Welcome to the Forum for InventorSpot.com, the most popular invention related website in the world. Read our welcome message.
Moderators: Michelle, Scrupulous, Roger Brown, citizen
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Wed Feb 02, 2011 6:52 am
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
Hmmm….That’s a good question!
Early in my career I had a sales call with a potential licensee. The call was going great. The licensee recognized the value in my client’s intellectual property. He was talking to me about how he saw the patents developing into a full line of products. We spoke of how his current distribution was perfect for the yet to be developed product. I was encouraged about the opportunity and I was feeling pretty good about the hours and hours of work it took to get ready for this one call.
A 16 page product prospectus - dripping with great graphics, photos of the prototypes, graphs and charts, awesome financials, formal market research, competitive product analysis, and superbly written text. My ducks were in a row and quacking - I nailed it. I made a case for my client’s project that Perry Mason couldn’t poke a hole in.
Then the rubber met the road. The prospective licensee asked the Magic question, “What did I want for the patent?”
I went into my normal pitch about how my client understood that licensees typically take most of the risk and therefore they deserve to make the lion share of the profits. I pointed out how my client knew the rewards he would receive in the form of royalties would be based on how often the ultimate product judge and jury, consumers, felt inclined to purchase this soon to be product. I hate to brag but boy was I on a roll. I hit it all. I had convinced the licensee I had a great product. I made sure he knew my client would be easy to work with but that he was also aware of what standard industry financial terms should look like. Then I get the curveball question.
“But if I didn’t want to license the patent, how much would you sell the patents for outright?”
I wasn’t ready for that one. It hadn’t occurred to me that buying these unproven patents outright was even being considered. First of all I was so busy selling my plan I forgot to consider that someone else may take another path to commercialization. To me licensing almost always makes the most sense however what makes sense to me doesn’t always matter.
Unfortunately I didn’t have an answer. All I could come up with was that we hadn’t considered that option yet because we knew that typically the best way to maximize the value of a patent was through sharing in the long term success of it rather than just a onetime payment. Especially for a consumer product patent who hadn’t proven itself in any way.
The conversation did get interesting from there though. The licensee was probing trying to figure out about how much my client had invested in the product. Once the buyer felt like he had a good grasp of the number he then pitched out that he might be interested in buying the patent for roughly five times what my client had spent to date.
In most worlds this would be a slam dunk. If you bought a car two years ago and could turn it around for five times what you purchased it for you would do back flips. Take a house for example, or a dog, a skateboard, or a company, anything really.
But for some reason it doesn’t seem nearly as attractive when we are speaking about patents. Why is that? Why don’t we treat technology transfer like other industries? Why do we treat creations of the mind so differently? Everyone wants a million dollars for their IP. It makes me question what would happen if we all treated real estate the same way. “I know the market value of my house today is 100k however I want you to pay me 500k because it will surely increase in value over the next twenty years.” If you made five times your money by putting it in the bank you would jump for joy.
I guess what I’m saying is – First, treat your Intellectual property like a business. Don’t be so emotionally attached to it. There is a very good chance that you could miss out on a great business opportunity if you can’t figure out how to separate yourself. Second, listen to your potential licensee or buyer. Don’t get so caught up in being proud of your work that you overlook key points that will help you put a deal together.
The customer usually tells you how to sell to them, if you just take the time to listen.
In addition to being a huge supporter of the UIA and the inventor community – Kenny Durham is the CEO of Innovators Warehouse and one of the most successful product deal makers in the industry. http://www.innovatorswarehouse.com/
Early in my career I had a sales call with a potential licensee. The call was going great. The licensee recognized the value in my client’s intellectual property. He was talking to me about how he saw the patents developing into a full line of products. We spoke of how his current distribution was perfect for the yet to be developed product. I was encouraged about the opportunity and I was feeling pretty good about the hours and hours of work it took to get ready for this one call.
A 16 page product prospectus - dripping with great graphics, photos of the prototypes, graphs and charts, awesome financials, formal market research, competitive product analysis, and superbly written text. My ducks were in a row and quacking - I nailed it. I made a case for my client’s project that Perry Mason couldn’t poke a hole in.
