Tampa BayThe

INVENTORJanuary-February 2010

“Inventors Helping Inventors”The Tampa Bay Inventors Council is here to help you succeed, forge ahead, maintain your purpose and achieve what you intend to. Everyone in this group is behind you.Visit our website: www.tbic.us

GET NEWS UPDATES:www.tbicnews.blogspot.com

JOIN US EACH 2nd AND 4th WEDNESDAY EV-

ERY MONTH!

MEET WITH US AT:Largo Recreation Center400 N. Highland Avenue

Largo, FL 33770

Activities CalendarMonthly meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Wednes-

day of EVERY month.Jan-Feb 2010 Meetings:January - 13 & 27, 2010February - 10 & 24, 2010

All meeting start at 7:00pm

WEBSITE INFOwww.tbic.com

Visit our website for information about current and past happenings. You can also download current

and past newsletters in Adobe PDF format. You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer. If you don’t already have it, go to:

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JUST A NOTE!We would like to remind our members that our

Board Meetings are open to you if you would like to sit in on them. We usually meet directly after the first meeting date each month.

NEED TO REACH TBIC?

Office: 727-565-2085

or call: 727-251-4056George Mouzakis

g.mouzakis@gsb.uchicago.edu

NEWSLETTER STAFF

Executive Editor ......George MouzakisContributing Editor .........Robert AikenPublisher/Designer .........Aletha Turner

To Submit articles, send emails torobertraiken@verizon.net oralehta@alethalady.com

Articles and other items must be received by the first Tuesday of the old month

The Tampa Bay Inventor’s Council (TBIC) is a corpo-ration as defined in Chap-ter 617, Florida Statutes, as a not-for-profit. The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. The TBIC is a 501(c)(3) charitable cor-poration, which allows the receiving of tax de-ductible contributions of goods and services. There are over 150 active mem-bers willing to share their expertise and experiences with fellow inventors.

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Information and articles

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Recap of our Most Recent Meetings ............................................3

Articles“Packaging Your Product” ..........4 “Pimp My Invention” ...............7-8

Useful Websites & Links .......10-11

Calendar of Events ...................... 12

Inventors Digest ........................... 14 Special Discount for TBIC Members

ADVERTISE WITH TBIC!TBIC is now accepting advertisers for the

TBIC Newsletter! If you would like to place an ad please contact Aletha Turner at aletha@alethalady.com or contact the TBIC Main of-fice at: 727-565-2085

Have you Expired?Just joking, but it may be more

appropriate than you think! There might be a good chance that your TBIC membership has expired without you realizing it!

Never Fear! We have made things rather simple for you to know! If you received your news-letter by mail, look at your mailing label on the back of this newsletter and you will see an expiration date printed clearly above your name. This date reflects the end of your six-month or annual enrollment. This makes keeping up with your renewal date fairly simple!

Pay close attention and if, for some reason, the expiration date shown is incorrect, please notify us at admin@tbic.us and we will look back in the treasurer’s records to verify your expiration date. Thank you!

Visitors WelcomeThe Board of Directors of TBIC

wants to welcome all visitors. Ad-mission for visitors is $5.00 per meeting, unless accompanied by an active member. We hope that you can see the benefits of becom-ing a member! Our Bylaws allow visitors to attend two meetings without obligation to join.

MEMBERSHIPMake your inventing

process more e�ective and more fun!Bring a Friend!

A few bene�ts you will enjoy with your

membership:Bi-Monthly Newsle�ersInformative Speakers at

Regular MeetingsFree Workshops

Updates on Legislation a�ecting the industry

Current Industry NewsFocus Groups

Inventor-Related Computer Programs

Inventor’s LibraryFormal Presentations to

Marketing Media Representatives

Wayne Rasanen - President,

TBIC

Page 2 Page 15

A Message From Our President Dues DescriptionsStudent MemberA Student Member at the $25.00 rate must be an active student enrolled in an accredited school. They may attend meetings and receive the Newsletter.

Sustaining MemberA Sustaining Member ($50.00 every 6 months or $90.00 per year) enjoys the benefit of at-tending meetings, seminars, socializing and networking with other members, receiving the Newsletter and participating as a reviewer in our Focus Groups. They are allowed to pres-ent their protected product to all of the various companies (such as informercial and catalog companies) that come to TBIC to find new products for the market. Members usually find other members with the prototyping knowl-edge they need, and pay that member for their time and for prototyping materials used. Sus-taining members also may ask to have a free Focus Group done on their product, be allowed to display their product in our designated dis-play areas and Annual Members receive a free Science Notebook (valued at $15.00) to log progress on their invention.

Corporate MembershipA Corporate Membership of $250.00 will al-low your corporation to elect up to 3 Corporate Members to sit in on meetings as well as all of the above. Also this membership will allow said corporation to have access to new prod-ucts before they are introduced to the open market

Members are invited to write letters for inclusion in the newsletter. Email to robertraiken@ve-rizon.net or aletha@alethalady.com, fax to 727-547-5490 or mail to TBIC at our office address. Letters should be brief, to the point, and be accompanied by member name, email address and phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length. Letters will be printed as room permits.

2009-2010O�cers &

Board of DirectorsWayne Rasanen - President goodharbringer@yahoo.com

Andrew Yauch - Vice President

Gayla Kilbride - Treasurer

Robert Aiken - Secretary

Board Members; Wojciech Beldycki Kirk Hamlin Allen Jernigan Mark Peterson

Founder Ron E. Smith

Please Respect the Other MembersAt a recent Board Meeting, several mem-

bers said they have received complaints about talking in the back of the meeting room while the meeting is in progress. Some of our members are hard of hearing, and as such find it difficult to hear the pre-sentation if it is competing with talking in background. While we acknowledge that networking is vital for all of us, we ask in the future that our members try to network before or after the presentation. It would also be appreciated if all cell-phones were put on silent answer during the meeting.

Thank you!Your Board Of Directors

Wayne Rasanen

To be an inventor is no great accomplishment. Most of the things that you “think-up” or “invent” will be things that many others have “discovered” some time before. Every once in a while you may find something unique, and if it seems promising, you might try to develop it. If enough people agree that it is use-ful, you just might grow your idea into an industry. With a bit of luck, hard work and effort, you might be considered a “successful inventor”, a much greater accomplishment! Our goal is to find that success and to help other inventors achieve it too. We often learn best by watching others and that is why I found the following to be particularly interesting.

In a study of thousands of executives and In-novative entrepreneurs conducted by Harvard Busi-ness School & Brigham Young University, five skills were identified as the factors leading to tremendous success. These are the five skills that the study says drives innovation.

Associating: The ability to connect seemingly 1. unrelated questions, problems or ideas from dif-ferent fields.Questioning: Innovators constantly ask ques-2. tions that challenge the common wisdom. They ask “why?”, “why not?” and “what if?”Observing: Discovery-driven executives scruti-3. nize common phenomena, particularly the be-havior of potential customers.Experimenting: Innovative entrepreneurs ac-4. tively try out new ideas by creating prototypes and launching pilots.Networking: innovators go out of their way to 5. meet people with different ideas and perspec-tives.

How many of these skills have you developed? Are you working at improving these skills? Take some time to think about them and how you might add them to an arsenal of tools to help you achieve suc-cess. Meanwhile, let’s work on number 5 together so try to join us for every Tampa Bay Inventors Council meeting in 2010!

