Originally Published Oct 8, 2021
Spark Plug Markets
Spark Plug Markets (SPM) is an anonymous digital marketplace for ideas. The main goal of SPM is to allow users to profit through the sale or licensing of ideas with very little upfront capital required. A modified product for business users can also be offered. Creating an anonymous marketplace for ideas should hopefully remove common biases that normally factor into decision making processes.
SPM Consumer Market
The first market will allow users to sell ideas that they have for products, technologies, startups etc. The goal is to create an NFT library of original ideas accompanied by provisional patent applications, one page sell sheets and other applicable documents. SPM will also query existing patents in the US patent database to determine an ideas originality. Ultimately, SPM will streamline the process to prepare original ideas for sales or licensing and provide a timestamped searchable record in the form of an NFT on the blockchain along with any additional documentation attached.
For a number of reasons, it has become unpractical to go through the process of getting a patent for a product idea. The time process doesn’t make sense because it takes longer to receive a patent than the average lifecycle for a new product. To establish perceived ownership of an idea without a patent, SPM will offer services to file a provisional patent application.
Accounts will be created with digitally native records of ideas with verifiable timestamps on the blockchain. Buyers will pay a subscription fee to come to the market to shop for ideas and can purchase them directly from sellers. Ideas will not be fully viewable to other sellers, only to buyers paying the subscription fee.
A reputation score will be used to discourage buyers from using ideas without purchasing in addition to the easily verifiable documents used to prove ownership of ideas. Keys will be transferred to the owner of an idea upon purchase. Owners of ideas can also provide keys to users who are licensing their idea.
SPM for Business
A business could use a version of the SPM product in a number of ways. Upper management could be stuck on a handful of issues that are really important to the bottom line but not so much to the employees. Incorporating an anonymous marketplace where ideas are rewarded directly by monetary compensation could solve these issues.
In this case, the CEO (anonymous) could post a description of the problem along with an amount of money for the best answer and an expiration date. The question is posted company wide. The answers being anonymous would help to remove bias and to encourage a meritocracy. The person who posted the question can reveal who provided the best idea at that time if they wish to do so. That is one example of many use cases for SPM for Business.