Then the rubber met the road. The prospective licensee asked the Magic question, “What did I want for the patent?”
I went into my normal pitch about how my client understood that licensees typically take most of the risk and therefore they deserve to make the lion share of the profits. I pointed out how my client knew the rewards he would receive in the form of royalties would be based on how often the ultimate product judge and jury, consumers, felt inclined to purchase this soon to be product. I hate to brag but boy was I on a roll. I hit it all. I had convinced the licensee I had a great product. I made sure he knew my client would be easy to work with but that he was also aware of what standard industry financial terms should look like. Then I get the curveball question.
“But if I didn’t want to license the patent, how much would you sell the patents for outright?”
I wasn’t ready for that one. It hadn’t occurred to me that buying these unproven patents outright was even being considered. First of all I was so busy selling my plan I forgot to consider that someone else may take another path to commercialization. To me licensing almost always makes the most sense however what makes sense to me doesn’t always matter.
Unfortunately I didn’t have an answer. All I could come up with was that we hadn’t considered that option yet because we knew that typically the best way to maximize the value of a patent was through sharing in the long term success of it rather than just a onetime payment. Especially for a consumer product patent who hadn’t proven itself in any way.
The conversation did get interesting from there though. The licensee was probing trying to figure out about how much my client had invested in the product. Once the buyer felt like he had a good grasp of the number he then pitched out that he might be interested in buying the patent for roughly five times what my client had spent to date.
In most worlds this would be a slam dunk. If you bought a car two years ago and could turn it around for five times what you purchased it for you would do back flips. Take a house for example, or a dog, a skateboard, or a company, anything really.
But for some reason it doesn’t seem nearly as attractive when we are speaking about patents. Why is that? Why don’t we treat technology transfer like other industries? Why do we treat creations of the mind so differently? Everyone wants a million dollars for their IP. It makes me question what would happen if we all treated real estate the same way. “I know the market value of my house today is 100k however I want you to pay me 500k because it will surely increase in value over the next twenty years.” If you made five times your money by putting it in the bank you would jump for joy.
I guess what I’m saying is – First, treat your Intellectual property like a business. Don’t be so emotionally attached to it. There is a very good chance that you could miss out on a great business opportunity if you can’t figure out how to separate yourself. Second, listen to your potential licensee or buyer. Don’t get so caught up in being proud of your work that you overlook key points that will help you put a deal together.
The customer usually tells you how to sell to them, if you just take the time to listen.
In addition to being a huge supporter of the UIA and the inventor community – Kenny Durham is the CEO of Innovators Warehouse and one of the most successful product deal makers in the industry. http://www.innovatorswarehouse.com/
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Thu Feb 03, 2011 5:56 am
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
Can I ask you a question?
Crowd Sourcing is not new, in fact it’s as old as the survey taker standing in the flow of traffic at your local mall. What is new is the twist it takes when you combine the Internet and the inventor.
At the UIA we are seeing an increase in problems experienced by inventors who use sites like GeniusCrowds, Quirkey, and MomQuestion. These harmless looking opinion sites can be a big problem down the road for inventors who use them. Issues of Co-inventor, Public disclosure, and how using them may effect a license contract are all yet to be court tested.
As Boa Tran from Tran & Associates a UIA member patent law firm tells us, it may be even worse once you read the fine print.
Recently, companies have enthusiastically jumped on-board the trend of crowd-sourcing new products and ideas. This trend is driven in part by the realization that consumers can be power allies in product development and in part by the allure of outsourcing a task or problem to a sea of heads to solve the task quicker and less expensively than you can do in-house.
The crowd-sourcing of ideas is potentially exciting to inventors, as this trend expands the available market to its theoretical maximum for inventors by removing the “not invented here” syndrome. A number of web sites have sprung up to provide intermediary services between inventors and potential licensees who wish to benefit from this trend. Typically, these sites allow inventors to submit their ideas and receive votes from other users, and a few sites provide rewards or awards for crowd-selected winning ideas. In theory, these sites may make it much easier for inventors to let the world know about their inventions.
