-- In the 21st Century, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said, "Once again, the earth has become wicked and overpopulated and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save two of every living thing along with a few good humans."

-- He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, "You have six months to build the Ark before I start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."

-- Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard.... but no ark.

"Noah," He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?"

-- -- “DO YOU NEED A PATENT?” --

-- In the evaluation and analysis of your invention, as discussed in chapter 2, there are many conclusions that you could have reached. Your invention could be inferior or superior to existing solutions, there could be issues related to safety, profitability, etc. Many of these can be resolved with further development and refinement of your invention so that it becomes a salable product. However, there are three critical issues that may affect whether or not you should file for the patent. They are:

1. Your invention (or something VERY similar) has already been issued a patent or several patents by various other inventors.

2. The size of the market segment or industry in which your product will sell is very limited.

3. The product life cycle is likely to be very short, meaning it is less than 2 years.

-- In any case you may elect to not seek patent protection for your invention.

-- In the first case, if you have discovered other patents that are identical or similar, it is likely that you may not be granted a patent; or if you are granted a patent, it will be so limited that it does not provide enough protection to keep out competitors or attract a licensee. It is important to note that Lambert & Lambert has licensed products that have similar patents on the market, so you should not simply throw away your invention if you find some inventions that are similar. Your invention may have a critical patentable improvement that makes the product a commercial success or extremely valuable in the eyes of a potential licensee, thus making seeking a patent a worthwhile endeavor.

-- If you are seeking to license your invention, it has been our experience that a design patent is nearly impossible to license. The reason is because the design patent only covers how the invention looks, not how it functions. It is very easy to change the “ornamental design” and still have a product that does essentially the same thing. As a result, manufacturers are very unlikely to license a design patent since they would rather change the design themselves rather than pay an inventor a royalty. Consequently, if an invention service provider or patent attorney says you are unlikely to be issued a utility patent but encourages you to file for the design patent in order to achieve a license deal, RUN AWAY! They either do not know what they are talking about or they are simply looking for a payday; they certainly do not have your best interests in mind.

-- In the second case, if the market size in which your invention would compete in is very limited, such as a specialty product, you may want to consider not filing for patent due to financial reasons. That is, if the product is unlikely to sell in significant quantities, your sales or royalties might not warrant the cost of filing the patent application and subsequent maintenance fees.

-- Finally, in the third instance, if the product life cycle is likely to be short, patenting may be unnecessary. An example of this is found in the toys and games industry where many products only last for one Christmas season. This is also good news for toy inventors because toy companies are always looking for new products to replace others that are no longer selling. Nevertheless, since it currently takes about 2 years (often times longer) for a patent application to be issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a product with a short shelf life may have been rolled out and eventually discontinued by the retailer before the patent is even issued.

-- Of course, if you decide that it is not worth patenting, make sure that you perform thorough research on existing patents that may be issued prior to continuing with your development and manufacturing. There may be similar inventions that have been patented and the manufacturing of your product may infringe, leading to an unwanted legal battle.

-- Lastly, without patent protection you are welcoming competitors to the marketplace that will eventually erode your sales. Marketing principles suggest that those who enter a market first usually will remain the market leader, especially if you are able to forge a strong, recognizable brand. For instance, the paper tissue market is dominated by KLEENEX® who first introduced it. In fact, most people do not even call it “paper tissue,” rather it is referred as “KLEENEX®”. This is an extreme case but illustrates the value of entering a market first. Nevertheless, when considering filing the patent these are essential points to consider as you develop your commercialization strategy so that you can get the most out of your invention.

-- Trevor Lambert
President, Lambert & Lambert,
www.lambertinvent.com
www.inventsecrets.com

Trevor’s company, Lambert & Lambert, is one of the few companies that successfully licenses inventions. Best of all, they do it on a contingency basis if you meet their requirements. I highly recommend them.
Paul Niemann - http://www.MarketLaunchers.com
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THE ONLINE INVENTOR – July 12, 2010 issue

(c) 2010 Market Launchers, Inc.

http://www.marketlaunchers.com

Editor: Paul Niemann

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Dear Inventor:

This issue is a short, fun one. Enjoy!

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CLEVER QUOTE …

“A man on a horse is spiritually, as well as physically, bigger than a man on foot” – John Steinbeck

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Eight inventors who changed the world but never patented (or capitalized on) their inventions

By Paul Niemann of MarketLaunchers.com

Eight inventors were listed in a recent article on the WalletPop website, under the title, "They Could Have Been Billionaires." Each inventor is a pioneer who could have made a fortune if he had patented his invention. While you and I know that it takes much more to succeed with your invention than just getting a patent, I wonder how many of these eight pioneering inventors would have achieved great wealth if they had patented their inventions?

