Hi Edna,

If the research you are doing is for an idea currently active within a search, we would suggest reviewing the competition found and updating your submission to note how the idea is different from those competitors.

Edna, there’s still hope. Think of it this way, how many televisions do you see on the market? A lot, probably 10,000 different varieties. Just because one tv exists doesn’t mean another can’t. You may need to find out if there are current patents pertaining to your idea and then find a “workaround” which in itself could possibly make your idea novel and patentable.

My best advice, study the 3 products offered by those websites and improve upon them.

Hey Edna -

One thing I’ve learned since being here, you always want to point out ANY and EVERY difference you can find when submitting your idea. You’ll figure out as your thinking through all the differences if they seem like enough to give you a good chance. You definitely need to be a salesman of your own idea when it comes to submissions. On my last submission I was very matter-of-fact. Plus, I didn’t shoot a video because I thought I had covered it well enough. Well, one R4 later and I’m wishing I would have taken a totally different approach on the whole submission. You live and you learn.