I have been working on some ideas for toys, dolls, and robots. At some point I would like to start up a business. I am not really looking for info about starting a business (license, LLC vs sole ownership, and all that good stuff). I am more interested in liability, pricing, warranties, and legal issues specific to dolls (and androids).
things like:
Should I state terms of the sale in a catalog and/or a website OR have a contract for each sale?
How useful is a storefront/showroom?
Besides the laws of U.S. States and countries are there any agencies regulating this stuff?
advice for the business side of inventing
You should describe all conditions of the sale including the extent of YOUR liability for the product on your website as soon and as prominently as possible. Also, keep the language as simple as possible and avoid confusing "legalese". Keep it short and sweet. In this way, your customers will know exactly where they stand when they purchase your product. Also remember that your customer can have legal rights concerning your service and product that are granted to him by his / your state which YOU can not abolish with the terms you offer. You might want to check into these too by contacting YOUR state's Consumer Affairs Division. They usually offer free advice to startup manufacturers to minimize problems later.
This open announcement of YOUR responsibility for the product is important in the event that, later, you wind up in court being sued for having failed to honor YOUR promises about the product. Since actually going to court nowadays could cost you up to $100,000 USD, you want to avoid that if at all possible.
It's always a good idea to have some product liability insurance because there is always the possibility that there could be some way a customer could use your product and injure himself that YOU did not anticipate. The insurance will cover the medical expenses of his injury and limit how much in damgages he can sue you for. Definitely have this insurance and build the cost into the price of your product.
technoguy
This open announcement of YOUR responsibility for the product is important in the event that, later, you wind up in court being sued for having failed to honor YOUR promises about the product. Since actually going to court nowadays could cost you up to $100,000 USD, you want to avoid that if at all possible.
It's always a good idea to have some product liability insurance because there is always the possibility that there could be some way a customer could use your product and injure himself that YOU did not anticipate. The insurance will cover the medical expenses of his injury and limit how much in damgages he can sue you for. Definitely have this insurance and build the cost into the price of your product.
technoguy
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timetraveler1
- Doll Visionary
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i smell death .. no no it's lawsuits !!
i can see it now ' a man breaks his dick " and a scum bag lawyer is waiting in the midst !! 
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Keithallen
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Timetraveller!!!!xybear,
If you are plannng an android project, keep in mind that your FIRST protection against liability is in the design of your product. Torque and speed limiting devices, overload protection, and even an energency 'shutdown' are things you should incorporate into your designs. The guy who accidentally gets kicked in the balls / or shocked by his android may just think it is funny, OR he may come after you for producing an un-safe product.
XYbear wrote
yesShould I state terms of the sale in a catalog and/or a website OR have a contract for each sale?
thanks for the posts so far. I have found one thing that will make a lot of bad things go away. "Sold As A Novelty Only." Right after I started this thread I started finding things (ain't that how it always goes).
By no means is this phrase a magic wand, but calling the product a novelty changes the regulations affecting it. the downside is that you can't provide any instructions that would imply sex.
I will post some links about this once I have verified some things.
An android is a ways down the road for me but safety in the design of all the products I am considering is paramount. No matter how safe something is, someone will find a way to do something silly. I mean if I did a poor design on an arm and it broke lifting a cup and someone got cut on the sharp pieces, that's my fault. My worry is the guy who decides to try some S&M, puts a doll on a rack 'cause it won't say no or want to use a code word. Goes to far and loses an eye when the doll comes apart. It may seem overly paranoid, but I remember when coffee cups just said coffee and didn't explain how it was hot and could burn you.
By no means is this phrase a magic wand, but calling the product a novelty changes the regulations affecting it. the downside is that you can't provide any instructions that would imply sex.
I will post some links about this once I have verified some things.
An android is a ways down the road for me but safety in the design of all the products I am considering is paramount. No matter how safe something is, someone will find a way to do something silly. I mean if I did a poor design on an arm and it broke lifting a cup and someone got cut on the sharp pieces, that's my fault. My worry is the guy who decides to try some S&M, puts a doll on a rack 'cause it won't say no or want to use a code word. Goes to far and loses an eye when the doll comes apart. It may seem overly paranoid, but I remember when coffee cups just said coffee and didn't explain how it was hot and could burn you.