Have a Happy & Successful New Year!

goodharbinger@yahoo.com

2010-2011Officers & Board of

Directors

Sustaining MemberA Sustaining Member ($75.00 per year) enjoys the benefit of attending meetings, seminars, socializing and networking with other members, receiving the Newslet-ter and participating as a reviewer in our Focus Groups. They are allowed to present their protected product to all of the various companies (such as informercial and catalog companies) that come to the TBIC to find new products for the market. Members usu-ally find other members with the prototyping knowledge they need, and pay that member for their time and for prototyping materials used. Sustaining members may ask to have a free Focus Group done on their product and are allowed to display their product in our designated display area.

General Meeting SummarySeptember 9, 2009

Club President Wayne Rasanen reminded us that in the next meeting we will conduct our annu-al elections to the Board-of-Directors. Our bylaws require the rank-and-file to elect the nine-member Board, and the Board later decides amongst itself which of its members will be the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary.

EMS, Inc. TBIC welcomed back our old friend Mark Kemper, President of EMS, Inc., as tonight’s guest speaker. EMS makes plastic mod-els for customers. Extremely detailed, accurate models. Quick and affordable, this service is very valuable to inventors. The models may be mov-able working models or static. They may be one-piece or multi-piece, in any color combination; hard, soft or flexible.

Inventors are strongly advised to bring in their designs and have EMS build a model BEFORE applying for a patent. Model building reveals all sorts of overlooked design flaws. Working out the flaws before patenting is the wisest way to inno-vate an invention idea. Also, the model of the perfected design is very handy to show engineers, manufactur-ers, marketing consultants, investors and others during a product demonstration.

Mark explained the steps EMS goes through with a cli-ent in designing the product:

Consultation interview, 1. idea generation and brain-storming,Hand drawn sketches,2. 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) 3. mechanical drawings Lifelike renderings of the drawings4. Making the models on a special ma-5. chineManufacturing, distribution and marketing 6. considerations.

He showed samples of previous projects and explained how each went.

Samples: Whimsical race-car shoes, for kids. Client brought in home-made drawings. Mark bought a pair of kid-size Crocs® shoes and pho-tographed them with a special scanning camera. Then he edited the image with a photo editor program on computer. He made the image of the shoes look like little cars with smiling faces. When the customer approved, he ran the image into his plastic model-making machine. The finished shoes, made of the same soft plastic as Crocs®, were passed around for our inspection. They were terrific! Thousands have been manu-

factured since and will be sold in stores soon.Shut-off valve for urinary catheter. Client

brought in home-made clay model. Mark scanned it with that special scanning camera, edited its im-age appropriately, and made the model.

The “Johnnie Seat” toilet seat handle. For san-itary purposes, an adhesive-backed plastic handle that attaches easily and remains out of the way until needed. A simple, inexpensive product.

EMS has no problem working for independent inventors, entrepreneurs and small businesses such as product designers. If your idea is not yet patented, EMS will gladly sign your non-disclo-sure agreement or work-for-hire contract. You can design your invention at home using any 3D CAD program you wish; EMS handles ‘em all. If you don’t know CAD, bring in your paper-&-pencil drawings.

Mark advises to prototype early and prototype often. Every time you make a design change or improvement, a new model should be made and

studied because a tiny mistake that might be overlooked on paper or computer screen

has nowhere to hide on a physical model. The expense of making a model is much less then

the expense of correcting a mistake. Also, by making a set of models, one can be of the completed product, an-other can be a 3 dimensional cut-away, while another can

include labels and color cod-ing, directional arrows and no-

tations printed right on the parts. And all moving parts can actually move

exactly as they will move on the finished product.

In recent years the cost of model making has come way down, now within the reach of inde-pendent inventors. EMS typically charges $75 per hour, although pricing is affected by machine time and material amount. A wide range of ma-terials and finishes is available: hard, soft, rigid, flexible or anywhere between; shiny and chrome-like, solid colored or wild, even woodgrain. But unfortunately, transparent parts can’t be made. Accuracy is +- .005”. Dummy packaging can also be made for your marketing specialists to consider. All graphics are printed right onto the model package.

Another service EMS offers is digital scanning of an existing object. Scanning is a technique of quickly measuring all conceivable dimensions of the object’s every nook and cranny using a spe-cial laser camera and computer program. The best

Page 3Page 14Continued on page 5

TBIC Members to receive Discount Subscriptions toInventors Digest Magazine!

Inventors Digest is the official publica-tion of the United Inventors Associa-

tion. TBIC is an affiliate member of the U.I.A. and therefore TBIC members are entitled to a discount on the price of

Inventors Digest subscriptions. Regular Price Discount Price $27.00 for 1 year $19.00 for 1 year $47.50 for 2 years $32.50 for 2 years

TBIC Members can get this discount when subscribing (or renewing) ONLY

by phone or snail-mail, not through Inventors Digest’s website.

Phone: (800) 838-8808 Ask for the Account Manager Tiffany

Moore and explain that you are a TBIC member. and ask for the discount.

Snail-Mail: Send your check and a note that explains the above to:

Inventors DigestAttn. Tiffany Moore, Account Manager

P.O. Box 36761Charlotte, NC 28236

Jim began by asking us for details about our upcoming presentation to Worldwide TV. He said that it sounds like a great opportunity and hoped to help us prepare tonight. He asked those planning to attend for a volunteer to recite his/her demo speech. Joel Johnson gave his pitch about his Emmrod stainless steel fishing rod. In spite of being at the disadvantage of not having his prod-uct with him, Joel gave a pretty good description. Jim made it better. Not by just re-arranging Joel’s words, but by explaining every thought and con-notation the listener could have to every word and sentence, and to the over-all direction of the pitch.

The trick is: Don’t sell; engage. The more you try to sell the listener on your idea, the more the listener will reject your idea. People don’t like to be sold to. They like to talk. Joel’s product is a fishing pole, so he should talk about fish-ing in general, and mention that his pole solves this problem and that one. Wait for the listener to ask about how it solves a problem, and that’s the time to describe one of the pole’s features. Then mention another problem, wait for a response, and describe another feature. Talk a little, listen a little. Back and forth. It’s a sales pitch that doesn’t sound like a sales pitch; it sounds like a conver-sation.

People decide to buy products emotionally, not intellectually. So pitch emotionally, not intel-lectually. There are only three basic categories of emotions: pleasure, fear and pain. Pain is the most important because people try much harder to eliminate pain than to avoid fear or experience pleasure.

So how can you use pain to sell the pleasure of using your product? Without twisting an arm or resorting to violence, you can make a “pain statement.” Mention some common frustration or inconvenience associated with your product’s field. Not only describe the physical problem but also the bad emotions that go with it. Then move toward solving them with the pleasure of using your product. We’ve seen this method thou-sands of times in commercials and infomercials. But when you make a live one-on-one pitch in conversational style, rather than recite common frustrations or inconveniences you can dig out the listener’s particular complaints, then custom build pain statements accordingly. A sale is much more likely to follow.

So the trick can be further explained: Don’t sell; engage, then get out of the way and let a sale happen. Jim has much more info to offer at his website www.jmarshall.sandler.com.

Past Meeting Minutes Submitted by: Robert Aiken

Past Meetings - September & October 2009Continued from Page 13

Continued on page 5

General Meeting SummaryNovember 11, 2009

Robrady Designs of Sarasota is one of the most well known and respected de-sign houses in the country. Winner of nu-merous industry awards and frequently written about in the business section of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Robrady’s ability to convert an inventor’s idea into a viable product is second-to-none. We were pleased to welcome Robrady’s se-nior industrial designer, Eric Holmes, as tonight’s guest speaker.

