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
From Inspiration to Success:
Samantha Jane St. Raymond, The Layering Ladle
Samantha Jane St. Raymond put the coronavirus lockdown to good use by coming up with a new invention – The Layering Ladle.
With her background in hospitality, she saw a great opportunity to create a new bar tool for layered drinks, a technique that requires a great deal of skill. The Layering Ladle creates the layers, making the process easier and more precise. Sam is excited to announce that after months in development, The Layering Ladle will be available this summer.
Samantha Jane St. Raymond is a fearless entrepreneur who takes risks, learns from failures and appreciates success. She believes in thinking outside the box and showing gratitude in all things.
Sam tells people, “I love to identify a problem and create a solution, even when my invention does not get past the idea stage. It’s still fun to challenge yourself and your mind.”
When you come up with a great idea, it makes sense to protect it as quickly as possible before someone else comes up with something similar. The way to protect your idea is to get a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
A patent gives you the exclusive rights to your product. That means that you can take legal action against anyone that duplicates your protected intellectual property. When you file for a patent, you are investing in your right to produce and sell the invention you have created. The USPTO issues three different types of patents: utility patents, design patents and plant patents.
For many inventors, filing a provisional patent application for “patent pending” status makes a lot of sense. A provisional patent gives you a year of protection so you can develop and market your idea while saving enough capital to invest in a utility or non-provisional patent. You can also sell your idea during this time. Find out more about patents here.
Bright Idea:
Inventor Tip from Brian Fried
What if you have a great idea for an invention, but you have little or no money to invest?
You might have come up with a great solution to a problem, but you may have limited funds to invest in your new invention. The first step is to establish that your invention is truly your own.
Conduct an initial patent search before you hire a patent attorney to do the search, which can cost between $800 to $1500. Use search engines like Google to find out if your idea is original, and if it is, file for a provisional patent.
Licensing your invention is another way to bring your product to market without a substantial investment. Find out more about your options here.
Question:
What is an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement)?
Answer:
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) or confidentiality agreement puts people on notice that you are revealing personal information. When they sign an NDA, people understand that they cannot talk about what you shared verbally, in writing or through any other exchange without your permission.
When you do a patent search, ask people for feedback, and hire artists engineers, prototypers and others, it is a good idea to ask them all to sign an NDA to protect your idea. You are protected by client/attorney privilege when you present your idea to a patent attorney or agent. Find a free NDA here.
National Inventor Club News
On January 19, 2021, we had the great honor of hearing from the inventor of the cell phone and author of Cutting the Cord, Marty Cooper. Marty firmly believes that inventions should use technology to make people’s lives better, and he certainly did that when he invented the cell phone in 1973. The first commercial cell phone model came out ten years later.
In a famous case, Marty teamed up with Motorola to fight Bell Labs, a monopoly that had approval for a cell phone for automobiles. Marty felt that would have people going from being tied to their homes to use a phone, to being tied to their cars. He wanted to provide true personal portable communication. After a 10-year legal battle to use cell phone devices anywhere, they won.
Since Marty worked for Motorola, he had to turn over his intellectual property to the company. He was paid just $1 for his invention and he still considers it a great deal because of his wonderful 29-year relationship with the company.
The National Inventor Club allows like-minded inventors to connect, collaborate and network to reach new levels of success. You can follow the National Inventor Club on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Become a member of the National Inventor Club at nationalinventorclub.com
The Got Invention Show
No More “I Can’t Hear You” Cell Phone Problems
Mike and Skylar Walker were recently interviewed on the Got Invention Show. They got tired of having to go outside their home to make a call, so they solved the “I can’t hear you” cell phone problem. Mike, a veteran and business owner with an electronics and chemical engineering background, teamed up with his wife Skylar, a former global travel manager, to come up with the solution.
Their The Hot Cloud and HottieXTreme products, proudly made in the USA, have been featured on HSN and can also be found on their website. You can listen to the interview with Mike and Skyler Walker and others at gotinventiontube.com.
The Got Invention Show features 30-minute interviews 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 and asks about their journey, where they are right now and what will come next. Guests offer words of wisdom to viewers and listeners.
The Got Invention Show was picked up by DB&A Network which airs Brian’s interviews on AppleTV, RokuTV and Amazon Fire. The audio podcast is distributed on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple, Google Podcasts and others for a total of over 100 million potential viewers and listeners.
To become a guest on the Got Invention Show, visit gotinventionshow.com. National Inventor Club Premium Members receive a discount.
From the Inventor Community
Rachel Cardis, Inventor
The challenge of bringing an idea from a paper sketch to market can seem overwhelming at first, but know all the hard work and necessary steps to complete your vision into the form of a working prototype has an indescribable, rewarding feeling that is forever cemented in your legacy, no matter what.
Rachel Cardis, Inventor
About Brian Fried
Brian Fried, serial inventor, is an award-winning authority in the invention industry, a sought-after celebrity guest speaker and an advocate for the invention community. As CEO of Inventor Smart, he acts as an Inventor Coach by representing inventors at every stage of the invention process. He also represents inventors as a licensing agent to secure deals.
Brian is the founder of the National Inventor Club, one of the largest in the nation. Guest speakers focus on topics of interest to the inventor community. Sign up for free and premium membership at National Inventor Club.
Brian hosts Got Invention Show which was picked up on a network that runs on RokuTV, AmazonTV, AppleTV and YouTubeTV and the podcast on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio.
To learn how to proceed with your invention at any stage including licensing and manufacturing, you can read Brian’s books, You & Your Big Ideas and Inventing Secrets Revealed or sign up for an eLearning course at inventorclass.com. Visit Inventor Smart for more information and additional resources available to help inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs.
Past Newsletters
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March Newsletter 2024
March 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
February Newsletter 2024
February 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
January Newsletter 2024
January 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 Newsletter 2023
December 2023 Whether you’re experienced famous inventors or a newbie who just came up with your first big Invention idea, the Inventor Smart Monthly Newsletter
November Newsletter 2023
November 2023 Whether you’re an experienced inventor or a newbie who just came up with your first big idea, the Inventor Smart Monthly Newsletter is
