Posts Tagged: "famous inventors"

Keeping a Good Invention Notebook Still Makes Good Sense

It is worth remembering, however, that an invention notebook is not just for proving when you invented aspects of your invention, which will rarely if ever be necessary for the overwhelming majority of inventors now that the U.S. follows first inventor to file laws. An invention notebook or invention record is comprised of a collection of notes that will be critical for you as you progress down the invention path. While we might all like to flatter ourselves with how capable our memories are, you are likely to try so many different things that either fail or succeed to varying levels that days, weeks or months later you will not be able to remember every aspect of your efforts. This can and will lead to a need to recreate the wheel. So, keeping a good invention notebook is far more useful as a personal reference than it is for evidentiary reasons.

Rural and Independent Innovators Conference

The Rocky Mountain Regional Office will participate in a panel discussion about how rural & independent innovators can better identify and manage risks. Panelists will share perspectives and best practices to safeguard against internal and external threats, including cybersecurity and intellectual property. This is a conference is for innovators who want to know when and how to move forward with…

Inventors Association of Metropolitan Detroit

Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Regional Director, Damian Porcari, will present at the monthly meeting of the Inventors Association of Metropolitan Detroit. The presentation will include an overview of intellectual property for businesses focusing on trade secrets and design patents. The Inventors Association of Metropolitan Detroit is a non-for-profit association established to educate inventors of all…

Why do you want a Patent?

Obtaining a patent can be the best business move you could ever make. On other hand, it may wind up costing you time, energy and a lot of money that you didn’t need to spend. The investment placed into getting a patent may be wise, but it is important to realize that no one is simply going to show up on your doorstep with a money dump truck and unload lottery like winnings onto your stoop. The road to riches in the invention world is hazardous, has many detours and seldom goes as planned. That is why the first question you absolutely must ask yourself before you rush off to your friendly neighborhood patent attorney is this: Why do you want to get a patent?

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker Connected to World Patent Marketing Fraudulent Scheme to Bilk Inventors

In May 2018, Scott Cooper and his companies, World Patent Marketing Inc. and Desa Industries Inc., agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that bans them from the invention promotion business, and ordered payment of $25,987,192. The FTC charged World Patent Marketing with being nothing more than a scam, bilking millions of dollars from inventors. “The record supports a preliminary finding that Defendants devised a fraudulent scheme to use consumer funds to enrich themselves,” concluded United States District Judge Darrin P. Gayles as he issued a preliminary injunction in August 2017. Matthew G. Whitaker, the Acting Attorney General of the United States who ascended to the position with the resignation of Jeff Sessions, served on the advisory board of World Patent Marketing. Worse, Whitaker was involved in some of the egregious intimidation that led to the charges, issuance of an injunction and ultimately the settlement.