Unfortunately there are many scam companies out there who prey on the hopes and dreams of inventors. However, they can not be determined solely on their practice of charging fees. It is their reputation and success that must be judged. The invention business is highly risky and you will have to pay the price. If a company,who has success in bringing similar products to market charges fees to help you, I think that is respectable. They are in the business of giving you the opportunity for success, however, they can not make a guarantee. It is for that opportunity that you are writing a check.

So my advice is to thoroughly investigate the company you select. It will not guarantee your success, but it will give you the peace of mind that you hired a qualified company to give your product the best shot at making it to market. Alternatively, save the money and do the work yourself.

Also, I noticed that Michael Collins has a “Sell Sheet” up. It is a good demonstration, but it should be qualified as a sell sheet for people who are attempting to license their inventions. If they are mfg. their product, it would not be the same format for a sell sheet on an item/line.

Lisa

by Michael Collins, CEO of Big Idea Group and author of “The Million-Dollar Idea in Everyone.”

Though there is no formula for creating the perfect sell sheet, attached is a sample for your review. This one includes the following:

• Inventor contact information.
• A visual of the product. To create the “Watering Hole,” the inventor simply took existing toys cut and glued them together to make what appears to be a functioning outdoor sink. The garden hose is actually taped to the bottom of the play structure.
• Key elements: what it is, how it works, and what the major benefits are.

From the United States Patent and Trademark Office

•Provisional Patent Application - www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/provapp.htm
•Registered Patent Practitioners - http://des.uspto.gov/OEDCI/GeoRegion.jsp
•Patent Information - http://www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm
•Depository Libraries – www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/index.html
•Independent Inventor Program - www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/index.htm
•General Information - www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/doc/general/
•Web Patent Database - http://patents.uspto.gov/

Copyright and Trademark Information

•From the US Patent and Trademark Office - www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
•For Trademark information - www.inventored.org/trademark/
•For Copyright information - http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
•Franklin Pierce Law Center, US Patent, Trademark and Copyright Information - www.fplc.edu/tfield/ipbasics.htm

Invention Evaluation

•UIA Innovation Assessment Program - http://www.uiausa.org/Default.aspx?page=129
•US Dep’t of Energy’s Inventions & Innovations Program - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/inventions/
•Washington Innovation Assessment Center - http://www.business.wsu.edu/iac
•Wisconsin Innovation Services Center - http://academics.uww.edu/business/innovate/default.htm

Patent Related Information

•United States Patent and Trademark Office - http://www.uspto.gov
•Patent & Trademark Depository Libraries - http://www.uspto.gov/go/ptdl
•National Patent Association - http://www.nationalpatent.com
•National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts - http://www.nesta.org.uk/withflash.html
•Franklin Pierce Law Center, US Patent, Trademark and Copyright Information - www.fplc.edu/tfield/ipbasics.htm

Funding Sources

•Energy TechNet - http://www.energytechnet.com
•National Science Foundation - http://www.nsf.gov
•FinanceNet - http://www.financenet.gov
•SBA Procurements and Grants Hot List - http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/hotlist/procure.html
•Small Business Innovation Research Program - http://www.sba.gov/SBIR
•National Institutes of Health Grants & Funding Opportunities - http://grants.nih.gov/grants/index.cfm

Help for Inventors

•Center for Design & Business - www.centerdesignbusiness.org
•R.R. Enterprises, Inc. - http://www.rjriley.com
•InventNET: The Inventors Network - http://www.inventnet.com
•Energy TechNet - http://www.energytechnet.com

Marketing and Licensing

•Small Business Administration - http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/starting/businessplan.html
•Licensing Executives Society - www.usa-canada.les.org
•Ed Zimmer’s Entrepreneur Network - http://tenonline.org/index.html
•Licensing Consultants and Brokers Directory - http://www.usa-canada.les.org/consultants/directory.asp

Legal

•Cornell Law School - http://www.law.cornell.edu
•Franklin Pierce Law Center - http://www.fplc.edu

Manufacturing

•ThomasNet - www.thomasregister.com

Oh, what a time it was. Frolicking through meadows of grass, playing hide and seek with the neighbors kids, and showing off your latest and greatest toys to friends. No, I’m not talking about childhood, I’m talking about the 2008 International Toy Fair in New York last week! (minus the meadows and hide and seek games unfortunately).

We took a trip up to see what was on the minds of 1300 of the greatest toy inventors and companies in the world. Needless to say, it was an rejuvenating experience. From remote control miniature construction equipment, to funky shaped frisbees, yes, the Toy Fair had it all.