However, this may be dangerous for inventors, as they should carefully select companies that provide crowd-sourcing services. The first step is to carefully read the terms of use that governs the use of the crowd-sourcing sites. To illustrate, we reviewed the terms of use at an actual site, which we referred to as Company X.
The review of the terms-of-agreement revealed dangerous language for the unsuspecting inventor. For example, the license at one site granted significant substantive rights to the company operating the site perpetual irrevocable rights to freely use and reproduce any “Product Idea” or “User Input” to the site as follows:
“License Grant. You hereby grant the Company, its affiliates and its strategic, commercial, social network or other partners, and its and their respective licensees, distributors, agents, representatives and other authorized users, a perpetual, non–exclusive, irrevocable, fully–paid, royalty–free, sub–licensable and transferable (in whole or part) worldwide license under all copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, privacy and publicity rights and other intellectual property rights to use, reproduce, transmit, display, exhibit, distribute, index, comment on, modify, create derivative works based upon, perform and otherwise exploit any User Input submitted by you, in whole or in part, in all media formats and channels now known or hereafter devised for any and all purposes including without limitation (a) the operation of the Site and associated services, (b) the operation of any site owned or controlled by any commercial, strategic, social network or other partner or relationship of the Company (or any successor or replacement site or service or any assignee or transferee's site or service), and (c) the manufacture, development, commercialization, promotion or sale of any Product Idea or resulting product about which such User Input may relate, all without further notice to you, with or without attribution, and without the requirement of any permission from or payment to you or to any other person or entity.”
User input is broadly defined as virtually everything you submit to the site.
“User Input. Company X allows registered users of the Community to submit input, feedback, comments and other content through communicating, uploading, embedding, displaying and/or otherwise communicating in any manner whatsoever including on or through the Site or the sites of strategic, commercial, social network or other partners of Company X and, as may be made available from time to time, through email or other online and offline methods ("User Input"). The term "User Input" may include, without limitation, designs, text, graphics, pictures, video, animation, information, applications, software, programs, music, sound, audio, schematics, illustrations, diagrams, data, and other files and creative output, in whatever format.”
The term of use also broadly provides a waiver of liability to the company with the following No Liability clause:
“No Liability. You understand and agree that: (i) you are solely responsible for understanding all copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property or other laws that may apply to your or any other user's Product Ideas or User Input; (ii) you are solely responsible for, and the Company will have no liability in connection with, the legal consequences of any actions or failures to act on your part while using the Site, including without limitation any legal consequences relating to your or any other person's or entity's intellectual property rights or proprietary information; and (iii) Company X an acknowledgement hereunder of your intellectual property rights in your Product Ideas or User Input does not constitute a legal opinion or legal advice, but is intended solely as an expression of the Company's intention not to require users of the Site to forgo certain intellectual property rights with respect to such Product Ideas or User Input submitted by them to the Site, subject to the terms of these Terms and Conditions. Company X shall not be liable to you or any other user (or to any person claiming through you or such other user) for any use, exploitation or disclosure of any Product Idea or User Input.”
The bottom line is, the terms-of-use agreement at this site suggests that virtually all significant commercialization rights can be lost when inventors submit product ideas and suggestions/comments to such a site.
So you may ask, how do I tap into the crowd-sourcing trend on my own if I lack the contacts to market my invention?
Inventors should provide only publicly available information to these sites to avoid the loss of valuable trade secret rights, and avoid offering on these sites non-patentable suggestions and ideas such as drawings, literary work, among others. Avoid loss of rights by granting these sites with the ability to use or benefit from suggestions or comments when the license grant allows the site to do so, as is the case with Company X.
In the end it’s your responsibility as an inventor to understand what you are getting into, and to consult legal counsel before entering into any binding contract, even if that contract appears to simply be registering for a new web site.
You can find out more about Tran & Associates, crowdsourcing, and inventor patents by contacting them at http://ipsemantic.com/tranassoc.php
Crowd Sourcing is not new, in fact it’s as old as the survey taker standing in the flow of traffic at your local mall. What is new is the twist it takes when you combine the Internet and the inventor.
