# Anyone know how to send/sell a design idea to Apple?



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

I have a couple new Apple designs I'd like to sell to 'em.  Trade a good idea for a nice iMac or something.

...but who do I send my copyrighted designs to? Any idea?


----------



## Intruder_qc (Feb 28, 2008)

Well I dont think it is such a good idea, unless you become an Apple employee first.

Why?

If you would like to get threatening legal letter go ahead! This stupid thing happen a while ago (I think from last year or earlier), they was that girl that had an ideas for her iPod that she enjoy and sent a letter to Apple describing her ideas. The next thing that happen was receiving some nasty lawyer letter from Apple legal department, threatening her.

Apple legal sends little girl running, crying to room - Engadget


----------



## 9mmCensor (Jan 27, 2006)

Intruder_qc said:


> Well I dont think it is such a good idea, unless you become an Apple employee first.


People are welcome to create a formal plan and idea and present it to Apple. Don't just submit unsolicited ideas and expect a million dollar check in the mail.

Research your idea, write a business plan, and make the right phone calls.


----------



## harzack86 (Jan 30, 2005)

Everything is described here:

Apple - Legal - Unsolicited Idea Submission Policy

Cheers


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

harzack86 said:


> Everything is described here:
> 
> Apple - Legal - Unsolicited Idea Submission Policy
> 
> Cheers


Score! Reading now... thanks! 

I don't wanna' be sent home crying either, so it's good to know the proper hoops to jump through.

And I don't want a $million... just a nice mini would suffice. 

Edit: OOPS!
In addition to the big "Don't send us your stupid ideas" message across the top, it also says "If you're stubborn enough to still send us your stupid idea:..."

_TERMS OF IDEA SUBMISSION
You agree that: (1) your submissions and their contents will *automatically become the property of Apple, without any compensation to you;* (2) Apple may use or redistribute the submissions and their contents for any purpose and in any way; (3) there is no obligation for Apple to review the submission; and (4) there is no obligation to keep any submissions confidential._

Looks like diddly-over-squat for my great idea. :-(


----------



## screature (May 14, 2007)

BlueMax said:


> Score! Reading now... thanks!
> 
> I don't wanna' be sent home crying either, so it's good to know the proper hoops to jump through.
> 
> ...


Is it some sort of mod or addon? Why not just look at going the third party vendor route?


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

screature said:


> Is it some sort of mod or addon? Why not just look at going the third party vendor route?


Naw... it's essentially a redesign that would simplify-and-almost-merge the mini and imac markets with improved computing power and lower cost.

The downside to the design would be a larger power draw.


----------



## 9mmCensor (Jan 27, 2006)

BlueMax said:


> Naw... it's essentially a redesign that would simplify-and-almost-merge the mini and imac markets with improved computing power and lower cost.
> 
> The downside to the design would be a larger power draw.


There are official channels to approach Apple on regarding ideas like this, it will take work, more than just sending them an email with a drawing on a napkin and a return address to send the reward, but if you want your certainly welcome to do so.


----------



## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

I find it a bit funny that you actually believed Apple would compensate you for your idea.


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

9mmCensor said:


> There are official channels to approach Apple on regarding ideas like this, it will take work, more than just sending them an email with *a drawing on a napkin and a return address to send the reward*, but if you want your certainly welcome to do so.


I like your sense of humour! :lmao: 

I guess what I'd have to do is make the complete scale design and do a little testing for thermal capacities, etc. Make a business plan and try to sell it as a completed design as opposed to merely an "idea" (which was my plan from the start...)

I'll get it fully developed before I start looking for the right fellas... but I can't afford to buy many test parts or plane tickets....


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

Lars said:


> I find it a bit funny that you actually believed Apple would compensate you for your idea.


Apple pays _someone_ for their new machine designs... whether in-house or pot-smoking creative contractors.   (No, that's not me... oh never mind.)


----------



## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

While your parents may have said "You can do anything you want in life", selling your "creative" ideas to Apple (or any large company) isn't one of them.

You have to be rather naive to think Apple would consider your idea seriously. Apple has a massive team of people working for them already. They probably conceive, chew up, and spit out more ideas in one morning than most people come up with in their lifetime.


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

That's the kind of job I'd love to have, but without the formal education it's near impossible.

I've had dozens of mac design ideas, but can't do a thing with 'em except share 'em here and let a lazy rep pop in here and steal credit for it.


