I have a friend who has invented a new product that he believes will make millions. Apparently, an invention promotion company known as Invent-Tech agrees and wants $10,000 up fornt to get the product lisenced, patented and promoted. I am a bit weary of this. Anyone hear anything good/bad about this company?
I've heard their commercials on the radio...they may be legit and a great company, but it just seems kinda cheesy to me. You might try doing a web search on them and seeing if any complaints come up.
Don't pay those S.O.B's a dime. Check out info from http://inventors.about.com : Lessons on Turning a New Invention Idea Into Money How To Get New Ideas Funded A Guide to Filing A Non-Provisional (Utility) Patent Application Invention Company Fraud Invention Promotion Firms I just did a Google search for "invention" on the about.com domain -- droxford
Call a patent lawyer. Expect to drop about $15K to get it patented. The patent should be active within about 3 years. If you think it is an invention that cannot be re-engineered, go ahead and start producing with a patent pending designation (and be aware that you have no protection until the patent is approved). If it can be re-engineered, spend the next three years locking up customers to long-term agreements, because if your product is good, it'll be re-engineered within a few months of release by a player with a bigger marketing budget. Good luck. And call a good lawyer. Check his/her references, how many patents s/he has done and his/her area of expertise. Don't skimp on the lawyer. The extra $3-5 grand you spend on a great lawyer could save you tons of cash in the future. And that advice comes from someone who detests dealing with lawyers.
He should check out HIA [Houston Inventors Association] Good group of guys that give REAL: advice and support They have meetings one wednesday . . . hit me up for more info . . Actually .. i think the website is Patentstuff.com Rocket River
Wow! This company is hilarious! They will basically accept any crackpot idea, tell you it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, and ask for $$$$$$$! Thanks for the info. I just saved my buddy some big bucks.
Hey - If your friends idea takes off, post back here and let us know how things went. I sometimes come up with inventions ideas, too. I never do anything about 'em, though. -- droxford
Once he gets some info on protecting his product before going public he should give Tom Martino a call... he has a show on AM740 during mid-day and he always likes to pimp new and promising ideas. http://www.troubleshooter.com
Wow. This post is full of misinformation. The post starts off well; yes, you should call a patent lawyer to discuss your rights. But calling a patent lawyer does not mean your first step is to pay for preparing a patent. My advice -- first do a patent novelty search for about $500. Many devices are patented but never commercialized. Make sure the patent novelty search includes non-patent publications. When you file a patent application, there is no guarantee that a patent will issue. The length of time for the patent to issue will depend on the specific technology; it generally takes about 18 months to receive a first written opinion. Some technologies are experiencing backlogs and therefore it may take longer. On average, it takes about 27 months for a patent to issue after its filing. On certain technologies, I am receiving first office actions for patent applications filed FOUR years ago. The cost of a patent application can be reduced by thousands less than quoted above if you do a little work yourself to provide your attorney with a substantial disclosure. For example, look at some sample patent applications written by the attorney with whom you are working and draft some drawings, corresponding description and claims. The attorney will be left only with revising your application (much less time than drafting the application from scratch), and you can essentially eliminate patent draftsmen fees. Whether the invention in your patent application can be re-engineered is likely irrelevant. You should continue to promote and market your invention using non-disclosure agreements (provided by your attorney) even after filing the patent application. If your patent application does not issue at the end of prosecution, it is likely because your invention is simply not patentable. If a patent is written well and the invention is novel and nonobvious, then your patent should issue. In any case, make sure your patent attorney consults with you about additional and alternative protection arrangements for your invention, such as design patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secret. Good luck. *And oh yeah, this ain't legal advice
Good luck on the invention. I saved my brother a chunk of $$$ when I researched one of those idiot companies. They kept increasing the amount of money they would need from him, at first it was nothing since it was such a great idea. In the end they wanted thousands. Rip OFF. speaking of cool inventions - anyone read about Grancrete in Pop Sci? Seems like it could be HUGE for the housing industry. Grancrete info
I work in the architectural fields and haven't heard of Gancrete but it sounds interesting. I'm curious about what's differnt between it and Gunnite and other spray concrete.
You and I aren't really disagreeing. Though I get the eery feeling that you're a lawyer, so you'll want to disagree anyway . THe only reason I say get a lawyer first (and a good one) is to have them walk you through the process. The couple (literally 2, so not a great sample size) that I have spoken to have been very straightforward about what to do on my own and what to let their office do. THough they do all suggest to let them doublecheck certain things at the end to make sure you hit everything. It almost sounds like you and I disagree on the reverse engineering aspect and marketing process, but we're saying the smae thing. If you can be reversed, I'm just saying move to market ASAP without putting the product out there. Granted, I'm much more cynical, about how easy it is to turn a unique patent into a commercial success, but that's just my nature. PLus, I'm beat, so I'm probably even more grumpy than usual.
