A Kiwi father-of-three has invented a box that sorts out Lego blocks according to size.
The invention was made to help the clean-up of Lego that much easier.
However, Peter Botherway is on a mission to get his invention patented in the US. The cost of a patent attorney would be US$10,000 to US$12,000.
"If you wanted to copyright a song, you'd just file a $35-dollar fee at the copyright office and that gives you protection in 177 different countries," Mr Botherway told TVNZ1's Seven Sharp.
"But to do it under patent in 177 different countries, it would cost you over US$2 million."
As lawyer David Nowak explains a patent exists to stop others taking your idea.
"If you've got a good invention, someone else is going to try and do it. The patent is your protection to stop them from trying to do it and so that's why a patent can be so expensive," Mr Nowak of Henry Hughes Intellectual Property says.
"Copyright gives you protection only if somebody copies your work, on the flip side a patent will give you protection whether or not someone is aware of your work."
Mr Botherway has created a kickstarter page to help with funds to patent the Box4Blox.
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