----------



## 9mmCensor (Jan 27, 2006)

guytoronto said:


> While your parents may have said "You can do anything you want in life", selling your "creative" ideas to Apple (or any large company) isn't one of them.
> 
> You have to be rather naive to think Apple would consider your idea seriously. Apple has a massive team of people working for them already. They probably conceive, chew up, and spit out more ideas in one morning than most people come up with in their lifetime.


Lots of great ideas are formed and evolve outside the corporate think tanks.

You must be rather ignorant to think that ever commercially viable idea has come from major corporations.


----------



## RunTheWorldOnMac (Apr 23, 2006)

I wonder what would happen if you patented your idea; then sent it to them. Legally you never signed anything with Apple so it would be hard for them to keep it would it not? I am not sure it's enough for them to post "If you send us something it's ours". anyone could do that tucked away somewhere obscure on their website... then again, they have the money to go to court, you may not.


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

Im sure lots of people come up with great ideas that may be even better than corporate ones from the likes of Apple.
But dont send it to them, unless you do lots of prep to make sure they wont just absorb it.
If I sent an idea to a TV production company for a new episode of a show, then they can just use it without compensating me and say it wa a coincidense or great minds think alike etc or they never saw your idea or they already were working on a similer one etc etc.
Maybe a better way would be to make your concept completely polished and shop it around to many companies after it has been trademarked, copyrighted, patented etc etc.
I cant see why Apple would pay for an outside design when they have inhouse design gurus like the famous industrial design guy who's name is escaping me at the moment. One of you will post his name.

If you just want tocontribute to the company then by all means send them your ideas, but expect nothing, not even credit or acknowledgement of any type.
Sorry, its sad but true.


----------



## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

minnes said:


> they have inhouse design gurus like the famous industrial design guy who's name is escaping me at the moment. One of you will post his name.


Jonathan Ive - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## Kosh (May 27, 2002)

They aren't called Pirates of Silicon Valley for nothing.....beejacon










Folklore.org: Macintosh Stories: Pirate Flag


----------



## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

BlueMax said:


> Apple pays _someone_ for their new machine designs... whether in-house or pot-smoking creative contractors.   (No, that's not me... oh never mind.)


Yes, his name is Jonathan Ive, and has won numerous industrial design awards. I'm afraid chances are slim for someone walking in off the street with an idea.


----------



## hayesk (Mar 5, 2000)

Intruder_qc said:


> Well I dont think it is such a good idea, unless you become an Apple employee first.
> 
> Why?
> 
> If you would like to get threatening legal letter go ahead! This stupid thing happen a while ago (I think from last year or earlier), they was that girl that had an ideas for her iPod that she enjoy and sent a letter to Apple describing her ideas. The next thing that happen was receiving some nasty lawyer letter from Apple legal department, threatening her.


Unfortunately, this is because everyone and their dog is suing Apple these days. Had they not sent the letter, you can bet mom would be suing Apple for stealing her little girl's idea. Maybe not this mom in particular, but Apple has no way of knowing that. It's unfortunately, but the US is so litigious, they have to protect themselves.


----------



## guytoronto (Jun 25, 2005)

9mmCensor said:


> Lots of great ideas are formed and evolve outside the corporate think tanks.


Most ideas do. Think Tanks often design but committee which is just horrible. Things like the Zune were designed by think tanks and committee.



> You must be rather ignorant to think that ever commercially viable idea has come from major corporations.


I never said that. It doesn't matter if your idea is good, commercially viable, or whatever. What does matter is that Apple would never take your idea seriously. The Mac, the iPod, the iTunes Music Store where all considered "Bad Ideas" by industry "experts", yet somehow Apple is still cruising along.

Your idea:


> it's essentially a redesign that would simplify-and-almost-merge the mini and imac markets with improved computing power and lower cost.
> 
> The downside to the design would be a larger power draw.


This isn't revolutionary. You are taking two different models, smashing them together, and the downside would be a larger power draw? How is this a good idea?

The Mac mini has no monitor. Add a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and that's an iMac. I don't really see how you can merge those two products.

You talk about "lower cost". Again, Apple is in the business of making money, and they look for every opportunity to lower costs. They have an incredible amount of resources at their disposal to work towards this end. I'm sorry, but there is nothing you could offer Apple that would help them achieve more savings.

Want to get your idea onto the market? Make it a Linux machine.


