Avoiding Invention Scams

" Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud."
Sophocles

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Remember the adage, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is"?
Every year thousand of dollars and even invention ownership rights are lost to scheming invention promoters. Do your Homework. Thoroughly check out anyone or any company offering to promote your invention, talk to other inventors, join an inventors club. Remember the three rules of inventing: DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT.

The two articles below are reprinted from Clark Howard's website http://www.clarkhoward.com/categories/scams-ripoffs/invention-scams/.
Clark is a supporter of inventors and I recommend visiting his site for more information.

Company busted for duping would-be inventors
Clark Howard is a huge fan of inventors and people who have a great idea they want to market. On the flip side, he despises criminals who take advantage of these inventors with phony marketing schemes. Most of them tell ask for a small fee to find out about the popularity of the product. They come back and tell the inventor that the product got a great response in testing and will make tons of money if marketed. That’s when they tell these inventors they have to pay much more money to get the product marketed. Then they take off with $6,000 to $15,000 of your money. One group – Davison Associates – was recently busted for stealing $26 million from would-be inventors. That is just one group of many committing this crime. This phony scam has been going on since Clark has been in radio and you need to be careful.

Inventors get taken by con artists
Clark Howard often hears from inventors after they’ve gotten scammed by phony marketing and invention groups. Those late night invention offers you hear on television are not to be trusted. Many of these offer kits and charge you money for that. Then, they start working you. The first request is for between $500 and $800 to do “market analysis.” Then, a salesperson will call four to six weeks later so it appears they’ve been working on the idea. But, they say, they need to do more market analysis, and that is going to require more money. The second step of the con takes place at this point. Then, after they get your money, they disappear. It’s a two or three step process and people get taken all the time. It’s hard to find legitimate companies in this area, but one company that Clark has looked into is called “Bigideagroup.net,” and it looks okay. If you go with this outfit, you don’t get a lot of the cut. But the company seems to follow through with its claims. In the meantime, protect yourself!

	Federal Trade Commission Opening Statement Of Jodie Berstein Director, Bureau Of Consumer Protection July 23, 1997.			USPTO Scam Prevention Brochure Scam prevention in PDF format.

	Federal Trade Commission Facts for Consumers / Invention Promotion Firms.			United States Patent Office USPTO Launches Media Campaign to Counter Patent Scam Artists.

	United States Patent Office Scam Prevention from the USPTO.			Clark Howard Articles on Invention and Patent Scams.

If you have additional information, stories to tell or if you have been scammed please contact our webmaster. Thanks

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Page Last Updated June 13, 2024