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By Marianne R. Timm-Schreiber and Dana P. Jozefczyk The idea of getting a patent can seem glamorous. However, the costs associated with a patent can be gory. The price tag for filing a patent application can run $8,000 – $15,000. And that’s just to file the application. Then you may have to deal with the U.S. Patent [...]
School is in session, so it’s time to clear the games off of your iDevice and revamp your app arsenal for the fall. We asked the FIRST Robotics Competition Dean’s List Award winners – the best and brightest students from FIRST teams worldwide, as nominated by their mentors – for their suggestions on the top [...]
Q. Now that passage of the America Invents Act (patent reform) is all but certain – it’s only awaiting the President’s signature – what will be the immediate and long-term effects of first-to-file? A. The administration, the Department of Commerce, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office support the passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents [...]
By Mike Drummond Ahhha.com is a website for inventors to submit ideas so others from the masses or “crowd” can offer input. The folks at Ahhha, launched last March, say they offer “social ideation” and are “turning ideas into profit.” Inventors can post or stake a “claim” on an idea online for free. If other [...]
Even in the Internet era, sell sheets remain key to landing licensing deals. Here are 12 top tips from master inventor and licensing pro Roger Brown: Be professional. Proofread your sell sheet. Nothing looks worse than misspellings. Be as brief as possible – keep you sell sheet to one page. Send your submission so [...]
By Mike Drummond Roger Brown licensed his first invention from the trunk of his car. In a scene out of Casino or a James Bond film, he demonstrated his Super Sleever to a couple of officials from Bartlett Nuclear Inc. in a covered parking garage. “There we were,” Brown recalls, “three guys in business suits [...]
Larry Lockwood believes unscrupulous law firms are taking advantage of inventors through the U.S. patent system’s re-examination process. Others call Lockwood a patent troll and a drain on innovation. In any case, the former infomercial producer wants his day in court – the U.S. Supreme Court, no less. Lockwood holds patents related to computerized sales [...]
A Look at Inequitable Conduct By B. Collins The days of shaking down patent holders for failing to cross some Ts or dot a few lower-case Js in patent applications may be over. And maybe, just maybe, it will be cheaper and faster to file for and obtain a patent – that is, if a split [...]
Every month, Inventors Digest features new inventions from independent inventors in our Radar section. To have your new invention in the magazine, email info@inventorsdigest.com. Put “Radar” in the subject line. Don’t Fall It may have a clumsy acronym, but the RIPPS helps the elderly from falling. RIPPS or Repeated Incremental Predictable Perturbations in Standing, increases [...]
Every month, Inventors Digest features new inventions from independent inventors in our Under the Radar section. To have your new invention in the magazine, email info@inventorsdigest.com. Put “Radar” in the subject line. Strap-n-Go Inventor Randy LeClaire’s Strap-n-Go ladder handle took Best Overall Product by the United Inventors Association at this year’s National Hardware Show. The [...]