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

guytoronto said:


> This isn't revolutionary. You are taking two different models, smashing them together, and the downside would be a larger power draw? How is this a good idea?
> 
> The Mac mini has no monitor. Add a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and that's an iMac. I don't really see how you can merge those two products.
> 
> ...


In all honesty, you can't criticize my idea because _you don't know what it is - don't assume._

Cost can be significantly lowered by using desktop components rather than laptop components, and if done properly, can _still_yield a small, silent machine with some room for expansion and have all the power of a full machine... like the idea of the cube, only smaller and still more elegant.

...but for all your pessimism, you DO have a valid point. Like anything else, I may very well just have to do it myself.... pity it takes money to _make_ money.


----------



## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

Why not make your own mod Mac, like the Axiotron Modbook?


----------



## ehMax (Feb 17, 2000)

Here's to the crazy ones....


----------



## SoyMac (Apr 16, 2005)

BlueMax, I haven't read anything in this thread to convince me that you should _not_ pursue this dream.

I like and agree with the message in the link of ehMax's post.

Just because many say you should not develop and push your idea, does not mean you have to listen to them. 

Sure, failure is a large possibility, but what's the biggest failure - having a dream and pushing it until it can go no further, or living the rest of your life wondering, "What if I ....?"

Risk nothing, gain nothing.

The only thing I would suggest for your design, if you really want to make someone sit up and take notice, is to keep the positive elements of your design, AND reduce its power draw.


:clap: Best of luck!...


----------



## Adrian. (Nov 28, 2007)

If this is a really good idea and you can assure that no one else has done this, anywhere at any time and it truly is marvelous. Then, I would go ahead and pursue it.

If you do not have the resources to do it yourself, then go find an investor. Patent your idea and even go to a friend, parents, co worker or anyone you know with some money who is inspired by your design. Give them whatever percent of the profits this project will produce that you can agree on.

To make money not only requires money but also the acceptance that you may loose your shirt in the process. Just stay on top of it and be careful. Sign non disclosures between you and your investor and any other appropriate contracts to ensure the funds and the design stay consistent.

cheers


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

SoyMac said:


> The only thing I would suggest for your design, if you really want to make someone sit up and take notice, is to keep the positive elements of your design, AND reduce its power draw.


That's easy..... unless you want a quad-core.  

Mind you.... Intel just released a couple brand new quad-cores that are made with a smaller die size.... they probably consume less power than the Quads we're used to. I'll have to read the latest on 'em. Low-power dual-cores can be done pretty easy, even with desktop components...

The real trick will be the thermal solution for cooling it all, especially if you want power & speed _as well as_ fanless silence _aaaaand_ still be affordable! 

The real trick will be building it with hardware that's easy to run OSx86 with, which would make it real popular with people who could then run _any OS they want_ with it! Windows, unix/linux/etc, or OSx (I've read some Intel systems are so compatible they can run the genuine OS-X disc and install it as if it were an apple-branded Mac!) THAT would be ideal....

Anyways, the "small PC" thing isn't entirely new either..... but to make something small, quiet, powerful, expandable, elegant _and_ affordable is a bit of a stretch which hasn't really been done since the Apple Cube - and even that wasn't as small or affordable as I have in mind. 

This will be an interesting experiment in thermodynamics.  Wish I had cash lying around to build my own casing and heatsink setup to get set up privately... I'll just have to stick to pen and graph paper and map everything out exactly.  Who knows, with a completed design schematic completely finished, if Apple doesn't want it, Hewlett-Packard might! They have their slimline PC's.... maybe a competitor would want something to compete with it.... Acer's slimline is nice but lacks expansion and tends to run hot and somewhat loud. The Mac mini is very quiet but is forced to use expensive, limited laptop components. HP's slimline is bigger and cheaper, but the design forces you into low-profile expansion. I seek the balance of all designs.


----------



## Eric0 (Nov 22, 2007)

Instead of Apple.

Why not just start a custom computer case firm (You seem to know enough about the whole setup) 

Everyone in the PC world gawks at the Apple designs. If you could bring elegant compact cases made of non plastic materials I think you would have a big market in the PC industry. Assuming you could price your cases with parts at the same or lower price point of a lower mid HP, Dell etc. customers would certainly be interested.

Not many enjoy having a huge plastic or sheet metal case under their desk. If I had something under 25cm high, 18cm wide and 20cm deep that didn't look like a computer case I would buy it.