Robrady Design is a multi-disciplined product design and development stu-dio that integrates industrial, me-chanical, and graphic design with full rapid-prototyping and complete program man-agement. Combining progres-sive innovative design with marketing intelligence to cre-ate manufacturable and market-able products, Robrady’s focus is on bringing the right product to the right market at the right price. Utilizing its proven product design methodology to create an efficient path to market, Robrady’s comprehensive project management skills promote atten-tion to detail, quality control, as well as development timeliness. Their policy of continuous client communication ensure accountability and cost awareness.

Robrady’s services include industrial design, electronics design, mechanical design, consumer product development, graphic design & 3D rendering, packag-ing design, rapid prototyping and produc-tion program management. Their multina-tional client base includes major players within the consumer product, industrial

product, transportation, marine and medi-cal fields.

But Robrady has no problem work-ing with independent inventors as well. An inventor in Sarasota used Robrady to design and launch his product line of floating fishing tools. The business was later sold to the Shakespeare fishing tackle company, and the inventor made a bundle. Robrady has a complete marketing depart-ment which can perform the initial front-end market research to determine the sales viability of an invention idea. If that looks positive, they can design the invention as a

slick product, refine it, then make small production-runs for prototype pur-

poses. Robrady’s address book includes manufacturers for large-scale production, as well as angel investors and venture capitalists to help with funding

the project. And unlike the so-called “inventor assistance” rip-off mills, Robrady has a solid reputa-

tion of successful accomplishments. That’s because Robrady is not an

inventor assistance company; it’s a product development business. They

don’t depend on independent inventors because inventors are only a small per-centage of Robrady’s clients. The big ones - Honeywell, Parker-Hannifin, Ya-maha, Volvo Penta, Mercury Marine, AT&T and Dell, can’t be all wrong. Don’t let Robrady’s size and reputation fool you into believing they are too big, too busy, too expensive or too “important” to work for a cash-strapped independent inventor. They’ve done it in the past with excellent results. Eric said if any TBIC member calls ahead, Robrady staff will be happy to give a 1 - 2

mistakes. Be sure and spend time check-ing them out.

Think Big, But Be Prepared To Com-5. promise. I know your product is fan-tastic, but you may need to start out on a smaller scale than you envision. One of the largest obstacles might be finding a vendor. In general, custom packag-ing is relegated to large volume orders and you are probably not there yet. But don’t despair. Look for stock items that can be customized. The stock container market has improved dramatically with innovation and new designs. In fact there are many companies now that pro-vide only stock containers. You can cus-tomize stock on a smaller scale. With a simple label change, your package may there. Also ordering in a limited quantity allows you to change and modify your packaging as your sales increase. You don’t want to have 10,000 old packages on hand when you have a design change or need to change what’s on the package due to some regulatory issue.

The important fact is to understand that packaging is not static it evolves and changes with consumer needs and demands. It can even change because you have more busi-ness and can order in larger quantities. What worked in the past may not work tomor-row. You need to be innovative and creative in your thinking. Look for guidance and expertise in outside resources. Keep up with packaging changes and materials. Don’t get caught ordering too much stock that you can never use. Think big and start small. JoAnn HinesPackaging DivaAll Packaging All The Time4290 Bells Ferry Road STE 106-17Kennesaw, GA 30144Telephone: (678) 594-6872E-mail: jrhines@PackagingUniversity.comWebsite: www.packag.comReprinted with permission from the Newslet-ter of the United Inventors Association, Website: www.uiausa.org. United Inventors Association PO Box 23447 Rochester, NY 14692

Continued from page 4

Marketing Plan- From demo-• graphics to distribution to the customer’s hands.

S.C.O.R.E. counselors, business con-sultants, product designers and market-ing consultants can help you prepare all these documents.

Exit strategy. Have one right from • the start, and written into your busi-ness plan. With other people’s money comes • other people’s control. Besides receiving their return-on-invest-ment, most investors will also want influence in the business’s major decisions. And they want to see progress. If you fall behind their expectations while on the 7th of 10 steps, they won’t give you any additional money and your business will never get to the 8th step. Their investment was their financial loss, but your business is wrecked.Image, physical appearance and • first impressions are ridiculously important to investors.For a start-up, begin with an angel • investor; later look for a venture capitalist group. Venture capital-ists won’t even consider funding you until your business is prof-itable. It goes like this: You (or trusted members of your family) provide the initial seed-capital, out of pocket, to form the busi-ness and get it incorporated. You persuade an angel to fund your business so it can acquire equip-ment, order materials, get molds

or die-parts made, etc. Then the angel pays for the initial produc-tion-runs. This is a big outlay of his/her cash; operating expenses, manufacturing costs, acquisition costs, marketing, etc. Remember, your business is losing money throughout this entire time; the angel investor’s money. But even-tually sales increase until profit starts to happen.

This profit goes into the angel’s pocket to repay his/her loss. Eventually the an-gel investor’s money has been repaid and he/she has also earned a nice fat return-on-investment. Your business is ready to expand. That’s when the angel says goodbye and you persuade some venture capital group to fund your ex-pansion. They initially lose money, but eventually get their money back plus more, then say goodbye. Angels love to help entrepreneurs start businesses (in exchange for money), but that’s it. Venture capitalists love to take exist-ing – profitable – businesses and ex-pand them (in exchange for money), but that’s it. Then you’re on your own. Your business is well established. Is your exit strategy to sell the business (for a nice big bundle)? Or to run it yourself for years and years, with no exit strategy? The choice is yours. Both are valid. Which is best for you?

Meeting Summaries provided by: Robert Aiken

Past Meeting Summary - November - December 2009Continued from page 7Packaging Your Product - 5 Easy First Steps

by JoAnn R. Hines, “The Packaging Diva” Feeling overwhelmed while trying to develop a package for your product? I am not sur-

prised. Packaging is the third largest industry in the country. In fact, there are more than 10,000 packaging manufactures in the US alone. The proliferation of material choices and vendors is extensive. To begin you will have to narrow the resource and material universe before you package anything. That is your first step because you cannot have a product without a package.

Which vendor is right for you? What is your packaging material of choice? Do you understand the differences between each material and what value each will bring to marketing your product? How do you sift through the mounds of information and resources to set started packaging your product?Here are 5 easy rules to get you started:

Do Your Homework.1. Before you decide how you want to package your product you need to see and understand what is already available in the marketplace. Even if your product is the greatest new invention out there, you will still have competition of some sort. Start by checking that out first. Visit outlets that carry similar products or products in the same category. For example, if you have a houseware product you should check out places that market housewares. Do not just pick one outlet. Go to a variety of stores. You don’t want to develop a great new packaging concept only to find someone else is already doing the same thing. The more you look the better informed you will become. Be careful not to go into information overload by visiting every retailer outlet out there. This will only serve to confuse your decision making process.Pick Your Packaging Material. 2. This isn’t as simple as it sounds because there are many external factors influencing why products are packaged in certain types of materials. Certain products lend themselves special merchandising. Some products can only be merchandised in certain materials. How the product is merchandised may dictate what type of package material you use. For example, if you need clarity to see the entire product then you are probably going to want plastic. The choice of material may also be dictated by availability. Packaging materials are classified by their primary raw material. Two simple examples are paper and plastic. Within in each material type are numerous sub categories of different types of packaging. If you chose paper packaging it might be a box, a bag, a drum, a tube, a canister and so on. See the variety of choices? It’s easy to become inundated with options and hard to figure out what is the best choice. As products lend themselves to several differ-ent packaging materials, it’s best to start with what you know is working with similar prod-ucts. Even if you choose the same material as a competitive product the package doesn’t necessarily need to look the same.Optimize Your Package Profile. 3. This is what is called the retail footprint, i.e., how much space will your product take up on the shelf. Your goal is to have the smallest size or amount of packaging you can while optimizing the shape and design of the package. It’s important to understand the concept of the retail footprint. Retail space is at a premium so the smaller amount of space you use the happier the retailer will be. They may even specify that your product only be allowed so much shelf space. In any case, you need to understand the concept and incorporate that in your sales pitch to retailers. Many times you can pack-age your product in variety of different ways. This is where creativity comes into play. Your product doesn’t just have to sit on a shelf in a box. It could sit upright; it could hang or be displayed in a floor stand or similar merchandiser. There are many unique ways to merchan-dise any product. You just have to think outside of traditional ways of doing things. Look at other products from different industries. See if you can’t incorporate design ideas into your own product packaging.Be Prepared To Take Advice.4. I know you are in love with your product and you are sure you have ALL the answers, but you can’t be an expert at everything. Listen to what other people have to say about your product packaging. Don’t get so caught up in your own ideas that you make design mistakes or mistakes in merchandising. Get a reality check from someone who knows nothing about your product. See if your packaging concept is compel-ling to an outsider. By that I mean that they are interested enough to pick your product up off the shelf. There are many resources available to you at little or no cost. Many vendors provide design expertise as part of the order. There is an unlimited amount of resource materials that can give you basic information that can save you many hours and costly