At the UIA we are seeing an increase in problems experienced by inventors who use sites like GeniusCrowds, Quirkey, and MomQuestion. These harmless looking opinion sites can be a big problem down the road for inventors who use them. Issues of Co-inventor, Public disclosure, and how using them may effect a license contract are all yet to be court tested.
As Boa Tran from Tran & Associates a UIA member patent law firm tells us, it may be even worse once you read the fine print.
Recently, companies have enthusiastically jumped on-board the trend of crowd-sourcing new products and ideas. This trend is driven in part by the realization that consumers can be power allies in product development and in part by the allure of outsourcing a task or problem to a sea of heads to solve the task quicker and less expensively than you can do in-house.
The crowd-sourcing of ideas is potentially exciting to inventors, as this trend expands the available market to its theoretical maximum for inventors by removing the “not invented here” syndrome. A number of web sites have sprung up to provide intermediary services between inventors and potential licensees who wish to benefit from this trend. Typically, these sites allow inventors to submit their ideas and receive votes from other users, and a few sites provide rewards or awards for crowd-selected winning ideas. In theory, these sites may make it much easier for inventors to let the world know about their inventions.
However, this may be dangerous for inventors, as they should carefully select companies that provide crowd-sourcing services. The first step is to carefully read the terms of use that governs the use of the crowd-sourcing sites. To illustrate, we reviewed the terms of use at an actual site, which we referred to as Company X.
The review of the terms-of-agreement revealed dangerous language for the unsuspecting inventor. For example, the license at one site granted significant substantive rights to the company operating the site perpetual irrevocable rights to freely use and reproduce any “Product Idea” or “User Input” to the site as follows:
“License Grant. You hereby grant the Company, its affiliates and its strategic, commercial, social network or other partners, and its and their respective licensees, distributors, agents, representatives and other authorized users, a perpetual, non–exclusive, irrevocable, fully–paid, royalty–free, sub–licensable and transferable (in whole or part) worldwide license under all copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, privacy and publicity rights and other intellectual property rights to use, reproduce, transmit, display, exhibit, distribute, index, comment on, modify, create derivative works based upon, perform and otherwise exploit any User Input submitted by you, in whole or in part, in all media formats and channels now known or hereafter devised for any and all purposes including without limitation (a) the operation of the Site and associated services, (b) the operation of any site owned or controlled by any commercial, strategic, social network or other partner or relationship of the Company (or any successor or replacement site or service or any assignee or transferee's site or service), and (c) the manufacture, development, commercialization, promotion or sale of any Product Idea or resulting product about which such User Input may relate, all without further notice to you, with or without attribution, and without the requirement of any permission from or payment to you or to any other person or entity.”
User input is broadly defined as virtually everything you submit to the site.
“User Input. Company X allows registered users of the Community to submit input, feedback, comments and other content through communicating, uploading, embedding, displaying and/or otherwise communicating in any manner whatsoever including on or through the Site or the sites of strategic, commercial, social network or other partners of Company X and, as may be made available from time to time, through email or other online and offline methods ("User Input"). The term "User Input" may include, without limitation, designs, text, graphics, pictures, video, animation, information, applications, software, programs, music, sound, audio, schematics, illustrations, diagrams, data, and other files and creative output, in whatever format.”
The term of use also broadly provides a waiver of liability to the company with the following No Liability clause:
“No Liability. You understand and agree that: (i) you are solely responsible for understanding all copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property or other laws that may apply to your or any other user's Product Ideas or User Input; (ii) you are solely responsible for, and the Company will have no liability in connection with, the legal consequences of any actions or failures to act on your part while using the Site, including without limitation any legal consequences relating to your or any other person's or entity's intellectual property rights or proprietary information; and (iii) Company X an acknowledgement hereunder of your intellectual property rights in your Product Ideas or User Input does not constitute a legal opinion or legal advice, but is intended solely as an expression of the Company's intention not to require users of the Site to forgo certain intellectual property rights with respect to such Product Ideas or User Input submitted by them to the Site, subject to the terms of these Terms and Conditions. Company X shall not be liable to you or any other user (or to any person claiming through you or such other user) for any use, exploitation or disclosure of any Product Idea or User Input.”
