• Got an invention? You, too, can be scammed

• Beware Invent Help Press Releases

• Silly Inventions are Easy to Patent?

• Invention Submission Companies: Scams or Valuable Services?

• How To Avoid an Invention Company Scam

• A Brief Introduction to Invention Scam Companies

The Federal Trade Commission has compiled a long list of complains on its website. In response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, in February 2002, the FTC sent information regarding complains filed against Invention Submission Corporation, Inventor’s Helpline and Invention Technologies (also known as Invent-Tech). The cover letter explains that the FTC has received these complaints but has not verified the allegations of the complaints. Nevertheless, these complaints do sound all too familiar. To see the 103 page FTC compilation CLICK HERE. A similar Freedom of Information Act request was made in December of 2001, but limited the request to Invention Technologies. To see the 48 page FTC compilation on Invent-Tech CLICK HERE.

Additionally, more recently, in 2006, the FTC won an important victory against one of the more notorious invention submission companies. The defendants were Davison & Associates Inc., now known as Davison Design and Development, Inc., Manufacturer’s Support Services, Inc., George M. Davison, President and CEO, Thomas Dowler, Gordon M. Davison and Barbara Miele-Davison. The defendants were ordered to repay $26 million to scammed inventors. For more information on this see the FTC article titled Court Halts Bogus Invention Promotion Claims. It also seems as if Davidson is preparing to use a different name (Invention Land). Changing names, particularly when an invention submission company gets sued or gets bad publicity, is a common ploy. Just make sure you do your homework!

Even more recently, in 2007, the FTC has gone after Patent & Trademark Institute of America (PTI). For more information see FTC Charges Invention Promotion Swindlers with Contempt. Of particular importance from this enforcement action against PTI is the fact that PTI took in approximately $60 million from more than 17,000 consumers since 2000 but could not identify a single successful consumer.

The United States Patent Office also accepts complaints against invention promotion and invention submission companies as well. While the Patent Office does not investigate complaints or participate in any legal proceedings against invention promoters/promotion firms, they will post the complaints together with any responses they do receive. To see the complaints that have been filed visit USPTO public forum for invention promoters/promotion firm complaints. In order for the USPTO to identify a submission as a complaint, the complaint must be clearly marked or otherwise indicate that it is a complaint filed under the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999. The USPTO has a complaint form; however, use of this form is not mandatory.

What is the moral of this story? Be very careful. The first thing to realize, remember and never forget is that as inventors we all want to hear that our invention is the next big thing and will make us a lot of money. We all want to be appreciated. We put so much time and energy into our projects. This being the case, it becomes much easier for unscrupulous people to tell us what we want to hear, even if we don’t know it. The closeness we bring to the project means that objectivity can be compromised. There is nothing at all wrong with being optimistic, determined and willing to give your dream a chance, but be careful and be smart. Don’t let the unscrupulous take you for a ride.

Here is a good list of INVENTOR RED FLAGS to look for when dealing with invention submission and idea promotion companies. This advice was first printed in the April 1996 issue of The Disclaimer, which was the newsletter of the now apparently defunct Inventors Awareness Group, Inc. of Westfield, MA. I also suggest you take a look at Don’t Be Scammed. The FTC also has a good set of guidelines available at Spotting Sweet-Sounding Promises of Fraudulent Invention Promotion Firms and more information at Invention Promotion Firms. Additionally, before an invention promotion contract can be established between you and the firm, each invention promotion firm is legally required to disclose the following information in writing:

1. The total number of inventions evaluated by the invention promoter for commercial potential in the past 5 years, as well as the number of those inventions that received positive evaluations, and the number of those inventions that received negative evaluations.

2. The total number of customers who have contracted with the invention promoter in the past 5 years, not including customers who have purchased trade show services, research, advertising, or other nonmarketing services from the invention promoter, or who have defaulted in their payment to the invention promoter.

3. he total number of customers known by the invention promoter to have received a net financial profit as a direct result of the invention promotion services provided by such invention promoter.

4. The total number of customers known by the invention promoter to have received license agreements for their inventions as a direct result of the invention promotion services provided by such invention promoter.

5. The names and addresses of all previous invention promotion companies with which the invention promoter or its officers have collectively or individually been affiliated in the previous 10 years. This is particularly important because invention submission companies routinely go out of business and start operating under different names.

Now, here are some basic rules to know. If you remember these simple rules and exercise caution you will save yourself heartache, disappointment and a lot of money.