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Past Meeting Summary - November - December 2009

Continued on page 7

March 20102nd annual Tampa Bay “Innovation Express” Inventor Contest at MOSI, Tampa, Florida. Museum of Science and Industry. More info TBD. www.MOSI.org March 31, 2010Deadline for Big Idea Group’s MicroBusi-ness Hunt. Big Idea Group is seeking innovative concepts that could become the basis for a profitable microbusiness. The winning inventor (or inventors) will receive not only a royalty on products sold, but also an equity stake in the new business that we form to launch the invention. There’s no entry fee, and BIG will take responsibility for developing and launching the invention with our own funds. Innovation Criteria for BIG Microbusiness Hunt: * Must fit into one of these categories:hardware, lawn and garden, pets, housewares, sporting goods * Unique and innovative * Fill a real consumer need * Appeal to a large market * Offer good revenues and margins * Be fairly easy to develop and launch * Good longevity and extendability www.BigIdeaHunts.net

April 21 - 25, 201038th International Exhibition of Inven-tions, Geneva, Switzerland. The Inter-national Exhibition of Inventions, New Techniques and Products benefits from the most extensive support and privileges that can be granted to an exhibition. It is under the patronage of the Swiss Federal Govern-ment, the City of Geneva and of the World Intellectual Property Organization - WIPO. This support on the part of the authorities testifies to the usefulness and quality of the event, now acknowledged as the most important exhibition of inventions anywhere today. It is also the most international, with the participation of more than 40 countries.* 1,000 new inventions and products* 710 exhibitors from 45 countries* 74% companies and universities* 26% private inventors and researchers* 60,000 visitors from all 5 continents* 650 journalistswww.inventions-geneva.ch/cgi-bin/gb-exposants.php

June 11 - 12, 2010Minnesota Inventors Congress “Inven-tion & Idea Show 2010”, Redwood Falls, Minnesota. The annual invention expo since 1958, this event is “the connection” for inventors and the experts who fuel their entry into the marketplace. Test market your products. Sell you products from your booth. Attend Inventing Success Workshops. People from across the country attend these Inventing Success Workshops hosted by experts who teach the product development process.www.MinnesotaInventorsCongress.org (800) 468.3681 info@MinnesotaInventor-sCongress.org June 15, 2010National Lawn and Garden Show, Colo-rado Springs, Colorado. The National Lawn & Garden Show features guaranteed, pre-set appointments between qualified, decision-making buyers and manufactur-ers. As a result, the show is known as the most productive, focused efficient event in the industry. Every lead is genuine; every appointment is a new opportunity to do business with one of the industry’s leaders. Experience the most productive, focused and efficient event in the industry. www.nlgshow.com (888) 316.0226 2010info@nlgshow.com

June 16 - 18, 2010... InventHelp® Pres-ents INPEX® - Invention/New Product Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.INPEX®, America’s largest invention trade show and inventors conference, is a unique exposition showcasing all types of inventions, new products and innova-tions available to business and industry. INPEX® provides a forum for inventors, entrepreneurs and intellectual property owners to exhibit their inventions, share their ideas and make contacts with compa-nies interested in new products. INPEX® exhibits cover a broad spectrum from new consumer products, to commercial prod-ucts, to new services and technologies. www.inpex.com (888) 544-6739

hour tour of their six-building fa-

cility in Sarasota. Also, if your invention idea is suitable for military applications, Robrady has a subsidiary named Armorit specifically for that. Get the full story at www.robrady.com.

Then, Club President Wayne Rasanen described the proposed new dues strategy. Membership will be $75/year, with no 6-month membership. And everyone re-news at the same time. That is; on one specified yearly date, all members renew. New members will be pro-rated accordingly. Wayne asked everyone to e-mail their opinions to him.

He also reminded us of our upcoming presentation to Worldwide TV Produc-tions this Sat. afternoon, 14 Nov. TBIC members have been invited to show their patented invention ideas to Worldwide for sales distribution consid-eration. Worldwide has a contract with HSN, so this could be some members’ lucky break.

General Meeting SummaryDecember 9, 2009Tonight we had a panel of guest speak-

ers, hosted by Andoni Lizardy. Andoni is the self-employed business consultant who was our guest speaker in October. Tonight he was the moderator of the three-person panel, and the title of the discus-sion was “Attracting Investors & Funding to Inventors and Start-Ups.”

The panel consisted of:

Tina Fischer, electrical engineer, • self-employed business consultant and investor;Joel Lopez, lawyer, self-employed • business consultant and investor; and John Morrow, serial entrepreneur, • self-employed business consultant and investor.It was made clear that this discus-

sion applies to those in-ventors who have already fully patented their inven-tion and intend to manu-facture, distribute and

market the invention as a product. The discussion does

not apply to those who intend to license their patent or sell it.Discover Who You Are Before

Starting A Business Or Searching For Funding

Many entrepreneurs and in-ventors mistakenly believe that they must first incorpo-

rate and then raise money from investors. But before tackling these issues, the first task is to consider the following:

Are you skilled at running a busi-1. ness?Do you think of yourself as a natu-2. ral business owner or a reluctant capitalist?Which do you prefer: 3. q Man-aging and running an enterprise q Creating q Working alone q Working with others.Does the idea of starting a business 4. excite you or is it simply a task you must do to market your idea?

