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Federal Trade Commission Brief on Patents and Invention Promotion Firms

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FTC Briefs

So You've Got a Great Idea?
Heads Up: Invention Promotion Firms
May Promise More Than They Can Deliver

July 1997

What's Your Patent Ability?
Many invention promotion firms promise more than they can deliver. Try this True-False quiz to measure your patent-ability:

1.The fact that an idea is "patentable" has nothing to do with whether the idea has any potential for commercial success.TrueFalse
2.If I patent my idea, it doesn't necessarily mean the idea is protected.TrueFalse
3.Design patents protect the external or ornamental appearance of an idea; utility patents protect the function or utility concept of an idea.TrueFalse
4.Registering your idea with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Disclosure Document Program may help establish the date you conceived your idea, but it provides no patent protection.TrueFalse
5.Reputable invention promotion firms don't charge high fees in advance their services.TrueFalse

What's a Patent?
A patent is a grant issued by the federal government that gives inventors the right "to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the U.S. or importing the invention into the U.S." Three types of patents are available:

Utility patents, which are granted to the inventor or discoverer of any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or compositions of matter, or any new and useful improvement;

Design patents, which are granted on any new, original and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and

Plant patents, which are granted on any distinct and new variety of asexually reproduced plant.

For more information about patents, call the US Patent and Trademark Office toll-free at 1-800-PTO-9199.

Patent Facts

  • The cost for a patent depends on the type of patent and whether the applicant is an 1individual inventor, a nonprofit organization, a small business, or a corporation.

  • A U.S. patent protects your invention in this country only.
  • Design patents are granted for a term of 14 years from the date of the grant. Utility and plant patents are granted for a term that begins on the date of the grant and ends 20 years after the patent was first filed. A patent holder loses exclusive rights to the invention when the term expires or when periodic maintenance fees are not paid.
  • The Patent and Trademark Office cannot help inventors develop or market their inventions, but will publish a notice in the weekly Official Gazette that the patent is available for licensing or sale if the patent owner requests the notice and pays for it.

For More Information

Consumer Response Center
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, DC 20580

Minnesota Inventors Congress
PO Box 71
Redwood Falls, MN 56283-0071
1-800-468-3681

Science Service
1719 N Street, NW
Email: youth@sciserv.org

National Congress of Inventor Organizations (NCIO)
Stephen Gnass
P.O. Box 931881
Los Angeles, CA  90093-1881
1-323-878-6952
ncio@inventionconvention.com
http://www.inventionconvention.com/ncio

You can file a complaint with the FTC by contacting the Consumer Response Center by phone: 202-FTC-HELP (382-4357); TDD: 202-326-2502; by mail: Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580; or through the Internet, using the online complaint form. Although the Commission cannot resolve individual problems for consumers, it can act against a company if it sees a pattern of possible law violations.

The FTC publishes free brochures on many consumer issues. For a complete list of publications, write for Best Sellers, Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580; or call (202) FTC-HELP (382-4357), TDD (202) 326-2502.

Patent Search Puzzle

ACROSS

1.
6.
7.
9.
11.
13.
15.
17.

18.
19.

Unique or unusual
________ evaluation
Swindle
________ Goldberg
A type of patent
Dough
Charge for service
Where to file a patent application
Invention's Mom
The sole right to make, use, or sell an invention for a period of time.

DOWN

2.
3.

4.
5.
7.
8.
10.
11.
12.
14.
16.

Dream up
Payment resulting from sale or use
Investigate
A type of patent
It's the limit
Legal adviser
False
In advance
Got A Great ____?
A "bright" investor
________ market

  1. TRUE. Many ideas that have no market or profit potential are patentable. The reason: Many ideas can be patentable, but very few ideas have real commercial potential.

  2. TRUE. Unscrupulous invention promotion firms often apply for patents that provide such limited legal protection that it is easy for competitors to find ways to design around the patent. In many cases, these firms will charge you several thousand dollars to prepare the wrong type of patent application for your idea, or to apply for a patent for your idea that provides so little protection that it's worthless.

  3. TRUE. Find out what kind of patent protection is right for your idea. For example, if the novelty of your idea lies in its function and not its appearance, a design patent alone won't provide enough legal protection.

  4. TRUE. Some invention promotion scams claim that registering your idea with the Disclosure Document Program "protects" your idea. They're lying. It doesn't.

  5. TRUE. Reputable firms rely on screening ideas carefully. They make money from royalties they collect once they have licensed their client's invention successfully.

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