My First Product Patent is Complete ?? The NO Splatter Ring!
Over the years I have had a ton of product ideas, yet I never actually took the time to patent any actual product. I can tell you that there is nothing worse that coming up with an idea for a product and not actually patenting the product and then seeing this very same idea on the market a few years later. This has happened to me many times.
My first patented product is called The NO Splatter Ring and I came up with the idea while micro-waving a bowl of spaghetti and sauce. We all know what happens when food like this goes into the microwave uncovered ?? the microwave winds up a splattered mess. So what do most of us do? We rest a paper towel atop our meal and hope that it stays there for the duration of the cooking time. In most cases, as the microwave turns the paper towel gets hung up on the walls of the microwave and within a short time your food is uncovered again. This results in more messy microwaves.
So, someone thought they were smart and invented the plastic microwave food dome. This would seem like a great idea ?? it covers the food while it cooks. BUT once the cooking is complete, the inside of the dome is a splattered mess. Now we wind up with TWO things to clean ?? the spaghetti dish and the microwave food dome. The last thing anyone wants is more dishes to clean after a meal.
This is where The NO Splatter Ring comes in. This is a plastic, microwavable ring that clamps down on an ordinary paper towel. Simply open the ring, place a paper towel inside and close. Place the ring on top of your food and microwave. The weight from the ring keeps the paper towel in place and your food stays covered for the entire cooking time. Upon completion simply open the ring, remove the soiled paper towel and discard. Simple, easy and there??s nothing extra to clean!
This entire idea hit me while standing in front of the microwave. I told my wife, my mother and my mother-in-law and they all thought it was something I should pursue. I called a local plastic injection molding company and the guy basically said that it would be nearly impossible to pursue selling such a product by manufacturing it myself. He recommended that I hired a CAD designer to design my product and then have a prototype made. Then he said that I could try and sell my idea to a major product distributor.
I followed his advice and had a CAD design made ?? I used a freelancer and it only cost me $160. I then paid $700 to a company called Protogenic to create my plastic prototype. Then I took the images of the product to a local patent attorney and got a provisional patent which protects me for up to one year while I try to sell the product. The patent attorney had me write the product description in a manner that would cover the NO Splatter Ring on any variation of manufacturing. In other words, when we filed the patent we used terms like “may be circular or other shaped” and “may hold paper towels, plastic wrap, wax paper or other retaining materials” and “may or may not have a clasp or hinge located on the product”.
Once these steps were complete, I filmed a video that show me using the product and explaining its benefits. I posted this video on YouTube and I just submitted my video to four companies that specialize in those ??As Seen On TV? commercials. Since my product seems to have the feel of one of those ??$19.99? products that you see on TV all the time ?? I though that was the best place to start. I found four companies that I was able to submit my product to and many of these companies had a ??product submission? page right on their website. Here is a list of the “As Seen On TV” companies that I submitted The NO Splatter Ring to…
As Seen On TV Companies
TV Winners
Sullivan Productions
As Seen On TV
Tristar Products
TELEBrands
Now I simply have to sit back and wait to see if one of these companies contacts me with interest in my product. Most of this companies indicate on their website that the product review time can take 4 to 6 weeks, so I don’t expect to get a response anytime soon. My product should be attractive to these companies, because there is not much to making these NO Splatter Rings. There are no electronic components or major moving parts. A simple plastic mold can make the NO Splatter Ring and my guess is that the mark-up will be more than enough to profit off of the manufacturing cost.
You can see the demonstration video that I created for the NO Splatter Ring here:
You can visit the NO Splatter Ring website by clicking here: The NO Splatter Ring
I guess if none of the afformentioned companies call me back — there’s always The Shark Tank!
Any feedback on the NO Splatter Ring would be greatly appreciated! Good idea? Bad idea? Needs changes? Please let me know what you think! If any of you have patented a product in the past or if you have experience with manufacturing or selling your product ?? feel free to give me your advice by commenting below. Also, if you or anyone that you know has ever produced an “As Seen On TV” product — I would love to hear about it!
Best regards,
Michael-John Wolfe
15 Comments to “My First Product Patent is Complete ?? The NO Splatter Ring!”
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Michael,
Too bad I can’t see the video. If the idea is clean and simple, I don’t see why it can’t take off. It was nice to read about the process and how much the total cost was for the prototype, etc.
Best of luck!
Thanks Moon! Why can’t you see the video? It is coming up fine on my end – it is hosted via YouTube. Let me know — I want to make sure that it is viewable! Especially since I submitted it to all of those companies!
Thanks!
MJ
I think it is a good idea only because Americans love unitasker products, especially in the kitchen. I think you will definitely make money.
Personally I have solved the food dome cleanup problem by just placing a paper towel on the food dish and then placing it under the dome. Paper towel protects the dome and the dome protects the paper towels placement. Plus the dome fits a wide range of sizes and shapes of containers.
Congrats. I hope it sells a million units.
Thanks for the input Jon! I never thought of the paper towel under the dome. I’ll have to wait and see if one of these companies wants to pursue my product. A friend of mine mentioned that the NO Splatter Ring may be a great “giveaway” product for the paper towel companies.
MJ
Thank you! I’d even be happy with a half a million!
MJ
MJ,
I definitely still think there is a market for it. Still a great idea with low manufacturing costs. Good luck!
Michael,
What a wonderful site. I just started following along yesterday and I must say you have some great ideas. I wish you much success with your product!
Hi Loren and thanks for visiting my blog! I will check out your “creative niche blogging” site as well. Much success to you as well!
MJ
Nice job. But just a note that there’s not such thing as a “provisional patent.” What you’ve filed is a “provisional patent application.” In order to get an actual patent, you’ll have to file a utility patent application within one year, which can then (after some back-and-forth with the patent office) mature into a patent. Hopefully your attorney covered these points with you. Best of luck!
Hi Mr. Anonymous! Yes, you are right – I just looked at the paperwork that my lawyer sent me and it sayd “provisional patent application” – which should mean that I can sell the idea without having to fille the actual patent. (Which is too expensive for my blood!) So I am guessing if I have not filed an actual patent within one year – the provisional application becomes null and void? Thanks for your input!
MJ
Great idea Michael,
I’m glad to see you were able to finally create a product and get it patented. I am always trying to come up with ideas myself, mainly new website ideas though. I hope you get one of the companies to work with you. I’m not sure how hard it would be, but it would be great if you could make the ring adjustable to fit different size bowls and plates.
Hi Matt! I totally agree about making the ring in different sizes – I am just not sure if there is a way to make it adjustable and still keep it cheap to manufacture. Best of luck with your new websites! If you have any major suiccesses — let us know about it!
MJ
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Congrats! Just waiting to see it on TV….BUY IT NOW and get a mini NO Splatter Ring free! : )