Continued from page 3

Page 6 Page 11

Licensing AgentsInvention Home (household products) www.InventionHome.comDaVinci Legacy Group www.DaVinciLegacyGroup.comPlanet Eureka (Doug Hall) www.PlanetEureka.comNext Techs (patent sales broker, venture capital) www.NextTechs.com

Patent Lawyers, Patent Agents, Legal ServicesAtt’y. Referral Service www,AttorneyReferralOnLine.comEd Dutkiewicz (reg. patent attorney.; Dunedin) www.EdDuke.comDavid Ellis (patent attorney; Largo) http://Publish.pDesigner.com/DavidREllis/index.jspDave Kiewit (reg. patent agent; St. Pete) www.patent-faq.comSmith & Hopen (reg. patent attorney.; Clearwater) www.BayPatents.comStephen Powers (patent agent; Tampa) www.GulfCoastIP.comMike Colitz (reg. patent attorney; Dunedin) www.colitz.comBrent Britton (reg. patent attorney; Tampa) www.ssd.com

Inventor’s All-In-One ServicesInnovative Consulting Group, Inc. www.biz-consult.com/ICG/Obvia Design www.obvia.bizDesign My Idea www.DesignMyIdea.comJetta Co. (toys, electronics; Hong Kong) www.jetta.com.hk

Trade ShowsInvention Connection www.InventionConnection.comTrade Show Nat’l. Network www.tsnn.comERA Invention Showcase (Electronic Retailers Ass’n.) http://retailing.org

Catalogs, Mail OrderNational Mail Order Association. (info. about catalogs) www.nmoa.orgCatalog Link (info. about catalogs) www.CatalogLink.comCatalog Times (learn to sell to catalogs) www.CatalogTimes.com

Business Data & Info.SCORE (Service Core Of Retired Executives) www.score.orgSmall Business Development Center www.asbdc-us.orgSmall Business Administration (loans & loan info) www.sba.govEntrepreneurial Education www.entre-ed.orgStart Up Nation (business education) www.StartUpNation.com/topics/11/Inventing.htmFlorida Women’s Business Center www.flwbc.orgWorld’s Market Research www.WorldOpinion.comThomas Registry www.ThomasNet.comHoovers On-Line www.hoovers.comIndustry Analysis http://Research.ThomsonIB.com

Funding, Angel Investors, Venture CapitalAngel Capital Ass’n. (angel groups, non-profit) www.AngelCapitalAssociation.orgNational Venture Capital Association (VC groups, non-profit) www.nvca.orgQuintic Capital, LLC (angels, VC, coaching; Tampa) http://quintic-capital.comCEO Space (internationl networking club) www.CEOSpace.net

CAD Software (Computer Aided Design)CAD Std (free 2D) www.cadstd.comAlibre (free 2D & 3D) www.alibre.com/promos/online/personal.aspCoCreate (free 3D) www.CoCreate.com/products/PE2/ModelingPE2.aspx

Parts, Supplies, MaterialsDon’s Salvage Yard (used stuff; Clearwater) www.BoatShopper.com/fl/fb5349/index. asp?DealerID=fb5349 Skycraft Electronic Parts (new parts, Orlando) www.SkycraftSurplus.com American Science & Surplus (mechanical & electrical) www.sciplus.com W. M. Berg, Inc. (small parts supplier) www.wmberg.comMcMaster-Carr (industrial supply) www.mcmaster.comAmerican Plastics Supply (supplier & manf’er.;Clearwater) www.AmericanPlasticSupply.com TechShop (machine shop education & rental; Orlando) http://orlando.techshop.ws

N a v a r r o D e s i g n I n c Office: 727.581.0766 • Mobile: 727.421.1941 • Fax: 727. 683.9625

P O B O X 2 6 2 8 • L A R G O • F L • 3 3 7 7 9 j o e n a v a r r o @ t a m p a b a y . r r . c o m

I n d u s t r i a l & M e c h a n i c a l D e s i g n Product Design | Concept to Production | Design for Manufacture

P r i n c i p a l D e s i g n C o n s u l t a n t

Over Twenty Five Years | Design | Engineering | Manufacturing S p e c i a l i z i n g i n P l a s t i c P r o d u c t D e s i g n

J o e N a v a r r o J r

Capture your invention or product as a 3D CAD computer model. Use this virtual prototype to develop and refine your product.

Validate Form Function & Fit prior to building prototypes or tooling.

3D CAD Models are required for most manufacturing processes today

including CNC Machining, Rapid Prototyping and Tooling

Gain from experience in Consumer, Commercial, Industrial, Military, and Aerospace applications. This expertise and experience will help

you to produce a visually appealing, efficient, economical, and reliable product that is designed to be manufactured.

View the 3D model on your computer using a free viewer

3D parametric CAD Solid Modeling, and 2d drawings using Pro/Engineer

3D MCAD design software www.ptc.com

Use the 3D CAD model for Rapid Prototyping, CNC, Analysis, Graphics, Patent Drawings

My Marketing Dept., Inc. (Alan Jernigan; St. Pete) ........................................................................www.MMDept.comPackage Management Group, Inc. (packaging & marketing; Tampa) ...................................www.pmg-packaging.comBig Idea Group ...........................................................................................................................www.BigIdeaGroup.netMarket Launchers .............................................................................................................. www.MarketLaunchers.comIdea Village ..................................................................................................................................www.IdeaVillage.comSmartInventions.com ...........................................................................................................www.smart-inventions.comWal-Mart (sells inventors’ products) ...................................................... http://WalMartStores.com/Suppliers/252.aspx

Licensing AgentsInvention Home (household products) .................................................................................. www.InventionHome.comDaVinci Legacy Group ............................................................................................... www.DaVinciLegacyGroup.comPlanet Eureka (Doug Hall) ........................................................................................................ www.PlanetEureka.comNext Techs (patent sales broker, venture capital) ......................................................................... www.NextTechs.comPatent Lawyers, Patent Agents, Legal ServicesAtt’y. Referral Service ............................................................................................www,AttorneyReferralOnLine.comEd Dutkiewicz (reg. patent att’y.; Dunedin) ..................................................................................... www.EdDuke.comDavid Ellis (patent att’y.; Largo) ................................................. http://Publish.pDesigner.com/DavidREllis/index.jspDave Kiewit (reg. patent agent; St. Pete) ....................................................................................... www.patent-faq.comSmith & Hopen (reg. patent att’y.; Clearwater ............................................................................ www.BayPatents.comStephen Powers (patent agent; Tampa) .......................................................................................www.GulfCoastIP.comMike Colitz (reg. patent att’y.; Dunedin) ...............................................................................................www.colitz.comBrent Britton (reg. patent att’y.; Tampa) ................................................................................................... www.ssd.com

Inventor’s All-In-One ServicesInnovative Consulting Group, Inc. .......................................................................................www.biz-consult.com/ICG/Obvia Design ...........................................................................................................................................www.obvia.bizDesign My Idea .......................................................................................................................www.DesignMyIdea.comJetta Co. (toys, electronics; Hong Kong) ............................................................................................www.jetta.com.hk

Trade ShowsInvention Connection ...................................................................................................www.InventionConnection.comTrade Show Nat’l. Network .....................................................................................................................www.tsnn.comERA Invention Showcase (Electronic Retailers Ass’n.) .....................................................................http://retailing.org

Catalogs, Mail OrderNat’l. Mail Order Ass’n. (info. about catalogs) ...................................................................................... www.nmoa.orgCatalog Link (info. about catalogs) ........................................................................................... www.CatalogLink.comCatalog Times (learn to sell to catalogs) .................................................................................. www.CatalogTimes.com

Business Data & Info.SCORE (Service Core Of Retired Executives) ........................................................................................www.score.orgSmall Business Development Center .................................................................................................www.asbdc-us.orgSmall Business Administration (loans & loan info) ..................................................................................www.sba.govEntrepreneurial Education ..................................................................................................................www.entre-ed.orgStart Up Nation (business education) ..............................................www.StartUpNation.com/topics/11/Inventing.htmFlorida Women’s Business Center ......................................................................................................... www.flwbc.orgWorld’s Market Research ........................................................................................................ www.WorldOpinion.comThomas Registry ..........................................................................................................................www.ThomasNet.comHoovers On-Line ...............................................................................................................................www.hoovers.comIndustry Analysis ....................................................................................................... http://Research.ThomsonIB.com/

