Copy rights

[ians]

I have got to a point where I need to get a company to CNC machine my products. My concern is how do I prevent the company using the drawing and mass producing the product themselves if I don't accept the price quoted?

[Justloadit]

Usually an NDA is all that is required.

[wynn]

Get an NDA but also for quotation purposes give them a drawing that has a few parts in different places on it, parts that will not affect the final price of the piece and that requires the exact same amount of work.
Then when you place your order you correct the position of the parts for 'no loss no fowl'

If they copy the plan for themselves they will have a lot of usless parts nobody wants or can use.

[sterne.law@gmail.com]

Get an NDA but also for quotation purposes give them a drawing that has a few parts in different places on it, parts that will not affect the final price of the piece and that requires the exact same amount of work.
Then when you place your order you correct the position of the parts for 'no loss no fowl'

If they copy the plan for themselves they will have a lot of usless parts nobody wants or can use.

[adrianh]

I will never sign a NDA for anything unless I know the exact details of the content. I am extremely creative in my own right and I will never allow anybody to box my creativity in because they have an idea - whose to say I haven't had the same idea or even a better idea based on the sort of concept.

I think that any individual or company that signs a NDA without full knowledge of the contents is unbelievably stupid. How do they know that they are signing an NDA for original work, how do they know that the NDA doesn't contain common objects and common information.

You can try to get them to sign a ND but I bet they won't...for exactly the reasons I just stated.

[Justloadit]

I will never sign a NDA for anything unless I know the exact details of the content. I am extremely creative in my own right and I will never allow anybody to box my creativity in because they have an idea - whose to say I haven't had the same idea or even a better idea based on the sort of concept.

I think that any individual or company that signs a NDA without full knowledge of the contents is unbelievably stupid. How do they know that they are signing an NDA for original work, how do they know that the NDA doesn't contain common objects and common information.

You can try to get them to sign a ND but I bet they won't...for exactly the reasons I just stated.

In NDA's it states that anything of prior knowledge, after signing, is not protected by the NDA.

And yes there are still many original ideas, which only spark your creative side once you have been exposed to it. The NDA does have merit.

[adrianh]

Ian, you will have trust people sooner or later and you know, people are able to copy absolutly anything no matter what you do. If a product sells well then somebody will copy it,itis a fact of life, NDA or no NDA. I cannot even begin to tell you how much reverse engineering goes on. I can create solid models of objects with a couple of photograps. I often buy opposition products simply to tske them apart and see what makes them tick. So lets say I spend R8K on an opposition product and figure out how it works, then I can develop my own and make some money. Nobody has a monopoly on designing and making stuff, ask Apple & Samsung.

There is no way on this earth that you will stop people from copying your product if it makes money, even if they have to buy 100 and rip them apart, it is simply the nature of the game. I don't know what kind of product you are in to but if you can do it on a laser and a cnc then so can anybody else. The trick is to find your niche and to lockyour client base into your product in some or 0ther way. The clients mist want to buy your product rather than any other similar product.

[ians]

What I have done is given different parts of the object to different companies to quote. I am hoping this will take off and I can invest in my own CNC router and a small laser to do the labelling in the not tooo distant future. I don't want t outlay the money until I am sure it will take off. This weekend I promoted the product and made stock, everything was sold by this morning and I am getting more enquiries.

The bonus is my workshop is setup and already making the product (small scale), I just want to be prepared if it takes off.

[ians]

Or just make sure that my marketing strategy is setup targeted in the right place and working efficiently, and that my price is competitive.

[wynn]

Or just make sure that my marketing strategy is setup targeted in the right place and working efficiently, and that my price is competitive.

And that you offer members of TFSA from other centres agencies to sell the product for you