April Newsletter 2024
April 2024 Whether you’re an experienced inventor or a newbie who just came up with your first big idea, the Inventor Smart Monthly Newsletter is
December 2022
Whether you are an experienced inventor or a newbie who just came up with your first big idea, the Inventor Smart Monthly newsletter is for you! You will find valuable tips, useful resources and words of wisdom that can help you move your invention forward!
How do I Determine the Value of My Invention or Idea? This is one of the most difficult questions in licensing, and only general guidelines can be used until the parties have actually negotiated. There are no hard and fast rules as to what is a suitable licensing compensation other than both sides must agree.
Here are some factors that influence royalty rates:
• The strength and scope of the protected IP;
• The expense necessary for a license to reach full production;
• The cost of any additional R&D required;
• The exclusivity or non-exclusivity of the licensing agreement;
• The geographic scope of the license;
• The competitive product, processes, and technology available to the prospective licensee;
• The total market and its estimated growth;
• Common industry or standard license rates; and,
• Whether the license covers all or part of a process or product.
Source: The Basic of Licensing by Licensing Executive Society (USA and Canada) Inc.
Bright Idea:
Inventor Tip from Brian Fried
If you’re thinking of an idea or you’re already working on your idea check out the library of new Mini Clip Inventing Tips Videos to help you with your big ideas. Brian shares his words of wisdom throughout the years and are now available to you through these direct video messages!
” It’s important to find the right information to help you with your invention ideas and most importantly someone you can trust. These mini videos will help you with moving your ideas forward from my 20 years experience as an inventor with products licensed earning royalties and manufacturing and doing the same for others with the same passion to help. I know where to go and how to get things done, and that’s an advantage I can pass to you so you don’t have to waste time, money and energy. Educate yourself with these quick video clips I’m sharing with you and get in touch with me if you want to chat! ” – Brian Fried
Question:
Can I discuss details of my invention with a potential investor, licensee or partner before filing a patent application?
Answer:
It is important to file a patent application before publicly disclosing the details of an invention. In general, any invention which is made public before an application is filed would be considered “prior art ” (although the definition of the term “prior art” is not uniform at the international level, in many countries, it refers to any information which has been made available to the public anywhere in the world by written or oral disclosure before the filing date).
In countries which apply the above definition of the term “prior art”, an applicant’s public disclosure of an invention prior to filing a patent application would prevent him/her from obtaining a valid patent for that invention, since the invention would not comply with the novelty requirement. Some countries, however, allow for a grace period – usually between 6 and 12 months – which provides a safeguard for applicants who disclosed their inventions before filing a patent application. Further, the novelty criteria may be interpreted differently depending on the applicable law.
If disclosing your invention before filing a patent application is unavoidable – for example, to a potential investor or a business partner – then any disclosure should be accompanied by a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement. It should also be kept in mind that applying early for patent protection will generally be helpful when seeking financial support to commercialize an invention. Source: https://www.wipo.int/patents/en/faq_patents.html
Recent Topic: How to Get Products into Retailers
We welcomed Stewart Barnett, President of Odash,Inc. as our Guest Speaker. Stewart has the experience we can learn from! He currently has over 10,000 product SKUs in housewares, health and beauty, electronics, personal care, drinkware, storage and pet categories. Some of his customers include Staples, Walmart, Wayfair, Target, Sharper Image to name a few retailers and catalogs he does business with! We will hear updates on the state of the retail industry. What does it take to have a successful product? How to get into retailers online and brick and mortar stores. What to expect when working with buyers. How to calculate margins for yourself and buyers.
Other intro guests included best-selling author Charlene Walters, MBA, Ph.D., of Launch Your Inner Entrepreneur, who provided us with great tips and advice for entrepreneurs. We were also joined by the USPTO‘s Eastern Innovation Outreach Director Elizabeth Dougherty, to help provide you the information you need to keep moving your ideas and business opportunities forward!
National Inventor Club is one of the largest and most active communities for inventors, innovation, and service providers that support invention and continues to provide a nationwide platform for great guest speakers, networking, and connections founded and moderated by Brian Fried, who has been running inventors clubs for over 15 years.
- To become a member, free or premium for inventors and service providers, please join us National Inventor Club: https://nationalinventorclub.com/join to stay up to date on upcoming meetings and events we host.
Click the below image to go directly to this 1 hour amazing interview filled with tons of information for you to know if you’re thinking about one day getting your invention idea turned into a product for sale!
This year, in a rapidly shifting world, innovation boomed. So, in 2022, for the first time ever, TIME selected the year’s 200 (usually 100) Best Inventions. Check out the list and see which are your favorites!
If you’d like to purchase the print edition of the magazine, click the TIME BEST INVENTIONS of 2022 COVER OR CLICK HERE
Got Invention Show features a 30-minute interview where an inventor promotes an invention, seeks a licensing deal, or looks for distribution opportunities. Host Brian Fried focuses on his guest’s challenges and solutions. He asks about their journey, where they are right now, and what will come next. He invites guests to offer words of wisdom to viewers and listeners.
Got Invention Show hosted Lisa Barnett of Little Spoon (YES, the daughter of Stew Barnett above in this newsletter)!
Lisa Barnett and her co-founders put their talents together, identified an opportunity missing in the market and built Little Spoon, a subscription based children’s food company from scratch to over a million units sold in their 1st year, now only a few years later LittleSpoon.com was ranked as #93 on the Inc. Magazine‘s #inc5000 list of fastest growing companies!