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GrimStrike
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I have to agree with technoguy to a degree on the wording of the liability. I would still have a lawyer make up the legally binding terms and conditions or whatever you want to call it in the "legalese" language then make a summed up version of it. At the end of the summed up version put an asterisk (*) then in fine print at the bottom of the page the explanation that that was the summed version but not the legally binding version etc etc. Personally I'd leave out the asterisk part and just continue immediately with another sentence explaining that it isn't the legally binding version but a lot of corporations like to use the fine print method.
Another method maybe at the beginning of each legalese paragraph you have a sentence that sums up that paragraph. This way the person is presented with both versions in front of them simultaneously and can't simply say "well I didn't get around to it" or something to that extent. Whatever method you choose, I'd consult a lawyer.
A good place to look for gauging pricing, warranties, and the such it look at who your competitors are/will be. Obviously Real Doll would be a big one so I would take a much closer look into their operations and how they get the job done. Clearly they're doing something right. Do a search for "Real Doll" on Wikipedia. In the article there it has different competitors of Real Doll.
An idea of mine. Don't just stick to humans. Perhaps expand construction into areas such as elfs. 4Woods has one that has little elf ears that's just taken me. Wish I had the money but if I did that's the one I just may end up going for which I haven't seen elsewhere.
As for androids. I'd be cautious about going into that. If done right you're definitely going to be in your own niche. If done wrong you may come under scrutiny like the Aiko bot talked about in another post.
Another method maybe at the beginning of each legalese paragraph you have a sentence that sums up that paragraph. This way the person is presented with both versions in front of them simultaneously and can't simply say "well I didn't get around to it" or something to that extent. Whatever method you choose, I'd consult a lawyer.
A good place to look for gauging pricing, warranties, and the such it look at who your competitors are/will be. Obviously Real Doll would be a big one so I would take a much closer look into their operations and how they get the job done. Clearly they're doing something right. Do a search for "Real Doll" on Wikipedia. In the article there it has different competitors of Real Doll.
An idea of mine. Don't just stick to humans. Perhaps expand construction into areas such as elfs. 4Woods has one that has little elf ears that's just taken me. Wish I had the money but if I did that's the one I just may end up going for which I haven't seen elsewhere.
As for androids. I'd be cautious about going into that. If done right you're definitely going to be in your own niche. If done wrong you may come under scrutiny like the Aiko bot talked about in another post.
One of the criteria used to determine if a product is "defective" and that its manufacturer is liable for consequential damages is whether or not the product is "dangerous when used as INTENDED".
If a consumer uses a product in a manner that it is not supposed to be used in, then tha can greatly lower the amount of damages he can expect to collect either in or out of court.
For example, if you built an android and stated that the items was not to be exposed to water and a consumer decided to play with it in his hot tub and got electrocuted, then a court would tend to hold the consumer responsible for his problem. Of course, YOU as the manufacturer must tell the consumer exactly what can and can not be done with the item either in an instruction manual or in safety stickers attached to the item.
technoguy
If a consumer uses a product in a manner that it is not supposed to be used in, then tha can greatly lower the amount of damages he can expect to collect either in or out of court.
For example, if you built an android and stated that the items was not to be exposed to water and a consumer decided to play with it in his hot tub and got electrocuted, then a court would tend to hold the consumer responsible for his problem. Of course, YOU as the manufacturer must tell the consumer exactly what can and can not be done with the item either in an instruction manual or in safety stickers attached to the item.
technoguy
I have pretty much settled on that I will have to get a lawyer to advise on this stuff and the liability insurance.
I have kept up with several doll and robot sites over the years, and in revisiting them recently I have noticed some things. A lot of the sites refer to their product as a doll, toy or novelty (or some combination thereof). Orifices are functional but the function is never described. This seems to fall in with what I found out about "sold as a novelty".
this would probably be insulting to a high end android, but then you could program them not to care
anything interactive or robotic is a long way off as far as production though. If I ever do produce anything in the next few months it will be a novelty or art.
thanks again to everyone for the info.
I have kept up with several doll and robot sites over the years, and in revisiting them recently I have noticed some things. A lot of the sites refer to their product as a doll, toy or novelty (or some combination thereof). Orifices are functional but the function is never described. This seems to fall in with what I found out about "sold as a novelty".
this would probably be insulting to a high end android, but then you could program them not to care
anything interactive or robotic is a long way off as far as production though. If I ever do produce anything in the next few months it will be a novelty or art.
thanks again to everyone for the info.