The bottom line is, the terms-of-use agreement at this site suggests that virtually all significant commercialization rights can be lost when inventors submit product ideas and suggestions/comments to such a site.
So you may ask, how do I tap into the crowd-sourcing trend on my own if I lack the contacts to market my invention?
Inventors should provide only publicly available information to these sites to avoid the loss of valuable trade secret rights, and avoid offering on these sites non-patentable suggestions and ideas such as drawings, literary work, among others. Avoid loss of rights by granting these sites with the ability to use or benefit from suggestions or comments when the license grant allows the site to do so, as is the case with Company X.
In the end it’s your responsibility as an inventor to understand what you are getting into, and to consult legal counsel before entering into any binding contract, even if that contract appears to simply be registering for a new web site.
You can find out more about Tran & Associates, crowdsourcing, and inventor patents by contacting them at http://ipsemantic.com/tranassoc.php
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Fri Feb 04, 2011 7:34 am
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
See you in Vegas Baby!
That’s right sports fans only a few short months until the world of invention focuses on the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. The NHS inventor spotlight is in its 5th year, and this year, like past years it’s growing even larger. With 84 Inventor Booths set aside for you to showcase your product inventions to NINE different industries it’s easily one of the best opportunities for inventors.
If your invention is in one of these categories you should be at the National Hardware Show….it’s just that simple.
Hardware & Tools
Paint & Accessories
Tailgating Products
Home wares
Plumbing & Electrical
Lawn & Garden
Storage & Organization
International Sourcing
BUT WAIT...There’s More!
This year’s Inventor Spotlight features a 100% FREE – ALL DAY – Inventor Education Seminar with great speakers including Mr. Dave Kappos, the head of the US Patent & Trademark Office.
So save this date! pack a bag, and show the world YOUR great idea!
Show Dates
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 - Thursday, May 12th, 2011
Show Times
Tuesday, May 10: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday, May 11: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday, May 12: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
For more information on how you can exhibit at the National Hardware Show contact John Lederer at (203) 840-5381 or http://www.nationalhardwareshow.com/en/Home/
That’s right sports fans only a few short months until the world of invention focuses on the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas. The NHS inventor spotlight is in its 5th year, and this year, like past years it’s growing even larger. With 84 Inventor Booths set aside for you to showcase your product inventions to NINE different industries it’s easily one of the best opportunities for inventors.
If your invention is in one of these categories you should be at the National Hardware Show….it’s just that simple.
Hardware & Tools
Paint & Accessories
Tailgating Products
Home wares
Plumbing & Electrical
Lawn & Garden
Storage & Organization
International Sourcing
BUT WAIT...There’s More!
This year’s Inventor Spotlight features a 100% FREE – ALL DAY – Inventor Education Seminar with great speakers including Mr. Dave Kappos, the head of the US Patent & Trademark Office.
So save this date! pack a bag, and show the world YOUR great idea!
Show Dates
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011 - Thursday, May 12th, 2011
Show Times
Tuesday, May 10: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday, May 11: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday, May 12: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
For more information on how you can exhibit at the National Hardware Show contact John Lederer at (203) 840-5381 or http://www.nationalhardwareshow.com/en/Home/
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by ATtheLake » Fri Feb 04, 2011 1:59 pm
- ATtheLake
- Yellow Belt
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:45 pm
- Location: Northern Indiana
I just read over the entire post like there is some back and forth, although much of the postings offer some stuff that others could find useful
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Sat Feb 05, 2011 4:34 pm
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
Save THIS Date!
Some call it the Mall Cart Show, others the Kiosk Show, but it doesn’t matter what you call it – it just matters that you go and show the world your Retail Ready product.
This is the first year the UIA will be bringing inventors the opportunity to show the Kiosk and specialty retail buyers, manufacturers, and distributors your retail ready products. That doesn’t mean you have a warehouse full of stock, or a truck ready to back up to the dock. Retail Ready means your product is ready to manufacture and the buyer can write you an order on the spot!
This is an awesome chance to meet the movers and shakers in the Mall Kiosk and specialty retailer industry. With over 100,000 Kiosks in malls across the country the need for new product is enormous. Feed the need and strut your stuff in Vegas baby!