Lisa Barnett is the Co-Founder & President of Little Spoon, the fastest growing direct-to-consumer children’s food and nutrition company reinventing the modern parent’s experience of keeping their child healthy. She has been recognized as one of the ‘Women Changing the Food Industry’ by Well + Good, and by Forbes as 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital. She is responsible for raising over $50M in venture and growth equity capital, leading the charge with financing from a number of institutions including Valor Equity Partners, Kairos, and SoGal Ventures among others. Lisa also sits on the board of and advises a number of consumer products startups in strategy, fundraising, brand and growth. She is an active angel investor in a number of companies across consumer, healthcare, and technology. Prior to Little Spoon, Lisa spent nearly a decade as an investor in and operator at some of the world’s top consumer brands including Estee Lauder Companies, Calvin Klein, Weight Watchers and a number of other Fortune 500 Companies. As an investor, she was focused on investing in brand-driven startups aimed at transforming the everyday life of consumers in the wellness, health and CPG space. Visit www.littlespoon.com
Listen to this high energy conversation with Lisa sharing her journey to success! CLICK HERE or on the image below:
Would you like to be our guest on the Got Invention Show? Schedule your interview today to promote your prototype or product now available for sale to now reaching 100 million households!
You and Host Brian will do a 28 minute interview and once the interview is completed, you can use it for your website and social media and we air on Amazon Fire, Roku TV, YouTube TV and next month we will be on Apple TV!! The podcast audio version of your interview is played on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google and Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music! Small fee, great promotion for you and your invention!! SIGN UP FOR YOUR INTERVIEW HERE!
USPTO Inventor & Entrepreneur Resources
Find assistance, programs, and resources for independent inventors, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and university affiliated inventors.
Here is the link for Learning and Resources: https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/inventors-entrepreneurs-resources
Visit their website for more information. https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/
“Make a schedule to work on your product. Share this schedule with a mentor and ask them to check in with you once a month or more to see if you are on track with your goals. Imagine that you are working on a deadline, as if you were working on your product for a client or employer. If you are just getting started, begin with a patent and non-patent reference search to see if your idea is new. Pick up a copy of Patent Searching Made Easy by David Hitchcock to help get you started on your patent search. Last, but not least, join a local inventors’ organization to meet like-minded product developers that can help you on your product development journey. If you don’t have a local inventors’ organization, think about starting your own and be sure to attend meetings of the National Inventor Club “ –Glen Kotapish
Are you ready to pitch your invention? Now Casting for the Got Invention Show’s “Pitch Your Invention” Mini Series!
Pitch Your Invention is now casting inventors with inventions for a special media series introducing yourself and demonstrating your invention with a 2 minute pitch!
-We’re looking for inventors to give their best 2 minute pitch of their product or prototype and be a part of our upcoming program! (no cost to you and recordings happen from your webcam into our studio).
-If you’re selected, you can be a part of our episodes that may air on Amazon Fire, RokuTV, YouTube TV, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google and Apple Podcast and Amazon Music!
-Find out more and apply on: www.pitchyourinvention.com
Good Luck!
Got Invention Show
Check out Brian’s latest book just published!!
Do you have this great idea for an invention in your head? Are you ready to learn how to make money with that invention?
This book is about taking action so you can take that great idea out of your head and make smart decisions to help you make money. Here’s how it works:
We’re going to walk through the steps of getting started with your big idea.
We’ll also explore how to turn your idea into a real prototype.
We’ll discover resources to protect your ideas and, of course, help plan your future.
So why did I write this book? I want to provide the opportunity for more inventors to learn the process it takes to experience the invention brought to life. Not only to make your invention a reality, but to learn how to earn from your inventions.
Order your paperback or Kindle copy – Click here to go to Amazon
A shop for Inventors, innovators and patent holders - Check out InventorMart.com!
This is a shop for you! You’ve worked hard on your invention, now you can wear DESIGNS & MERCH made with you in mind! Find shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, hats, stickers, blankets and over 1,000 unique items to show that you are proud to be an inventor. check out InventorMart.com
About Brian Fried
Brian Fried, serial inventor with 13 patents, is an award-winning authority in the invention industry, a sought-after celebrity guest speaker and an advocate for the invention community. As Chief Invention Officer of Inventor Smart and Expert Inventor Coach, Brian represents inventors at every stage of the invention process, project managing new up-and-coming inventions from idea to manufacturing or as an invention licensing agent to secure deals with major brands and earn royalties for inventors.
Brian is the founder of the National Inventor Club where guest speakers focus on topics of interest to the inventor community.
He is a 3x author and his 3rd book, How to Make Money With Your Invention Idea was just published in May 2022. He also hosts Got Invention Show and Radio where you can watch on RokuTV, Amazon Fire, YouTube TV, and you can hear his podcasts on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music Google and Apple Podcasts. Brian recently launched a new merch line with various designs for inventors, InventorMart.com
You can visit Brian’s personal website at BrianFried.com and check out his invention that have been licensed where he earns royalties and manufactures others that he sells on his own currently found in retailers.
Brian’s Inventor MasterClass is now available! If you want to evaluate your invention, find out if licensing or manufacturing is the right decision for you, sign up for an eLearning course at InventorClass.com. National Inventor Club Members receive a discount. For inventor resources, more information and additional tips, visit Inventor Smart.
Sponsorship opportunities available for future newsletters. If you’d like to promote your product or service please contact info@inventorsmart.com or call (631)565-7074
Thank you for reading this and please subscribe to the newsletter on Linkedin for us to stay connected!
Inventively Yours,
Brian and the Inventor Smart Team
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