It is one thing to obtain protection for your intellectual property but another to make money from it. Our commercial team at GLG Legal is dedicated to assisting and advising clients on the process of commercialisation, so that your ideas can become a profitable reality.

 

WHAT IS IDEA COMMERCIALISATION?

Idea commercialisation is the process of transforming an idea into a business opportunity. The commercialisation process involves many steps and as a result, it can often take from months to years to properly commercialise an idea.

As an example, your idea may be a product that assists disabled people with a certain aspect of their lives. To transform this idea into a reality, you will need to undertake the following steps:

 

CONCEPTUALISING THE IDEA

First and most importantly is to conceptualise your idea. This involves a thorough understanding of your idea and being able to explain it to other people. It is essential that you are able to simplify the idea and explain it to people who may be unfamiliar with the industry or market it is targeted towards as this will provide you with an indication as to whether the idea is ready to be commercialised.

One of the most important aspects of commercialisation is being able to sell your idea to the greater population. Therefore, if your idea is so complex that you cannot explain it to another person, then you will need to work on conceptualising the idea in a way that can be understood.

 

CREATING THE PROTOTYPE(S)

The next logical step in the commercialisation process is to create prototypes that you will be able to show to the market and/or potential investors. Oftentimes, many entrepreneurs will have a prototype already made, but it is important to create several kinds of prototypes to offer slight variations to the idea.

From a legal perspective, we understand that many industries will require the product to meet certain standards of industry code and/or legislation. At GLG Legal, our lawyers can assist in advising you upon such standards to enable you to ensure that your prototypes are meeting such standards.

 

MARKET RESEARCH

One of the most important steps in the commercialisation process is to check whether there is a demand in the market for your product and/or idea. Failing to identify and engage with the market prior to exporting your product to the shelves may prove to be detrimental to your business. Market research will enable you to see where the demand is at, how much consumers are willing to pay for the product, and whether any changes need to be made to the product.

Market research provides you with the unique opportunity to seek constructive feedback and use such feedback to improve your idea.