Invention & Idea Show

We recently attended the Invention & Idea Show sponsored by the Minnesota Inventors Congress. They are celebrating there 51st annual event, established in 1958 they are a non profit organization dedicated to the advancement of inventors and their ideas. Check out some of the show details at Invent Helper . The event was held June 13th and 14th as the world’s oldest annual convention.

Among some of the great relationships we established at this event we meet with The United Stated Patent and Trademark office representatives, Inventors Network, Pelham West Licensing Scouts and Invent Right. We are sending follow up information to all the licensing scouts at this show to include products we have currently contracted to license. One product specifically we are working with that grabbed attention was Swing Correct. This is a great new product to perfect your golf swing. Another of our products Conform-A Tie also got some notice. We are looking forward to continued interest in other products and additional progress from our licensing efforts.

Some of the products we witnessed at the show included the Step-Up which won the 2007 Grand Prize and one of our favorites Spiral Eye Needles which caught the eye of many of the attendees. It goes to show you that having a physical product can really help to gain recognition and exposure.

After attending multiple seminars and having many discussions with professionals at this event we have once again confirmed our initial program. Here are the initial steps that inventors should follow for product development.
First design your idea (Idea Design) and be creative with it. Have a professional create 3d designs and computer models for visual effect and design originality.
Next get a professional to do a patent search for you (a great source for this is found at the United Inventors Association) which is another group we met at the trade show.
After completing the initial two steps its time to move onto the physical prototype stage (Prototype). This step is very important and should be done professionally, not only does your invention need to function but it needs to have manufacturability. You want to know it can be reproduced and what it will take to do that.
Now you have a functioning product, its time to look into a patent. If done sooner you run the risk of a patent on something that you may not be able to produce or a product that must go through major changes in design (which could cause more patent work anyway). There is much debate as to when to file for a patent, so you should always consult with a professional.

In coming Blog posts we will have some in-depth posts from each of the contacts we established from this years event. We are looking forward to next year’s event as we continue to build on the relationships from this year.

If you need help with a new idea or product Click Here!

Non-Disclosure and Provisional Patents

As a new inventor you may be and should be concerned about protecting your new idea or invention. Keeping good records is key to start. Always document any activity involving your project and label your records starting with your name and date of entry. If you are going to need help moving forward with your idea, or you decide you want to show your idea to someone always present or request a non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement before they review it. The biggest mistake for first time inventors regarding these types of agreements is using one that has no time frame for disclosure. In our opinion in order for the agreement to hold up there must be some time frame. A normal time frame seen on agreements in the United States is between 2 to 3 years. Longer time frames tend to appear in Europe, as much as 10 years. Be very cautious of any documents without a timeframe as they may not hold up in court. This happens a lot with invention promotion firms wanting to review your idea. They will not include a time frame just so you will feel safe and not question them. However, this shows they don’t really care much about your idea or you as the inventor. More often then not they are more interested in your money anyway!(We will discuss Invention Promotion firms in later articles with more detail). View this time frame as a motivator to keep you moving forward with your project and always use one regardless of who is reviewing your idea. You may review one of our confidential agreements at http://www.inventionsupport.com/submit.aspx. look under the terms and conditions section.

Aside from non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements another way for early protection is to file for a provisional patent. If you have determined your idea to be patentable then this application will give your idea one year of protection. It can be a realitivly inexpensive way to have time for initial work like research, development and testing. However, the patent office is very strict about disclosure and that one year time frame. You must apply for a non-provisional application within that year or risk losing the ability to obtain a patent. One option is to apply for the provisional patent after the initial designs and patent searching are complete. By doing this you will have a strong understanding of your new product and will not be wasting time on the provisional one year limit. Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office for more details on provisional patents at http://www.uspto.gov/ .



This article is for information purposes only and is not intended nor subject as legal advice. Consult with your own attorney for clarification. All information expressed exhibits only the opinions of the writer.