ Day, and therefore there is every chance that one home can have more than

one lighter if it becomes famed enough.

The rise in barbeques as a lifestyle among households means that more lighters shall be

bought. In addition, younger households can appreciate the advantage of having a lighter that can

be controlled by a mobile application. Young families especially have to worry about safety, and

knowing that it is possible to render the lighter useless using a mobile phone is a plus. This

product has high chances of success for the market because:

1. It solves the problem of safety being encountered by users of lighters.

2. It is used quite regularly in seasons with good weather, and national ceremonies like

independence days are marked by parties in which foods are barbequed.

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3. There is natural demand for a barbeque, as all people who get a home will get a barbeque

as well. In addition, flameless and fully electric lighters are cleana and release no

greenhouse gases, which makes them more friendly to the environment. By selling not

just a product but also social responsibility, a product increases its chances of

responsibility. Statistics suggest that in summer, 70% of Canadians and Americans take

part in barbeque parties. This means that the demand for the barbeques and lighters by

extension is high and is not going down any time soon. While it is true that lighters

especially of the electric variety last quite a long time, a culture of consumerism means

that even when things are not urgently needed, they might be bought if they are attractive

enough.

4. The patent list for lighters has many arc lights. This means that flameless lighters are

gaining popularity with the market. In addition, connecting a product to the phone in this

internet age sets it ahead of the competition. In this way a product is easier to introduce to

a market, and it also becomes less diffiult to convince an existing company to take up the

product.

However, introducing a product like a lighter to the market requires a constant acquisition of

new customers, because the likelihood that one person will purchase more than one within a

short time period is low unless they do it for regifting purposes.

Feasibility and route to commercialization

There are two possible routes to commercialization for this product. One would involve

the inventor taking up production independently, while another involves the inventor licencing

the getting a patent for the product, and then licensing it to an already existing company so that

they may undertake production of it under their name.

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The independent production has its advnatages, such as having full control of the product,

and being able to see the original vision come to light. It is always lkely that a proposed product

to another entity will undergo so many tweaks that it will not be recognizable from the prototype.

In addition, the inventors would be able to pick a trustworthy staff who can be trusted with any

trade secrets. However, these workers would either have to work for very low wages or the

founders would need to take up expensive business loans to finance salaries in addition to other

operations.

Since there are so many products in this field, with lighters being manufactured cheaply

in China for several brands, it would be difficult to penetrate this market independently as a start-

up. Not only would the inventors have to weather the market forces independently, they would

also have to design the product, do market research, plan how to do mass production, do

presentations to investors for funding, and much more[ CITATION Goo21 \l 1033 ]. All these

processes would take up a lot of time and if there is no copyright and patent on the product yet,

this would be a time when fraudsters easily start producing the product before even the inventors

themselves.

For the reasons stated above, licencing to an existing company is the best feasible option.

The company already has the technology required to make the lighters, and they already have a

research team that can help improve the product and make it market ready. Existing companies

already have a presence on the market and therefore there would be less barriers to them entering

the market. Loyal customers to the brand would not need much convincing to buy. It is alos

much easier to convince a market to buy a product from producers who already have other

products in the market. Distribution channels are already in place and for a truly excellent
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product that the existing company believes in, funding made available as well. With this route

being taken it is important to copyright and patent the product so that there is a bargaining chip.
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References

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intellectual-property

Ackerman, P. (2021, October 20). Decypher. Retrieved from Innovation Asses Group Inc:

https://www.innovation-asset.com/blog/the-4-main-types-of-intellectual-property-and-

related-costs

AJProTech. (2021, October 20). Retrieved from AJProTech LLC:

https://ajprotech.com/download/ip_protection_flowchart/

Behr, A., & Slater, D. (2021, October 20). CSO. Retrieved from IDG communications:

https://www.csoonline.com/article/2138380/intellectual-property-protection-10-tips-to-

keep-ip-safe.html

Brock, L. (2021, October 20). Digital Guardian. Retrieved from Digital Guardian:

https://digitalguardian.com/blog/7-elements-holistic-ip-protection-plan

Google Patents. (2021, October 20). Retrieved from

https://patents.google.com/patent/USD665226

Grand View Research. (2021, October 20). Retrieved from

https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/barbeque-grill-market

looft. (2021, October 20). Retrieved from looft: https://looft.com/

Oury Clark. (2021, October 20). Retrieved from Oury Clark:

https://www.ouryclark.com/resource-library/quick-guides/intellectual-property/patents-

vs-trade-secrets.html
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Yıldırım, H. (2021, October 20). Use guiding. Retrieved from userguiding2021:

https://userguiding.com/blog/product-success-metrics/