United Inventors Association Rolls Out Welcome Mat
Warren Tuttle was breathless in delivering the news that the United Inventors Association is back in a big way this year.
The UIA president, along with executive director Mark Reyland, had phoned to say the UIA would be helping more inventors attend tradeshows and land licensing deals this year.
Fresh from the 58th annual PGA (Golf) Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., in January, the twosome talked of a sold-out Inventors Spotlight area, where new product developers were inking licensing deals with buyers.
The UIA unveiled an Inventors Spotlight at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas two years ago. The national nonprofit is building on that initial success.
“We’re taking inventor education into tradeshows,” Tuttle said, adding that the UIA will increasingly fly the flag at industry specific events across the country.
A bevy of UIA-backed free seminars, contests and low-cost booth opportunities await inventors.
One of the biggest will be at the National Hardware Show, May 10-12, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos is scheduled to attend, present and prowl the Inventors Spotlight area, where some 100 booths will be available for inventors – the largest Inventors Spotlight footprint to date.
The UIA educational seminars will be free – the UIA has abandoned the $200 fee it had charged in the past.
Reyland said the buzz is building for the UIA tradeshow initiative, noting that representatives from the Spree 2011 tradeshow approached the UIA for this year’s event, April 12-14 at the Sands Expo Center at the Venetian in Las Vegas.
Spree is the largest tradeshow for small kiosk owners or specialty retailers. Reyland said malls around the country often lease single weekend kiosk spots, which offer a great foot-in-the-door opportunity for inventors to land first sales and gather feedback. The Spree show also allows inventors to meet suppliers and other key people in the industry.
The UIA will offer booths in a general area at the Spree and other shows “for a price many inventors otherwise normally wouldn’t be able to afford.”
Inventors can only attend the UIA portion of the event two years in a row, Reyland added. “This is really for entry-level, product-ready inventors.”
Low-cost booths at industry tradeshows, all packaged with free educational seminars featuring experts in various fields. The UIA believes it has a winning formula for inventors.
“This,” Tuttle said, “is the future.”
Upcoming Shows
National Hardware Show
www.nationalhardwareshow.com
Spree 2011
spreeshow.com
Editor’s note: This article appears in the April 2011 print edition.
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