The show covered the two floors of the Jacob Javits Convention Center, on the west side of Manhattan. To keep the show professional, they screen every attendee and prohibit children (adults with child-like minds are allowed though). Parts of the show were categorized, such as board games, or plush toys, or art and design toys. Although many of the booths were for Toy Inventors, there was a small corner section dedicated to early-stage inventors. In this section, booths were smaller, and cheaper, which allowed inventors, that otherwise couldn’t afford to exhibit, the chance to present.

Even our very own Lisa Lloyd was there exhibiting her latest product, TC Pets. To really get a sense of what happened, check out this video or see our photo gallery:

WOW! If you have watched The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, then you know what a powerhouse the man is. And, yes ladies, he is as good looking in person as he is on TV! He is genuinely interested in helping people become encouraged to fallow their dreams. I say that because I used to wonder if he was really about being a celebrity or helping people. It’s still TV and drama helps the ratings, so I found that there was some typical embellishment of numbers and stories, but at the end of the day, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I have been on numerous television programs for my success, Ananda Lewis, Dr. Phil and others, but Donny, YOU are number one!

Got some good news for you inventors who missed the American Inventor audition casting calls. Season 2 of PBS’ Everyday Edisons is starting their casting calls around the country. Their first casting call is in Atlanta Saturday, January 12th. They’ll be going to one city per month in these places: San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago, and Boston.

My opinion on the show . . . for the inventor, it’s better than American Inventor. American Inventor was primarily a show for entertainment. Some of the inventors they passed were good, but many were passed only because they’d be good entertainment. Everyday Edisons seems like it actually wants to help the inventors more. And remember, people don’t watch PBS for entertainment, they watch it for education. So Everyday Edisons the show is geared around educating people how inventors go from idea to product.

If you need to know how you should prepare and what to expect, read some of our previous posts about the American Inventor auditions we went to earlier this year. Look for the ideatango representative there and sign up for our gift card giveaway. Or take a picture with our famous (or infamous) light bulb hat to have your picture posted on ideatango.com.

Stay on top of all the latest events for inventors and product developers, check out the ideatango inventor calendar. There we list upcoming events, trade shows, and things you should be paying attention to!

One of the most common questions I am asked is what does the overall process look like from concept to market? I’m sure it is different for different people in various industries, but for me, as a licensor, it generally looks like this:
1. Idea
2. Quick patent search
3. Rough working model, sometimes I start with sketches, it depends on how hard it is to make.
4. When I am pretty sure I have the concept down I do one more patent search based on what I want to make
5. General market research:
a. What would it cost to make
b. What would it cost to bring to market
c. What would people be wiling to pay for it
6. If the numbers are profitable, I file the patent. If not, I may reinvent it or just abandon it if it is not worth it.
7. Once it is patent pending, I begin contacting companies with a “One Sheet” to license.

Happy Inventing!

Lisa Lloyd

I am often asked why I chose to license rather than bring my products to market. I am, in fact, now working on an entire line of products that I will manufacture and distribute. However, until now, I have not had a line, only items. Retailers are not interested in brining in items, they want lines. They do not, as a rule of thumb, buy from single product companies. They prefer to have less vendors with more lines of goods. That makes it too hard to manufacture and distribute with just one invention. However, by licensing my item to a distributor who has a brand name that consumers recognize and a line that the item fits nicely into for the retailers, I can be in 10,000 stores overnight. That is why I have always licensed.

Happy Inventing!

Lisa Lloyd

Just in the last month, I’ve discovered a TV show that is gaining some traction. The show is educational for inventors, entrepreneurs, AND average joe couch potatoes. It’s funny how the spoken word seems to travel like wildfire sometimes. I’d never heard of this show, and then in the last month, I’ve had no less than five friends and acquaintances tell me about the show. Okay, okay, I’ll divulge the name of the show. If you haven’t figured out the name of the show from the title of this blog post, then you probably haven’t heard of it.
The name of the show is The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch at it airs on CNBC weekdays at midnight CST (10pm PST/1am EST). I’m not quite sure why it airs so late, since it seems to be THE most popular program on CNBC - at least based on my informal poll of my friends.
But the best part is, you get 5 nights a week with this guy. Some nights he’ll talk about bootstrapping, other nights about a successful inventor, other nights with a CEO on his thoughts about the future. Anyway, for those of you who don’t have cable, or refuse to get cable (like me), you can find the occasional episodes on youtube, or on the CNBC web site.
As with many things, us idea people always have to keep learning, getting insight from others, and keeping up with the trends. So think of this show as an entertaining education.

Bryan Daigle