If you are clever and ambitious, there are plenty of ways to get your product noticed – the trick is to be innovative.
Approach manufactures
Go to a shop where similar puzzles are sold. Copy down the names of local manufacturers that you think might be good candidates for your concept. Contact them, and ask who reviews new products, and/or what the procedure for showing a new product entails.
If the company has interest in marketing your idea, there are many ways in which the sale or license could take place. At this point, you would definitely want to involve a professional advisor, most likely an attorney experienced in contract work.
If you only have small amounts of the product, approach specialist shops that you feel your target market would visit. You can leave puzzles with them on a consignment basis or offer a referral commission if anyone wants to buy the product in bulk.
Word of mouth is an excellent way to promote the product. If the product is unique and of high quality, buyers will recommend your product to other like-minded people.
Disclosure agreement
If the target company opts to look at your idea, they may have a disclosure or confidentiality agreement they want you to sign. However, it is best that you develop one of your own so that your idea is protected.
A disclosure agreement is very important so that companies that you approach will keep your idea confidential, and, conversely, should assure the company that you really own the idea you are presenting to them.
Protect the brand
With any new product it is essential to protect your brand name and its reputation. One way of doing this is to obtain registered trademark. To do that you need to register the trademark. A trademark is a brand name, a slogan or a logo.
It identifies the services or goods of one person. For more information contact the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) on 0861 843 384 or email info@cipro.gov.za
You may need to register a patent
Before you even attempt to market the product, register a patent. A patent is an official document securing to an inventor, for a period of time, the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention.
Before you can register a patent, you have to find out if the idea or invention has been registered before. In order to do this you have to conduct a patent search. You can do this by contacting Cipro, or if you can afford it, with the help of a patent attorney.