The sad truth is that many inventors and entrepreneurs have had their share of difficulty with the various invention submission and idea promotion companies out there. You have probably seen them advertised on television, usually in the extremely late night or extremely early morning hours. They promise free information, and tell you that they will help you patent your idea, make your invention and/or market your product. Unfortunately many inventors and entrepreneurs have learned the hard way that these companies talk big and perform little or nothing. Luckily this may be coming to an end thanks to new rules set forth by the United States Patent & Trademark Office. For more on this see PTO Kills Invention Submission Business. Despite the new PTO rules, expect invention submission companies to try and figure a way around PTO regulation. This is a $10 billion per year industry, so I doubt they will go away. This means that as the industry shifts you need to be ever more vigilant to make sure you are not dealing with an unscrupulous operator.

Be very careful when dealing with those that offer to help you both obtain a patent and market your invention. As a general rule trustworthy professionals do one or the other, not both. Also remember and never forget 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. For enlightening reading see:

How Inventors Can Avoid Scams, Traps and Raw Deals

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?

How To Avoid an Invention Company Scam