Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

If you`re interested in working with an invention promotion firm, here`s information that can help you avoid making a costly mistake.

• The American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 gives you certain rights when dealing with invention promoters. Before an invention promoter can enter into a contract with you, it must disclose the following information about its business practices during the past five years:
  • how many inventions it has evaluated,
  • how many of those inventions got positive or negative evaluations,
  • its total number of customers,
  • how many of those customers received a net profit from the promoter`s services, and
  • how many of those customers have licensed their inventions due to the promoter`s service

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James Lindon, Ph.D. Patent Attorney
Lindon & Lindon, LLC
Cleveland, Ohio
Patents, Trademarks, Copyrights, Pharmacy Law, Litigation
[this is not legal advice - provided for discussion only]
Intellectual Property for the Individual and Small Business: Identify, Protect, Enforce, Defend.
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."
http://www.LindonLaw.com

I had a friend call me and ask me if I would help her evaluate some material that she had received from an invention promotion company.  When I told to look for the AIPA disclosure that James mentioned, she reported that the disclosure basically said, "None of our clients has ever made money by using our service.  Not one."  Pretty scary.  The AIPA was a good law.