Can you match the appropriate inventors with their inventions? One of them, Tim Berners-Lee chose to not patent his invention because he felt that the only way it could achieve its full potential was to make it available to everyone. Plus, he wanted everyone to have access to it.

The answers are at the end. Play on ...

Here are the 8 inventors …

Daisuke Inoue

Jean and Alastair Carruthers

Arthur C. Clarke

Tim Berners-Lee

John Sheppard-Barron

George Crum

Edwin Drake

Walter Diemer

And here are the 8 inventions …

Bubble gum

Land-based oil drill

Potato chip

ATM

World Wide Web

Satellite Broadcasting

Botox

Karaoke

The answers and the URL for the original article are after the ad.

(continued after the break)

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How to sell your invention when you cannot meet them in person:

YOU NEED EITHER A BROCHURE OR A WEB SITE. Most people cannot picture how something would work, so they need to see some pictures.

MarketLaunchers.com builds web sites for inventors. Once you have a web site, you can start calling companies in your industry to show them your invention.

I will even walk you through the process of how to find a potential licensee -- and also explain how to contact them. Give me a call or, if you’re ready to get your own website, then visit the order form at http://www.marketlaunchers.com/forms.html

If you already have your own web site and still want to have your product listed on our site's database for companies to see, then you will get a $50 discount -- please call for details.

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(continued from above)

ANSWERS:

Daisuke Inoue: Karaoke

Jean and Alastair Carruthers: Botox

Arthur C. Clarke: Satellite Broadcasting

Tim Berners-Lee: World Wide Web

John Sheppard-Barron: ATM

George Crum: Potato chip

Edwin Drake: Land-based oil drill

Walter Diemer: Bubble gum

If you want to read their full stories, then click here: http://www.walletpop.com/specials/they-could-have-been-billionaires?photo=3

# # #

“The REAL cost of commercializing new products – for the manufacturer”

by Paul Niemann of
MarketLaunchers.com

In a recent article in this newsletter, I mentioned that it is very expensive for companies to create, develop, patent and commercialize new products. This fact alone should give comfort to you as an inventor when you talk with companies about licensing or acquiring your inventions, because it makes you become more valuable to companies when they otherwise would create all of their new products at their own expense.

Obviously, relying on outside inventors lowers the cost for companies, but it also lowers the risk and the time commitment of the companies, making it a win-win situation for both company and inventor.

A 1982 study by management consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton put a price tag on the entire new product development process by showing how expensive it is for companies to create, develop, patent and commercialize new products.

So, how much does it cost companies to create, develop, patent and commercialize new products?

The study showed that for a typical company that generates 128 new product ideas, half of these ideas will move onto the next stage -- SCREENING -- while the other 64 will be tossed out. At a cost of $1,000 per product idea, the total at this stage is $128,000.

At the next stage -- CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING -- one half (32) of the 64 ideas passed to the next stage, which is the BUSINESS ANALYSIS stage, at a cost of $2,000 each, for a total of $64,000 for this stage.

At the BUSINESS ANALYSIS stage, one fourth (8) of the ideas passed, at a cost of $5,000 each, for a total of $40,000 for this stage.

Then at the next stage -- PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING -- one half (4) of the 8 remaining ideas passed, at a cost of $10,000 each, for a total of $40,000 for this stage.

Two more stages to go: At the next stage -- TEST MARKETING -- one half (2) of the 4 remaining ideas passed to the next stage, at a cost of $500,000 each, for a total of $1,000,000 for this stage.

At the next stage -- COMMERCIALIZATION -- one of the two remaining test marketed products succeeded while the other one failed.

So the total cost of creating, developing, patenting and commercializing one successful new product was, drum roll please, a whopping $1,272,000.

But wait – there’s more!

Most new products fall from the market within two years.

So the next time you find yourself trying to convince a company who has the “not-invented-here” syndrome to consider licensing your new product, be sure to explain what’s in it for him.

If he refuses to consider products that were created outside of his company, then he’s missing the boat. And it will likely prove very costly to his company.

Paul Niemann
MarketLaunchers.com
800-337-5758 - 217-224-8194

-- Conducting your own Free Patent Search on the Internet -- by Patent Agent Mark Manley ******************************************************************
-- "strategic_guide _to _patents.doc" --
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-- -- Strange Information and Facts --

Bank robber John Dillinger played professional baseball.

If you toss a penny 10000 times, it will not be heads 5000 times, but more like 4950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.

The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.

