Here’s a novel way of getting money from inventors. A letter or website banner offers the inventor a free booklet on how to sell inventions. It invites a visit to the company’s offices “… just to chat and to see what we look like.” It’s made clear that there’s no obligation whatsoever.

The booklet is given away for free because, the letter states, “… inventions are our business.” A visit is encouraged because “some inventors are reluctant to entrust their invention to people they have never seen and I [a company executive] cannot blame them for being cautious.” A prepaid response card is enclosed.

The company goes on to build your confidence by separating itself from invention marketing companies. It claims not to neglect inventors after they pay a fee or to steal or mishandle their invention. Some companies put seals of approval on their website and literature. It claims to stick to what it does best, preparing invention descriptions and compiling lists of manufacturers.

An employment agreement is proffered through which you are asked to buy into the company’s “technique” for writing descriptive material, preparing folios, and selecting manufacturers it “believes” may “potentially” be interested in your invention. It asks for no rights to your invention. It does not seek to legally bind you or your invention in any way. The descriptive materials it sells you become your property.

The agreement states that you understand “the company does no developing, promoting, or brokering.” Its services are “strictly” to prepare invention descriptions and compile lists of manufacturers. It further claims to offer “no evaluation of the merits, practicability, feasibility, potential salability” of the invention.

What does it cost for this company to do a write-up of your invention and provide names of potential manufacturers? $589.50.

While I can see nothing dishonest in the service offered, the question you must ask yourself is, what is its value? In my opinion, it’s a lot of money to pay for a technique in writing descriptive material, preparing folios, and selecting manufacturers that might be interested in your invention. The company exhibits neither “know how” nor “know who” in a particular field of enterprise.