Each Inventor Zone exhibitor will receive the following for the dirt cheap price of just $1000.00 for the 3 day show.
1 tall bistro table with cover
2 chairs/stools
1 Premium membership to the UIA
1 year subscription to Inventor Digest Magazine
1 year subscription to Specialty Retail Report
FREE Virtual SPREE booth for 1 year ($1,500 value)
$50.00 per night savings on hotel booking at Venetian (using group block)
Listing in SPREE show Directory and mention in UIA/SPREE ad
Mention in the SPREE/UIA Best Product article in the SRR Summer Issue 2011
Entry into the SPREE/UIA Awards Program for Best Overall Product
FREE sales and marketing consultation from our sponsors
In addition to the great booth package, the UIA will be hosting the Inventor Zone awards for exhibiting inventors. So get recognized, get an order, and most of all – get registered!
For additional information on how to register for the SPREE Inventor Zone contact Debbie Lahti at (800) 936-6297 extension 20 http://spreeshow.com/
Some call it the Mall Cart Show, others the Kiosk Show, but it doesn’t matter what you call it – it just matters that you go and show the world your Retail Ready product.
This is the first year the UIA will be bringing inventors the opportunity to show the Kiosk and specialty retail buyers, manufacturers, and distributors your retail ready products. That doesn’t mean you have a warehouse full of stock, or a truck ready to back up to the dock. Retail Ready means your product is ready to manufacture and the buyer can write you an order on the spot!
This is an awesome chance to meet the movers and shakers in the Mall Kiosk and specialty retailer industry. With over 100,000 Kiosks in malls across the country the need for new product is enormous. Feed the need and strut your stuff in Vegas baby!
Each Inventor Zone exhibitor will receive the following for the dirt cheap price of just $1000.00 for the 3 day show.
1 tall bistro table with cover
2 chairs/stools
1 Premium membership to the UIA
1 year subscription to Inventor Digest Magazine
1 year subscription to Specialty Retail Report
FREE Virtual SPREE booth for 1 year ($1,500 value)
$50.00 per night savings on hotel booking at Venetian (using group block)
Listing in SPREE show Directory and mention in UIA/SPREE ad
Mention in the SPREE/UIA Best Product article in the SRR Summer Issue 2011
Entry into the SPREE/UIA Awards Program for Best Overall Product
FREE sales and marketing consultation from our sponsors
In addition to the great booth package, the UIA will be hosting the Inventor Zone awards for exhibiting inventors. So get recognized, get an order, and most of all – get registered!
For additional information on how to register for the SPREE Inventor Zone contact Debbie Lahti at (800) 936-6297 extension 20 http://spreeshow.com/
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by inventor-x » Sat Feb 05, 2011 11:04 pm
-
inventor-x - Brown Belt
- Posts: 907
- Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:44 pm
Mark
First - Not everyone reads your blog - If you have a contest or Tradeshow Information to post - It would be more helpful to create a new thread with that Information Instead of putting it in your blog post.
Second - Back to an earlier post - Lady of gag me alot - Never Invented anything - More like she funded the Idea/Invention.
Do you read your own posts
You must be sun struck full of hot air while looking in a mirror when you write your blogs
Please - Quit writing half baked stories that are Incomplete & DO NOT teach anyone anything
Hmmm….That’s a good question!
Are you kidding me
Who do you think you are fooling
Licensing deals only cover a small percentage of Inventing.
Venture Capitalist like yourself pick-up when Licensing DOES NOT apply.
The majority of Inventors Ideas/Products/Inventions never make to the so called “Primary Marketplace”
The “Secondary Market” as you call it is just as profitable as the “Primary Marketplace”
First - Not everyone reads your blog - If you have a contest or Tradeshow Information to post - It would be more helpful to create a new thread with that Information Instead of putting it in your blog post.
Second - Back to an earlier post - Lady of gag me alot - Never Invented anything - More like she funded the Idea/Invention.
Do you read your own posts
You must be sun struck full of hot air while looking in a mirror when you write your blogs
Please - Quit writing half baked stories that are Incomplete & DO NOT teach anyone anything
Hmmm….That’s a good question!