If your eyes are six feet above the surface of the ocean, the horizon will be about three statute miles away.

The longest word in the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. The only other word with the same amount of letters is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses, its plural.

Hydroxydesoxycorticosterone and hydroxydeoxycorticosterones are the largest anagrams.

Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula."

Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.

The band Duran Duran got their name from an astronaut in the 1968 Jane Fonda movie "Barbarella.

Cleo and Caesar were the early stage names of Cher and Sonny Bono.

Ben and Jerry's send the waste from making ice cream to local pig farmers to use as feed. Pigs love the stuff, except for one flavor: Mint Oreo.

The company providing the liability insurance for the Republican National Convention in San Diego is the same firm that insured the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.

Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer.

Dr. Samuel A. Mudd was the physician who set the leg of Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth...and whose shame created the expression for ignominy, "His name is Mudd."

The longest recorded flight of a chicken is thirteen seconds.

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.

Wilma Flintstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and Betty Rubble's Maiden name was Betty Jean Mcbricker.

A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

The Ramses brand condom is named after the great pharaoh Ramses II who fathered over 160 children.

If NASA sent birds into space they would soon die, they need gravity to swallow.

Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

The characters Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street were named after Bert the cop and Ernie the taxi driver in Frank Capra's "Its A Wonderful Life".

It was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog throws up its stomach first, so the stomach is dangling out of its mouth. Then the frog uses its forearms to dig out all of the stomach's contents and then swallows the stomach back down again.

Armored knights raised their visors to identify themselves when they rode past their king. This custom has become the modern military salute.

White Out was invented by the mother of Mike Nesmith (Formerly of the Monkees).

Sylvia Miles had the shortest performance ever nominated for an Oscar with "Midnight Cowboy." Her entire role lasted only six minutes.

Charles Lindbergh took only four sandwiches with him on his famous transatlantic flight.

Goethe couldn't stand the sound of barking dogs and could only write if he had an apple rotting in the drawer of his desk.

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle; if the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died as a result of wounds received in battle; if the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Gilligan of Gilligan's Island had a first name that was only used once, on the never-aired pilot show. His first name was Willy. The skipper's real name on Gilligan's Island is Jonas Grumby. It was mentioned once in the first episode on their radio's newscast about the wreck.

In England, the Speaker of the House is not allowed to speak.

Playing cards were issued to British pilots in WWII. If captured, they could be soaked in water and unfolded to reveal a map for escape.

The "L.L." in L.L. Bean stands for Leon Leonwood.

Ivory bar soap floating was a mistake. They had been overmixing the soap formula causing excess air bubbles that made it float. Customers wrote and told how much they loved that it floated, and it has floated ever since.

Studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building it has about thirty percent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the twentieth floor. It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realize what is occurring, relax and correct itself.

The saying "it's so cold out there it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey" came from when they had old cannons like ones used in the Civil War. The cannonballs were stacked in a pyramid formation, called a brass monkey. When it got extremely cold outside they would crack and break off... Thus the saying.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks, otherwise it will digest itself.

The Sanskrit word for "war" means "desire for more cows."

A walla-walla scene is one where extras pretend to be talking in the background -- when they say "walla-walla" it looks like they are actually talking.

The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

101 Dalmatians and Peter Pan (Wendy) are the only two Disney cartoon features with both parents that are present and don't die throughout the movie.

'Stewardesses' is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand.

The Baby Ruth candy bar was actually named after Grover Cleveland's baby daughter, Ruth.

Armadillos are the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy.

To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaws, push your thumbs into its eyeballs -- it will let you go instantly.

Reindeer like to eat bananas.

A group of unicorns is called a blessing.
Twelve or more cows are known as a "flink."
A group of frogs is called an army.
A group of rhinos is called a crash.
A group of kangaroos is called a mob.
A group of whales is called a pod.
A group of geese is called a gaggle.
A group of ravens is called a murder.
A group of officers is called a mess.
A group of larks is called an exaltation.
A group of owls is called a parliament.

Physicist Murray Gell-Mann named the sub-atomic particles known as quarks for a random line in James Joyce, "Three quarks for Muster Mark!"

Every time you lick a stamp, you're consuming 1/10 of a calorie.

The phrase "sleep tight" derives from the fact that early mattresses were filled with straw and held up with rope stretched across the bedframe. A tight sleep was a comfortable sleep.

"Three dog night" (attributed to Australian Aborigines) came about because on especially cold nights these nomadic people needed three dogs (dingos, actually) to keep from freezing.

-- -- Thought of the day --

-- "I have noticed that folks are generally about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Abraham Lincoln
1809-1865, Sixteenth President of the United States