In This Chapter

This is the most important chapter because this phase of your invention commercialization adventure is a real minefield for rookies. It is here that you’re most vulnerable to having your intellectual and physical pockets picked. At this point, you are apt to be swindled by smooth-talking flimflammers in the guise of marketing services, disreputable agents, and even patent attorneys who overcharge. The scams are many. Unprincipled attorneys are fewer but are nonetheless pernicious to your business and bank account.

What do advertised invention marketing services and some patent attorneys share in common? Both take advantage of your inexperience. The advertised marketing services charge up-front fees and have no skill or track record in product placement. The business model for such companies is based entirely on fees and not royalty income. In other words, they’ll do slipshod market research, marketing plans, patent searches, patent applications, and/or other assorted initiatives that rarely result in product placement. In fact, invention services that cater to non-industry-specific inventors rarely make an effort at licensing. They leave you with a pile of worthless paper—and you’ll be a lot poorer for all of it.