Are you kidding me
Who do you think you are fooling
Licensing deals only cover a small percentage of Inventing.
Venture Capitalist like yourself pick-up when Licensing DOES NOT apply.
The majority of Inventors Ideas/Products/Inventions never make to the so called “Primary Marketplace”
The “Secondary Market” as you call it is just as profitable as the “Primary Marketplace”
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:33 am
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
NCA...Who knew?
Most people in the inventing industry have seen or used an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) But how many inventors know the NDA has an evil twin called an NCA (Non-Confidentiality Agreement) ?
What is a “Non-Confidentiality Agreement”? Basically it’s a document a company has an inventor sign stating they will not assume responsibility for keeping your invention confidential, and the only rights you have to protection of your idea are those extended to you by way of your patent.
It all started with the Toy companies – In the early 1980s the toy makers got hit with a rash of lawsuits accusing them of stealing ideas from inventors who had submitted them for consideration. Back then, you could simply mail your idea into a company like Mattel and if they liked it they would license it from you. This practice inevitably resulted in times where the inventor’s idea was similar to one the toy makers already had in development. A rejection letter went out to the inventor, and a few months later the idea shows up at the local toy store. Now you have an angry inventor, but a company that actually did nothing wrong.
The inventor sues the toy company and everyone ends up in court - where truth often takes a back seat to emotion. The toy companies had done nothing wrong, yet they were portrayed as taking this great idea from the poor helpless inventor. Play that in front of a sympathetic jury and the toy company doesn’t stand a chance. These companies were getting hit by lawsuit after lawsuit, and every time they were being hammered with huge jury awards.
After years of being sued, the Toy companies struck back. Most stopped taking unsolicited inventions all together, and those who would, started using the “non confidentiality agreement" to put the inventor on notice that they may already be working on this idea and at the end of the day, the only rights they had dealing with that company were patent rights.
Other industries soon followed and over the years this one little document has dramatically altered the landscape of how companies do business with inventors. Some simply won’t. While others make sure you have a patent in place so they can’t be accused of stealing the idea. while still others use the “non confidentiality agreement" as a way of making sure the inventor understands he/she may not be the only one who came up with that great idea.
Most people in the inventing industry have seen or used an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) But how many inventors know the NDA has an evil twin called an NCA (Non-Confidentiality Agreement) ?
What is a “Non-Confidentiality Agreement”? Basically it’s a document a company has an inventor sign stating they will not assume responsibility for keeping your invention confidential, and the only rights you have to protection of your idea are those extended to you by way of your patent.
It all started with the Toy companies – In the early 1980s the toy makers got hit with a rash of lawsuits accusing them of stealing ideas from inventors who had submitted them for consideration. Back then, you could simply mail your idea into a company like Mattel and if they liked it they would license it from you. This practice inevitably resulted in times where the inventor’s idea was similar to one the toy makers already had in development. A rejection letter went out to the inventor, and a few months later the idea shows up at the local toy store. Now you have an angry inventor, but a company that actually did nothing wrong.
The inventor sues the toy company and everyone ends up in court - where truth often takes a back seat to emotion. The toy companies had done nothing wrong, yet they were portrayed as taking this great idea from the poor helpless inventor. Play that in front of a sympathetic jury and the toy company doesn’t stand a chance. These companies were getting hit by lawsuit after lawsuit, and every time they were being hammered with huge jury awards.
After years of being sued, the Toy companies struck back. Most stopped taking unsolicited inventions all together, and those who would, started using the “non confidentiality agreement" to put the inventor on notice that they may already be working on this idea and at the end of the day, the only rights they had dealing with that company were patent rights.
Other industries soon followed and over the years this one little document has dramatically altered the landscape of how companies do business with inventors. Some simply won’t. While others make sure you have a patent in place so they can’t be accused of stealing the idea. while still others use the “non confidentiality agreement" as a way of making sure the inventor understands he/she may not be the only one who came up with that great idea.
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Mon Feb 07, 2011 10:54 am
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
The Children’s Museum of Houston needs your help
We were recently contacted by the Children’s Museum of Houston young inventor showcase program manager asking for our help in finding some judges from the inventing industry to support thier young inventors program.
