If you missed the Colorado Inventor Showcase this year, hosted by the Da Vinci institute, don’t miss it next year. Although it was a relatively small event with 30 exhibitors, many of the judges were venture capitalists, bankers, product development companies, and entrepreneurs roaming the halls. In fact, their were 45 judges. Has anyone ever seen more judges than participants?! It spelled only good news for the exhibiting inventors.

They also had some speakers for the Inventor Boot Camp in the morning. Speakers included an attorney that specializes in licensing, John Funk from Evergreen IP licensing firm, and the keynote speaker of the evening, US Patent Office Commissioner, John Doll. We recorded Commissioner Doll’s keynote speech and you can listed to it in our Education section, under Audio Downloads.

Here are some notes from John Doll’s first speech (not the keynote):

• [attorneys cover ears] Inventors don’t need a lawyer because the USPTO is trying to make the patent process easier
• 95% of patents never sell a single item (one of the reasons we stress testing the marketability of an invention)
• Design patents, although often used by scam companies to give inventors a false sense of protection, can actually be used wisely. Here are some companies that use design patents: Nike on their shoes, Corvette’s bumper
• To avoid getting ripped off by scams, check references. Patent office actually gives an accused company a chance to defend themselves, but they rarely response to written inquiries.
• Public disclosure before patent application - don’t worry so much about telling your neighbors or family about your invention. It’s very unlikely it will backfire and void your patent. Instead, worry about disclosing your invention at trade shows and in publications. He made a joke that even when he tries to help some inventors, they refuse to tell him their product for this unreasonable fear. They’re afraid to tell the US Patent Commissioner, a government employee trying to help!
• Says google patent search okay, but gives inconsistent results compared to USPTO patent search.
• You can patent a use of a product. For example, Rogaine started out as a medicine to reduce blood pressure, but another person got a patent on its ability to grow hair on bald heads. Bald men of the world rejoice
• Future changes at the Patent office: more congressional oversight, peer to patent public reviews of prior art, talking to industry leaders about what they want, encouraged sharing between various patent offices in Europe, Canada, Japan, etc.

Those are the highlights. Be sure to listen to Commissioner Doll’s, at times humorous, keynote speech. You can also listen to the Invention Contest Winners on StartupStory.com.

Bryan Daigle