Funding, Angel Investors, Venture CapitalAngel Capital Ass’n. (angel groups, non-profit) ......................................................www.AngelCapitalAssociation.orgNational Venture Capital Ass’n. (VC groups, non-profit) ........................................................................ www.nvca.orgQuintic Capital, LLC (angels, VC, coaching; Tampa) ............................................................ http://quintic-capital.comCEO Space (intnat’l. networking club) ...........................................................................................www.CEOSpace.net

CAD Software (Computer Aided Design)CAD Std (free 2D) ............................................................................................................................... www.cadstd.comAlibre (free 2D & 3D) .............................................................................. www.alibre.com/promos/online/personal.aspCoCreate (free 3D) ....................................................................www.CoCreate.com/products/PE2/ModelingPE2.aspx

Parts, Supplies, MaterialsDon’s Salvage Yard (used stuff; Clearwater) .............. www.BoatShopper.com/fl/fb5349/index.asp?DealerID=fb5349 Skycraft Electronic Parts (new parts, Orlando) ....................................................................www.SkycraftSurplus.com American Science & Surplus (mechanical & electrical) .................................................................... www.sciplus.com W. M. Berg, Inc. (small parts supplier) ............................................................................................. www.wmberg.comMcMaster-Carr (industrial supply) ................................................................................................. www.mcmaster.comAmerican Plastics Supply (supplier & manf’er.;Clearwater) ...................................www.AmericanPlasticSupply.com TechShop (machine shop education & rental; Orlando) ....................................................... http://orlando.techshop.ws

Your presentation to the buyer must follow • this pattern too, followed by Q&A with him/her.Make your demo presentation to the buyer • very professional. Anticipate all questions and have the answers well rehearsed. The buyer plays defense; it’s easy for him/her to say no. That is, the buyer defends his/her company from risk by filtering out products (and people, including nutty in-ventors) that just aren’t ready for big-time sales and a pressure-cooker environment. You must play offence by giving him/her less and less reasons to say no. A buyer must get definite quantities, dates • and prices from you. You must anticipate this and be able to say “I can have 10,000 units manufactured by April 1st at $1.95 per unit” and prove it with a letter-of-intent from your manufacturer.All your marketing claims must be backed • up by documentation BEFORE you ever present to any buyer, investor or business. Do 75% of housewives really prefer your cleaning product invention over all others? Prove it with your focus-group test results done by an independent marketing consultant. Does your steam en-gine invention really function 50% more efficiently than a gasoline engine? Prove it with your dynamometer test results done by an independent engineering consultant. Show the buyer 3 - 5 • working prototypes. These must be the exact, slick-looking, made-on-an- a s -sembly-line, ready for sale, man- ufac-tured product that the final customer will unwrap. Not some non-working “looks-like” model and certainly not some home-made workshop project. The buyer must see exactly what he/she will be selling. Have them made at a factory locally; don’t risk having this small production-run made in China. These units must be perfect.Be ready to discuss packaging with the • buyer. He/she may want special graphics and/or advertizing on the package. If you have already packaged every unit, this may or may not be a good thing, from the buy-er’s standpoint. There are companies out there that can do repackaging for you, but it’s going to cost you.Let the buyer determine the retail price. • He/she must know from you the manu-facturing cost, and perhaps the packaging

cost. But the infomercial production costs and the broadcasting costs are for him/her to add up.If the interested buyer eventually rejects • your product, it’s probably because he/she found out that the design you have is not exactly how the target market really wants the design to be. So find out from the buyer exactly what the market wants, re-design accordingly and try again. Yes, this is ex-pensive. But this is business.

Worldwide TV Products sells house-hold consumer products which are demonstrable on TV. Their ideal target market demographic is a hypothetical 57 year old housewife who earns $60,000 and owns her own home. Other shopping networks have other target markets. Worldwide works exclusively on projects that were referred to them by the Home Shopping Network (HSN).

General Meeting SummaryOctober 14, 2009

Our guest speaker was marketing consultant Andoni Lizardy, President of Lizardy Associates and Executive Director of BOSS (Business Out-

reach Speakers Series). Andoni is a busi-ness expert with over 25 years expe-

rience in helping micro and small businesses fund and market their products, services and ideas. His

experience with over a thousand high and low tech start-ups - in-cluding independent inventors - gives him a unique perspective

on what it takes to attract inves-tors’ money, as well as to mar-

ket and sell your invention. What makes him especially effective is his

abil- ity to guide start-up owners toward people who can help them achieve and succeed.

What is your dream? What do you dream of do-ing with your invention? How will your invention actually improve the world? What steps will you take to make that a reality? Write each step down, then go back and examine each step in detail, and write down those details. Although you probably won’t follow this plan exactly, this rough draft is much more clear than no plan at all. Re-read it periodically as you progress and make changes. The point is, writing your ideas down makes it much easier for you to sort out and clarify what you must do, and it gets you motivated.

Most independent inventors don’t know much about business. But partnering with a “business head” seems like a rip-off just waiting to happen. So nothing gets done; the invention never enters the market or earns a penny. Sound familiar? The solution to inventor’s paranoia is networking. You

Past Meeting Summary - September & October 2009

Continued on page 13Page 7Page 10

U.S. GovernmentU.S. Gov’t. General Information Site www.FirstGov.govUSPTO Depository Library (UCF, Orlando) http://library.ucf.edu/GovDocs/Patents Trademarks/default.asp SATOP-Space Alliance Tech (NASA helps inventors; free) www.SpaceTechSoluttons.comSBIR/STTR (gov’t. wants inventions) www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbirNat’l. Standards (gov’t. helps inventor’s business) www.nist.gov/tipD.O.D. Tech Match (military R&D) www.DODTechMatch.com

Patent Offices, Patent SearchU.S. Patent & Trademark Office www.uspto.govEuropean Patent Office www.epo.orgGoogle Patent Search www.google.com/patents

State GovernmentFlorida Department of Revenue www.state.fl.us/dorNew Business Start Up www.sunbiz.orgUSF Technology Incubator (free help to inventors; Tampa) www.incubator.usf.eduSTAR TEC Center (Pinellas County business incubation; Largo www.Young-RaineyStarCenter.org

Inventor’s Education, Advice, Books, Lessons, Info, Etc.Edison Inventors Association. (non-profit inventor’s club; Ft. Myers) www.EdisonInventors.orgWorld Intellectual Property Organization www.wipo.orgNational Inventor Fraud Center www.InventorFraud.comUnited Inventors Association (large national organization) www.uiaUSA.comInventors Digest (magazine) www.InventorsDigest.comPatent Café (inventor’s issues) www.PatentCafe.comInventBay.com (info, manufacturing, funding) www.InventBay.comEdisonNation (education, contests, info) www.EdisonNation.com Everyday Edisons (P.B.S. show, contests) www.EverydayEdisons.comBouncing Brain Productions (P.B.S. show, contests) www.BouncingBrainProductions.comIdea Next Step (on-line contests) www.IdeaNextStep.com From Patent to Profit (Bob DeMatteis) www.FromPatentToProfit.comInventor Mentor (Jack Lander) www.inventor-mentor.comThe Basics of Patenting & Innovating www.inventors.about.com/od/firststepsAsk The Inventors www.AskTheInventors.comThat’s An Idea (inventor’s directory) www.ThatsAnIdea.comInventions.com (inventor’s directory) www.inventions.comInventionSponsors.com (inventor’s directory) www.InventionSponsors.comIdea Tango (Lisa Lloyd) www.IdeaTango.comInventNet - Inventor’s Network www.InventNet.comMIT-Lemelson Inventors Site http://web.mit.edu/inventInvention Development www.InventorHelper.comIntnat’l. Federation of Inventor Associations (Budapest, Hungary) www.invention-ifia.chIntnat’l. Development Enterprises (nonprofit, 3rd world inventing) www.ideorg.orgInnovation TRIZ (problem solving method) www.innovation-triz.comASIT (inventor’s problem solving method) www.start2think.comInvention Machine (R&D problem-solving software) www.invention-machine.comKeyWord Patent Search (workbook) www.KeyPatent.net