The school wide program runs February, March, & April, with the city wide judging at the Children’s Museum of Houston on May 14th.
If you live in the greater Houston area or even south Texas - Please contact the Children’s Museum of Houston and see what you can do to help.
Mindalyn Galli | Invention Convention Educator &
Young Inventors' Showcase Program Manager
Children's Museum of Houston
1500 Binz | Houston, TX 77004
O: (713) 535-7286| F: (713) 522-5747
We were recently contacted by the Children’s Museum of Houston young inventor showcase program manager asking for our help in finding some judges from the inventing industry to support thier young inventors program.
The school wide program runs February, March, & April, with the city wide judging at the Children’s Museum of Houston on May 14th.
If you live in the greater Houston area or even south Texas - Please contact the Children’s Museum of Houston and see what you can do to help.
Mindalyn Galli | Invention Convention Educator &
Young Inventors' Showcase Program Manager
Children's Museum of Houston
1500 Binz | Houston, TX 77004
O: (713) 535-7286| F: (713) 522-5747
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Wed Feb 09, 2011 6:30 am
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
Re: From The Inventor Blog
by Mark Reyland » Wed Feb 09, 2011 6:31 am
- Mark Reyland
- Green Belt
- Posts: 150
- Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:31 am
Knock Knock....Come on in
It may be one of the oldest questions in the inventing industry, but as UIA Member Jim Debetta tells us - Times, they are a changing.
Should I call on a retail buyer without a finished product?
Calling on retail buyers to sell them your product can be hard enough, but should you make that call when you don’t even have a prototype or finished product? I say maybe!
Back in the day, we used to call on retailers only when we were “retail ready” and that is how retail buyers preferred it. After all, as they would say, we can’t buy a product that is not in a package and ready to sell.
So what has changed? Today, retailers are still looking for new products but with today’s technology the buyers are much more open to peeking at products via email and sell sheets to see if they even have any interest in learning more about a product. So, I say yes! Tease a buyer with some great information! If they have interest…serious interest…..you can let them know the product is under development and will be coming soon! I call this “pre-selling” and today it is one of my preferred methods to approaching buyers and this saves the inventor lots of potential time and wasted money since pre-selling can tell you whether your product as it is has true merit and genuine interest from a big retailer.
Another great benefit to doing this is that you get great feedback on the product, its pricing, the packaging, and other details that can help shape and refine your product to maximize your potential success.
Now let me say that it is always best to have a retail ready product as the best deal is to show a buyer a retail ready product and be able to sell them right then and there. However, pre-selling is a great method and something you can consider!
Keep inventing!
You can find out more about Jim and selling to retail buyers at http://www.jimdebetta.com/
It may be one of the oldest questions in the inventing industry, but as UIA Member Jim Debetta tells us - Times, they are a changing.
Should I call on a retail buyer without a finished product?
Calling on retail buyers to sell them your product can be hard enough, but should you make that call when you don’t even have a prototype or finished product? I say maybe!
Back in the day, we used to call on retailers only when we were “retail ready” and that is how retail buyers preferred it. After all, as they would say, we can’t buy a product that is not in a package and ready to sell.
So what has changed? Today, retailers are still looking for new products but with today’s technology the buyers are much more open to peeking at products via email and sell sheets to see if they even have any interest in learning more about a product. So, I say yes! Tease a buyer with some great information! If they have interest…serious interest…..you can let them know the product is under development and will be coming soon! I call this “pre-selling” and today it is one of my preferred methods to approaching buyers and this saves the inventor lots of potential time and wasted money since pre-selling can tell you whether your product as it is has true merit and genuine interest from a big retailer.
Another great benefit to doing this is that you get great feedback on the product, its pricing, the packaging, and other details that can help shape and refine your product to maximize your potential success.
Now let me say that it is always best to have a retail ready product as the best deal is to show a buyer a retail ready product and be able to sell them right then and there. However, pre-selling is a great method and something you can consider!
Keep inventing!
You can find out more about Jim and selling to retail buyers at http://www.jimdebetta.com/