The criteria to qualify for as an Originator is:

          “ First to market, with an original product that has substantial new utility ” 

 

See details below:

The “First to Market” statement refers to being the first company to introduce a product to the broad consumer market. Not invent a prototype or patient and idea.

“Originator Certification” is awarded to companies that have been in the market for more than two years.

A “Provisional Originator” mark is for companies that have been in the market for less than two years but have demonstrated quality provision, & customer accountability and funding for their product, before they have been in business for 3 years.. 

Changing to the standard Originator Certification when we confirmed they have reached the two years. 

   Originator is not an Award. Originator is a Certification.                                                                  

Awards are given away once a year, but an “Originator” is certified just once. To be considered an “Originator,” the product must have substantial new utility, meaning it must bring something new and innovative to the market. Small to medium iterations on a product do not qualify.

The “Originator Certification” is specifically for original, first-to-market products, not for new designs or small improvements to existing product categories. Just adding a bottle opener to a product or adding new features to a Swiss Army Knife would not be enough to earn the “Originator Certification.”

There are many of these, and that’s great, but that is not what we do…

New features are great. But accept it in the rare cases where they create a substantial new use for the product and it meets our definition and criteria.

Merely innovative products are not originators.

 

utility 
the quality of being useful

SYNONYM usefulness

  • This information is of the utmost utility to a historian.

 substantial adjective 

large in amount, value, or importance

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/substantial

After evaluating a product against the criteria using your process, if the product qualifies for the originator certification, a short written judgement is delivered describing how the product meets the criteria. This written judgement serves as an explanation of why the product has earned the originator certification.

For new products that have just been launched or are being funded through platforms such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter, there is a separate “Provisional Originator” category.

This is because in the modern hi-tech economy, original products are often copied quickly, making it difficult for consumers to know who the original creator of the product is. If a product is judged to have substantial new utility and meets the minimum production numbers, it can apply for Provisional Originator Certification before three years of production.

The product and its prototype must be announced to the world, and the company must undergo an interview to hold its spot as the Provisional Originator to prevent fast followers and direct copies from looking at the IP and taking the idea.

If the product is later commercialized by someone else, they will be the originator. The Provisional Originator can appear in the history section of the product database, and any relevant patents will also be shown.