1. If it sounds to good to be true it probably is.

2. Invention scams offer money back guarantees, no initial money down and then when money is discussed they only charge approximately $800 (or less) to start, with little or no discussion about likely additional fees. This all sounds wonderful, particularly when patent attorneys do not offer money back guarantees and routinely want a $5000 retainer before beginning work. The truth is that obtaining a patent can be expensive. For more information about the cost of obtaining a patent CLICK HERE.

3. After an invention scam has you hooked you are likely to be asked for $8,000 to $12,000. Beware! They have been setting you up for this from the start, telling you what you wanted to hear about how wonderful your invention is. Reputable firms are up front about the costs from day one!

4. If they promise to submit your invention to companies find out in great detail all that they plan on doing on your behalf. Invention submission can and usually does include mailing a description of your invention or your patent application to companies, but many of these companies simply do not accept outside submissions. The trick is that they promise to submit your invention, not to follow up on the submission and actually attempt to negotiate and finalize a deal.

5. Do your homework. Know who you are getting into a relationship with. Ask for references and check them. Do a Google search and see what you find. Call the Attorney General’s office in the state where the business is located. Many, if not most, State Attorneys General collect complaints and have a consumer protection department. Check the FTC complaints and the USPTO complaints. I also recommend InventorEd.org, which contains an exhaustive list of invention scams.

6. Do not let anyone talk you into making a rush judgment and sending money quickly. Take some time to consider your choices. It is a big decision, one that you should be comfortable with. Many, if not most, invention submission companies will try and rush your decision and will repeatedly call back to try and talk you into sending money.

7. Beware those peddling design patents. Design patents are very weak and appropriate only in limited circumstances. Unless you have a large number of design patents they do little more than let you advertise “patented design” or “patent pending” on the package. This may be what you are looking for, in which case they are fine. But they do NOT protect an idea or an invention. They only protect the ornamental design of exactly what is pictured. They are VERY easy to get, which is why many of these companies push them on people, who unsuspectingly think they have broad protection. Unfortunately, they are also VERY easy to get around without infringing. Design patents can be a good piece to an overall intellectual portfolio, but they are not for everyone and certainly not to be relied upon as the primary piece of protection. For more information on design patents CLICK HERE.

8. Do NOT rely upon the Better Business Bureau for information. Those who are familiar with IPWatchdog.com know that in the past I have suggested that people contact the BBB, but it would appear as if this is only a waste of time. Based on what I have been told by many people, the BBB does not have any useful information. In fact, even when an inquiry is made about a company that is well known to perpetrate scams the BBB reports a clean bill of health. This seems to be owed to the fact that the BBB does not do any kind of independent investigation whatsoever. They apparently rely only upon self reporting. The warning should be clear! Just because the BBB doesn’t know of any problems does not mean you should go full steam ahead.

9. If you are going to be working with an attorney find out where the attorney is admitted to practice (i.e., which State) and whether the attorney is registered to practice before the United States Patent Office. After obtaining this information consider contacting the professional conduct authorities to see if any complaints have been filed against the attorney, and whether any disciplinary actions have been taken. You can contact the Patent Office for such information by getting in touch with the Office of Enrollment & Discipline.

If you need assistance preparing and filing a patent application, or are interested in obtaining a professional patent search, we can help you.  The founder of IPWatchdog.com, Gene Quinn, is a senior partner in White + Quinn, P.C., which is a patent law firm located just outside Washington, DC. The firm is uniquely created and structured for administering legal work provided through a system called The Invent + Patent System.™ This system works through a web enabled inventor/attorney collaboration to create high quality patent applications at a substantially lower cost than other patent attorneys or law firms. Efficiency is achieved by the inventor, following a prior art search and preparation of drawings, submitting answers to a questionnaire.  The submitted information is subjected to several iterative reviews between the inventor and a former USPTO patent examiner.  These reviews result in the creation of a first draft of a patent application, which is turned over to a patent attorney or agent for further polishing, augmentation and claim drafting.  The finished product is a patent application which is suitable for filing at the United States Patent Office, either as a provisional patent application, nonprovisional patent application or an English language International Application filed pursuant to the requirements of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

For more information about using White & Quinn to file a nonprovisional patent application please see Patent Applications by White & Quinn.

If you simply want to do this on your own without any assistance you should at the very least obtain a copy of Patent It Yourself.   While this book is not perfect, and no book can teach you everything that it is a good resource, and for the price (which usually is around $35 to $45) you will definitely get an excellent value for what you receive.