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

Something kinda' like these mini-ITX cases... 

Newegg.com - iStarUSA S3 STORM SERIES Black SECC body, ABS and aluminum front panel Mini-ITX Tower Entertainment Computer Case 80W Power Supply - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - APEX MI-100 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply - Computer Cases

Intel's coming out with some brand new ITX boards that are full-featured, unlike the $70 Celeron 1200 ITX board they have out now (which really isn't too terribly bad...) Exciting things are happening with mini-ITX.


----------



## cap10subtext (Oct 13, 2005)

I agree with most of what's been said. Remember that old adage an invention is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration? It's true. That perspiration basically means money or skill. Some people are positioned so that their ideas perk up the right ears at the right time. The rest of us have a lot of convincing to do which involves fronting the expense, trial and errors it takes to get the job done. Plus it's not until you get your hands dirty that you might realize flaws in the plan or realize that the risk/amount of labour involved doesn't translate into a profit. If it's easily executed, and can be sold at a profit, then start saving now, make a business model, and befriend some venture capitalists

Just handing out "great ideas" though is fool's errand because you'll spend your time at the whim of others. Learn the mechanics or start investing. You can plant ideas, but if you are convinced it's amazing and will not be satisfied until you see it happen then I think you know what you have to do... Best of luck.


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

Thanks. :love2:


----------



## Eric0 (Nov 22, 2007)

BlueMax said:


> Something kinda' like these mini-ITX cases...
> 
> Intel's coming out with some brand new ITX boards that are full-featured, unlike the $70 Celeron 1200 ITX board they have out now (which really isn't too terribly bad...) Exciting things are happening with mini-ITX.


I was thinking of something along those lines. However, more attractive and "Apple" like in that the cases would make use of rounded edges, sturdier construction etc.


----------



## Quicksilver G4 (Jan 29, 2008)

I know your idea: A Mini Mac Pro with expansion slots. Just what I needed.


----------



## Quicksilver G4 (Jan 29, 2008)

Here is what I think you might be thinking of:










I didn't read the other posts, so I may not have caught on.


----------



## Quicksilver G4 (Jan 29, 2008)

BlueMax said:


> In all honesty, you can't criticize my idea because _you don't know what it is - don't assume._
> 
> Cost can be significantly lowered by using desktop components rather than laptop components, and if done properly, can _still_yield a small, silent machine with some room for expansion and have all the power of a full machine... like the idea of the cube, only smaller and still more elegant.
> 
> ...but for all your pessimism, you DO have a valid point. Like anything else, I may very well just have to do it myself.... pity it takes money to _make_ money.


Yep, check out my post. I know EXACTLY what you have in mind!


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

Quicksilver G4 said:


> Yep, check out my post. I know EXACTLY what you have in mind!


hee hee! Clever, but not quite.  If I reveal it, it could get stolen, so I gotta' clam up.


----------



## chas_m (Dec 2, 2007)

If you want a method of reaching Apple with an "unsolicited" idea, here's how to do it:

1. Patent the idea. This patent must be completely free of any Apple-patented technologies. You are patenting an idea, not a prototype.

2. Incorporate a company with this patent as your holding.

3. Build a prototype, and a dog-and-pony show explaining each part in detail.

4. Have YOUR CORPORATE/PATENT ATTORNEY (can't emphasise this enough) find the channel by which to contact Apple about licensing or selling your patent.

5. The attorney will schedule (and probably handle) the initial "pitch" meetings. If that goes well, you will be invited ("solicited," key word there) to meet with Apple's engineers. Loads of paperwork will be signed.

6. After all THIS, you will almost certainly be rejected. And a lot poorer. 

But that's how you do it.

I know this because I was involved in a company that did this. PM me if you need some details.


----------



## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

Better yet...

Think up a cool name for a new computer.

Like Macintosh.

Then build that computer and sell a few hundred of them. Using all your own technology.

If Apple finds the computer name cool, they will buy the name, with enough cash to put you out of business.

Of course, it's been done.


----------



## BlueMax (Aug 8, 2005)

Introducing the new [insert variety of apple here... Gala! Spartan! Red Delicious!] It's an apple! No, not an Apple.... a different apple. Certainly better than a bitter ol' macintosh or granny smith!

[in march the lawyers like Imperial stormtroopers...]


----------