Product Design, Prototyping, ManufacturingDuracon, Inc. (Voytek Beldycki; Sarasota) www.DuraconInc.comInventioneering (product design, prototyping; Clearwater) www.InventionEering.orgEMS, Inc. (product design, prototyping; Tampa) www.ems-usa.comMydea Technologies (product design, prototyping; Orlando) www.MydeaTechnologies.comeMachineShop (product design, prototyping, free CAD) www.eMachineShop.comMachine Design (rapid design & prototyping info.) http://MachineDesign.comAccess International, Inc. (Asian manufacturing. agent; Tampa) www.AsiaSourceNow.comPPI, Inc. (funding, R&D, design, manufacture) http://ProtoProd.comConcurrent Technologies Corp. (non-profit, military R&D) www.ctc.comSociety of Manufacturing Engineers (Tampa) http://chapters.sme.org/159/homepage.htm

Marketing ServicesIInnovative Product Technologies (Pam Riddle-Bird; Gainesville) www.InventOne.comHill, Coniglio & Polins (market research, planning, ads; Tampa) www.HCPAssociates.comGuided Star Consulting (business advice; Bradenton) www.GuidedStar.comMy Marketing Dept., Inc. (Alan Jernigan; St. Pete) www.MMDept.comPackage Management Group, Inc. (packaging & marketing; Tampa) www.pmg-packaging.comBig Idea Group www.BigIdeaGroup.netMarket Launchers www.MarketLaunchers.comIdea Village www.IdeaVillage.comSmartInventions.com www.smart-inventions.comWal-Mart (sells inventors’ products) http://WalMartStores.com/Suppliers/252.aspx

WEBSITESBrief descriptions in parentheses.

Continued from page 5

U.S. Gov’t.U.S. Gov’t. General Information Site ............................................................................................... www.FirstGov.govUSPTO Depository Library (UCF, Orlando) ............... http://library.ucf.edu/GovDocs/PatentsTrademarks/default.asp SATOP-Space Alliance Tech (NASA helps inventors; free) ..........................................www.SpaceTechSoluttons.comSBIR/STTR (gov’t. wants inventions) ............................................................................... www.acq.osd.mil/sadbu/sbirNat’l. Standards (gov’t. helps inventor’s business) ............................................................................. www.nist.gov/tipD.O.D. Tech Match (military R&D) ....................................................................................www.DODTechMatch.com

Patent Offices, Patent SearchU.S. Patent & Trademark Office .............................................................................................................www.uspto.govEuropean Patent Office .............................................................................................................................. www.epo.orgGoogle Patent Search .............................................................................................................. www.google.com/patents

State Gov’t.Florida Department of Revenue ........................................................................................................www.state.fl.us/dorNew Business Start Up ..........................................................................................................................www.sunbiz.orgUSF Technology Incubator (free help to inventors; Tampa).......................................................www.incubator.usf.eduSTAR TEC Center (Pinellas County business incubation; Largo) ..........................www.Young-RaineyStarCenter.org

Inventor’s Education, Advice, Books, Lessons, Info, Etc.Edison Inventors Ass’n. (non-profit inventor’s club; Ft. Myers) ...........................................www.EdisonInventors.orgWorld Intellectual Property Organization ................................................................................................www.wipo.orgNational Inventor Fraud Center ...............................................................................................www.InventorFraud.comUnited Inventors Ass’n. (large nat’l. org.) .........................................................................................www.uiaUSA.comInventors Digest (magazine) .................................................................................................www.InventorsDigest.comPatent Café (inventor’s issues) ......................................................................................................www.PatentCafe.comInventBay.com (info, manuf’ing, funding) ....................................................................................www.InventBay.comEdisonNation (education, contests, info) ................................................................................. www.EdisonNation.com Everyday Edisons (P.B.S. show, contests) ......................................................................... www.EverydayEdisons.comBouncing Brain Productions (P.B.S. show, contests) ..........................................www.BouncingBrainProductions.comIdea Next Step (on-line contests) ..............................................................................................www.IdeaNextStep.com From Patent to Profit (Bob DeMatteis) ...........................................................................www.FromPatentToProfit.comInventor Mentor (Jack Lander) .............................................................................................www.inventor-mentor.comThe Basics of Patenting & Innovating .............................................................. www.inventors.about.com/od/firststepsAsk The Inventors ...............................................................................................................www.AskTheInventors.comThat’s An Idea (inventor’s directory) .........................................................................................www.ThatsAnIdea.comInventions.com (inventor’s directory)............................................................................................www.inventions.comInventionSponsors.com (inventor’s directory) ................................................................ www.InventionSponsors.comIdea Tango (Lisa Lloyd) .................................................................................................................www.IdeaTango.comInventNet - Inventor’s Network ..................................................................................................... www.InventNet.comMIT-Lemelson Inventors Site ................................................................................................. http://web.mit.edu/inventInvention Development ......................................................................................................... www.InventorHelper.comIntnat’l. Federation of Inventor Ass’ns. (Budapest, Hungary) .....................................................www.invention-ifia.chIntnat’l. Development Enterprises (nonprofit, 3rd world inventing) .....................................................www.ideorg.orgInnovation TRIZ (problem solving method) ...........................................................................www.innovation-triz.comASIT (inventor’s problem solving method) .................................................................................. www.start2think.comInvention Machine (R&D problem-solving software) ..................................................... www.invention-machine.comKeyWord Patent Search (workbook) ...............................................................................................www.KeyPatent.net

Product Design, Prototyping, ManufacturingDuracon, Inc. (Voytek Beldycki; Sarasota) ..................................................................................www.DuraconInc.comRobrady Designs (product design, prototyping; Sarasota) ................................................................ www.robrady.comEMS, Inc. (product design, prototyping; Tampa) ............................................................................. www.ems-usa.comMydea Technologies (product design, prototyping; Orlando) .......................................www.MydeaTechnologies.comeMachineShop (product design, prototyping, free CAD) ..................................................... www.eMachineShop.comMachine Design (rapid design & prototyping info.) .............................................................http://MachineDesign.comAccess International, Inc. (Asian man’fing. agent; Tampa) ................................................. www.AsiaSourceNow.comPPI, Inc. (funding, R&D, design, manufacture) ............................................................................ http://ProtoProd.comConcurrent Technologies Corp. (non-profit, military R&D) .....................................................................www.ctc.comSociety of Manufacturing Engineers (Tampa) ............................................ http://chapters.sme.org/159/homepage.htm

Marketing ServicesInnovative Product Technologies (Pam Riddle-Bird; Gainesville) ................................................www.InventOne.comHill, Coniglio & Polins (market research, planning, ads; Tampa) .........................................www.HCPAssociates.comGuided Star Consulting (business advice; Bradenton) ................................................................ www.GuidedStar.com

Role you most desire: 5. q Inventor q Business owner q Manager q Seller q Influencer q Teacher q None.Do you know enough about management, marketing, sales, operations and 6. finance to run a business?Do you have the right values, discipline, experience and personality for: Cre-7. ating inventions q Business ownership q Both.Which are your greatest motivators: Thinking 8. q Giving life to new projects q Interacting with others q Making money.Does writing biz plans & budgets, selling, managing, handling finance and 9. operations issues, interest you?Which motivates you: Inventing and innovating 10. q Managing q Influencing others q Strategizing q Selling.These questions are meant to get you to think about: 11.

a) Who you are, b) What is your best role with your idea, invention or business concept.

