Deborah Campbell is no stranger to entrepreneurship, beginning her first business venture selling Christmas cards at 14.
Since then, she has owned and operated various businesses, including a clothing store and coffee shop. But one night, while she was making sushi with her son, an idea was born that took her in a new entrepreneurial direction.
The sushi making was not going smoothly. Rice was sticking everywhere, leading to sanitation concerns. It was time-consuming to use the traditional bamboo rolling mat. The resulting rolls were less than ideal due to their messiness.
“My son said, ‘There’s got be a better way to do this,’’ Deborah remembers.
Deborah and her son began talking about creating a sushi rolling machine, which she began designing in her head. Deborah made a wooden prototype and one entirely out of Legos® – complete with a Lego® gear – to get exact placement.
Using the measurements of the Lego® prototype, Deborah built an acrylic version with the help of her husband. But it was too large and costly, at a production price of $500. Deborah then scaled down and fine-tuned the design to a sleeker, more cost-effective version, going through 20 to 30 prototypes. Deborah’s daughter pitched in to help aesthetically with the logo and color variations, making the project a true family affair.
The finished version consists of acrylic pieces that pop together, removing the need for glue and allowing it to be dishwasher-safe.
After the ingredients are placed inside, a crank is all that’s needed to churn out a standard-sized sealed sushi roll within seconds – hence the name 2 Minute Sushi.
“We once made 64 pieces of sushi in about 15 minutes with 2 Minute Sushi,” Deborah said. “It truly streamlines sushi making to be much cleaner and faster.”
After applying for a non-provisional patent, Deborah discovered the Patent Program at Mi Casa Resource Center through the United States Patent and Trademark Office website. The Patent Program connects low-income inventors with volunteer patent professionals who provide legal services on a pro bono basis. The legal process to obtain a full patent typically requires three to five years and thousands of dollars in fees.
She was paired with attorneys at Merchant & Gould, who helped her navigate the complex journey of obtaining a full patent.
“I don’t think I would have obtained a full patent without the help of the Patent Program,” Deborah said. “I didn’t have the stamina to keep up with the back-and-forth claims process with the patent office. And the claims have to be worded in a particular way, which is what the attorneys I was paired with specialize in.”
Inventors who attempt to navigate the patent process without legal help can unknowingly make decisions that harm the value of their patent application.
“The Patent Program pairs qualifying inventors with a volunteer professional who has patent experience and can help them through the complicated process and the many decisions along the way,“ said Ben Fernandez, a Patent Program volunteer attorney. “It’s a long process with many phases. Even for sophisticated companies, it’s a high-risk, high-cost endeavor.”
Within two years of contacting the Patent Program, Deborah and her family were awarded a full patent in May 2016, thanks partly to an acceleration she could apply for due to her husband’s age.
Deborah’s advice to other inventors centers around perseverance.
“Just keep at it and don’t give up,” Deborah said. “I made it minute by minute, doing the best I could. And get help. The Patent Program lawyers did a wonderful job and were very kind. I wouldn’t have made it through the patent process without them.”
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