THE TWO MOST COMMON ROLES FOR INVENTORS:

After considering all the above and coming to the conclusion that becoming an Inventor/Business Owner is for you, the following points apply: Investors LOVE documentation. They must see:

Business Plan- Include a 2-page executive summary. • Business Description- 1 page explaining how your invention will improve the world; no technical jargon.Strategic Action Plan- Business goals, steps, milestones and the function of • every department. Include an organization chart.Operations Manual- Day-to-day policies and procedures of every department.• Manufacturing Report- Every step on every machine in the assembly-line • required to make your product, with cost analysis.

Continued from page 5Past Meeting Summary - November - December 2009

Continued on page 13

Inventor/ Business OwnerMotivated by creating and taking idea to market.Enjoys working alone and working with people.Likes solving things and people problems.Good at and motivated by...

challenges and adversity• selling ideas to and influencing others• building and managing plans, budgets, tasks• managing both people and things challenges•

Inventor (with no interest in business ownership)Dislikes interpersonal conflicts and managing others.Prefers inventing/ creating over dealing with people.Likes finding solutions, enjoys working on concepts.Good at and motivated by...

thinking creatively• issues and ideas they want to pursue• intellectual challenges and breakthroughs• working at own pace and setting own agendas•

WEBSITES(Brief descriptions in parentheses)

Bill is really excited. He has been working in his garage for months on his new invention, the “SqueegeeBot.” It’s a little spider-like robot that can crawl over the outside of a house and clean the windows. It finally works! It’s time to start looking

for manufacturing and marketing assistance. But first things first. He knows that it is best to get a patent application filed before going on the road.

Bill has seen the midnight ads for InventionBling Corporation and decides to check out its web site. He soon realizes that IBC is a one stop shop. They guarantee a patent, AND they’re wired in to a huge network of manufacturers and sellers. They can do it all! Bill signs a deal to pay IBC $5,000 up front and ten percent of future royalties. In return, IBC will get him a patent, get him hooked up with that network, and get that royalty stream of cash flowing.

Fast forward two years. Bill is now into IBC for $20,000. He has a fancy inventor’s notebook and piles of glowing marketability studies from IBC, and a design patent for the SqueegeeBot… but no manufacturing, no sales, and NO royalties. Growing impatient, he’s shopped the Squeegee-Bot around himself, and has been told by three different manufacturers that they are not interested. Worse yet, after consulting with a registered United States patent agent, he learned that it is too late to apply for the U.S. utility patent that he needed in the first place, because more than a year has passed since he went public with his invention. SAY WHAT??

An Easy Mark Bill was an easy mark, because he didn’t even attempt to do the fundamental upfront business

planning needed to commercialize his invention. Had he done so, he probably would have realized that the heavy lifting in bringing a product to market is in manufacturing and marketing, and that finding a “one stop shop” to do it all for him was a long shot at best. So he got scammed by a fraudulent “invention promotion” firm.

They’re much akin to the snake oil salesmen of the 1800’s, who peddled their “Elixirs of Life” in the gold mining and oil patch towns of the West. Like

their predecessors, invention scammers all promise the world, with neither the capability nor the intention of delivering. A typical invention scam company is pretty easy to spot, as they all share certain characteristics. In fact, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has an excellent downloadable brochure1 that lists the “Top

Ten Scam Warning Signs.” A few of our favorites from the USPTO list: • “Slick ads on radio, TV, and magazines.” Well, they’re not all slick. Remember that cartoon

Neanderthal guy rolling the stone wheel? • “Salespersons want money right away… upfront.” Then they want more for a report, and

more for market research, and more for manufacturability studies… • “You are guaranteed to get a patent or your money back.” No one can guarantee issuance of

a patent that has real value. But they beat the rap on that one by using this: • “You are advised to apply for a design patent.” Design patents protect how things look, not how

they work. If enough “ornamental features” are added to just about any product, it can be the subject of a design patent. So the scammers load up the patent drawings with lots of superficial ornamentation (often not even being the work product of the inventor), and obtain a worthless design patent. While de-sign patents have their place and can be a useful way to protect intellectual property, obtaining a design patent on an invention that is best protected by a utility patent is not in the best interest of the inventor.

Bill was an easy mark for an invention scam company because he didn’t even attempt to do the fundamental upfront business planning needed to commercialize his invention.

The USPTO’s Public Forum The USPTO does not investigate complaints or participate in any legal proceedings against

invention promoters/promotion firms. However, under the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, it does provide a public forum2 for the publication of complaints concerning invention promotion firms. The Federal Trade Commission has also chimed in with the publication of a Consumer Alert, “Spotting Sweet-Sounding Promises of Fraudulent Invention Promotion Firms.”3 These are great resources for independent inventors – as long as they take the time to find and study them.

Ultimately, criminal prosecution or civil litigation is typically required at the state level to bring invention scammers to justice. And since the principals of these firms rarely see jail time, the pro-cess has aspects similar to the “Whack-a-Mole” carnival game. Once they’ve been driven out of business in one location, they often pack up, move their operation, and reincorporate elsewhere.

Score One For the Good Guys Not so for agents or attorneys licensed to practice in the Patent Office. The USPTO’s Office

of Enrollment and Discipline will come down hard on a patent practitioner who participates in an invention promotion firm’s misdeeds. Case in point: patent attorney Michael Bender4 of St. Petersburg FL, who was employed on a contractual basis by the American Inventor’s Corporation was recently excluded from practice in the Patent Office. In performing his engagement with AIC, Bender was found by an administrative law judge to have violated numerous rules of practice for patent practitioners that are prescribed in 37 C.F.R. 10. Bender subsequently challenged the decision, all the way up to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. On June 21, 2007, the CAFC upheld the lower courts’ decisions, and Michael Bender, Esq. is now excluded from the practice of patent law before the USPTO. (For detailed infor-mation on this case, please refer to the article5, “Practitioner Tied To Invention Promoter Disciplined,” by Cameron Weiffenbach here in IPFrontline™.)

The moral of the story? Stay away from invention promotion firms – for commercialization and patent assistance. There are plenty of reputable non-profit inventor associations and public sector economic development agencies for the former. As to the latter – find a competent, ethical patent practitioner and don’t hesitate to check references when doing your shopping. As the old saying goes - reputation is everything.

Footnotes:1. http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/documents/scamprevent.pdf 2. http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/complaints.htm 3. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/invnalrt.shtm 4. Bender v. Dudas, C.A.F.C. 2006-1243, 6/21/07. 5. http://www.ipfrontline.com/depts/article.asp?id=15847&deptid=2 ©2007 John Hammond and Robert Gunderman, Jr. John M. Hammond P.E. (Patent Innovations, LLC www.patent-innovations.com) and Robert D. Gunderman P.E. (Pat-

ent Technologies, LLC www.patentechnologies.com) are both registered patent agents and licensed professional engineers. They offer several courses that qualify for PDH credits. More information can be found at www.PatentEducation.com. Note: This short article is intended only to provide cursory background information, and is not intended to be legal advice. No client relationship with the authors is in any way established by this article. Previously published in “IPFrontline”, the newsletter of PatentCafe®. www.ipfrontline.com www.patentcafe.com PatentCafe® is the leading provider of intellectual property asset management (IPAM) software and informational resources.

Reprinted with permission.

“PIMP MY INVENTION” – If It Sounds Too Good to Be True… by: John M. Hammond P.E. and Robert D. Gunderman P.E.