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Guess what? The federal Trade Commission (FTC) estimates that over $100,000,000 is being scammed by fraudulent Invention Marketing and Invention Patent Companies on consumers annually. That’s $100,000,000 of your money.

The main reason there is such a problem is due to the fact that the general public is not aware of the problem until it is too late. By too late I mean they have already been suckered into the web of an invention company and spent their money.

I’m sorry to say that as much as the invention companies are at fault, so are consumers. Here is what I mean. A new first time inventor generally does not know how or where to begin. They go online to Google, Yahoo or whichever search engine they like to use. They type in keywords like ‘invention idea’ or ‘patent an invention’ (it can be any phrase you think of). Up pops both the Organic web-sites (those are the ones in the center of the page) as well as the paid ads by most of the fraudulent invention companies as the Sponsored Ads on the right side.

The inventor quickly browses the page and eventually clicks on the ad that for whatever reason appeals to them the most. Some people will click two or three ads as well. When clicked, it takes you to fancy looking Landing Page for that particular company. Now, these companies know exactly what to say in print to get the inventor to take action.

One gimmick used by these companies is called a “Free Inventor’s Kit’ or a ‘Free Invention Package’ or whatever they call it. The hook is the word ‘Free.’ The inventor thinks, ‘Oh wow, it’s free, let me check it out.’ Big mistake!

Sure, to fill out the company ‘Confidential Disclosure’ is free, but what comes next is not. If you were inexperienced and you completed that so-called free disclosure form, you could also be foolish enough to get sucked into their invention scam game as well and end up paying hundreds and then thousands of dollars for absolutely nothing of value in return.

You see, the new inventor has three things going against them at that moment.
1. They nothing about the invention process.
2. They are emotionally involved with their invention.
3. GREED. Yes, greed. All new inventors think they are going to make millions of dollars with their new gizmo and gadget.

At the same time, these invention scam companies know this and are ready to pounce. They know you don’t know anything about the invention industry. They know how much you believe that you have the next Hoola Hoop and they especially know that you think you are going to make millions of dollars. That is their game and that is their hook and you are their fish. In many cases you are their ‘whale’.

What inventor’s don’t realize is that the scam artist on the other end of the phone is a commissioned salesperson. They only make money when spend it with them. The more you spend, the more they make. Some company’s pay these scammers commissions that range between 20% to as high as 40% and in some cases more. They even pay monthly bonuses to high producers.

These salespeople will say whatever it takes to get you hooked. They care little to nothing about your invention and will go as far as to say you have a great idea or this is a sure winner or I’ve never seen anything like this before. The only thing these salespeople care about is your wallet and their wallet. How much can they take from yours to put into theirs’?

By now you may be thinking, how does Victor know all this? Was he one of these salespeople? No I was not. Was he scammed by one of these companies? YES I WAS! That is how I know what goes on. After I got scammed, I became irate. I went on a mission to find out as much as I could about these scam companies and start to warn the public about them.

I went online and played the role of the new inventor with as many companies that I could find. I will admit however that there are a few that are not scammers but honest companies. Unfortunately they are out numbered 10 to 1 by the scammers. I am not going to name names in my articles, just my knowledge and experiences.

You can actually learn quite a bit about the invention industry by speaking with these scammers but not spending any money with them.

So, don’t waste your time or money with these scam companies. Do your homework and research the industry before you get started.

Victor Martel is a professional inventor. He is very concerned for new inventors to make sure they do not get scammed. His web-site http://www.inventionscamalerts.com is designed to help inventors. He offers an Invention Evaluation test. It tells inventors if they have an idea to pursue.

Some people get confused between trade secrets and trademarks. A trademark is something that is publicly recognized and known as being officially associated with a particular company. In contrast a trade secret can be a much more broad definition and by its very name is not made public.

According to the laws in most states, any device, pattern, formula, idea, or collection of information that gives the owner an advantage in the marketplace and is protected by the owner in a way that shows that it can be reasonably expected to keep their competitors or the public from finding out about it without stealing it is considered a trade secret.

There are many examples I can give of trade secrets. In an actual product, a trade secret could be the way certain ingredients are combined in the formulation of a nutritional supplement. Recipes, in particular those employed at commercial restaurants, are considered to be trade secrets.

One very famous one that I can think of right off is Colonel Sander’s recipe for his Kentucky Fried Chicken. An idea for an invention that one has that they have not filed for a patent on yet would also be considered a trade secret, as are the complex algorithms that search engines like Google use to give us search results online.

Trade secrets are the opposite of other types of protecting of intellectual property such as trademarks and patents. The whole idea of a trade secret is to keep it from public knowledge and it is basically something that a person or company does themselves. Your trade secret will be given protection under law until you make the information public.

Companies and individuals protect information that they are unable to guard with other legal means such as patents and trademarks. There are numerous things that can be considered trade secrets. An idea that will give you a big jump over your competition in a particular market or even an idea for a piece of software or a website would also be a trade secret. Business information that you keep secret and only allow access to by employees such as marketing plans, costs, and pricing would be protected under law.

According to the law, the owner of a trade secret can legally prevent employees from using trade secret information or disclosing it by binding them with confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements. They also have legal protection from people who get the information by stealing it or through industrial espionage as well as people who get the information knowing that it is a protected trade secret.

The best way for a company to protect itself legally is to have employees sign a non-disclosure agreement, also known as an NDA. You should also have them signed by anyone that you do business with such as lenders and investors. An intellectual property attorney can help you with drafting this important document.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach Florida. Find more about this as well as trademark lawyers at http://www.focusonip.com

In the United States there are millions of people every year who create original music, research, or write books and other forms of creative expression. These are covered by the term intellectual property and are given protection under copyright laws. If you are a publisher, writer, or editor it is crucial that you are knowledgeable about copyright issues more than ever. With the Internet there has been an enormous increase in counterfeiting and pirating of books, music, and other intellectual property. A report last year from the World Customs Organization indicated over a half a billion dollars in counterfeit and pirated products were put in the marketplace globally in 2005.

Every business in the United States is susceptible to Intellectual Property theft; small businesses are at an even greater risk. Individual writers and owners of small publications offer a large cache of information for intellectual property thieves to grab, and as I pointed out above, the Internet has made it very easy to do. To guard against this happening to you or your company you need to know what your rights are.

A copyright under U.S. law protects authors of “original works of authorship” fixed in any material medium of expression. This can encompass sounds, notes, words, numbers, pictures, and virtually any other media. Works that are covered under copyright law are diverse and include artistic, architectural, literary, dramatic, audiovisual, and musical. A work does not have to be published to be covered.

According to the copyright law passed in 1976, the owner of a copyright has the exclusive right to distribute, reproduce, perform, and display their work. The rights are transferable by the owner who may license them, sell them, donate them to charity or even leave them to their heirs. According to the law, it is not legal to violate any of these rights, and if the owner of a copyright wins in a claim for copyright infringement, the court may order both preliminary and permanent injunctions barring any and all present and future infringements and may also order the surrender of the offending materials.

Many people think that there is some big process they have to go through in order to obtain a copyright. The fact of the matter is your work is protected by Copyright Law when you create it and it is placed as a copy or recorded the first time. An article you write is protected, as is a song or music whether it is in sheet music, on a CD, or both forms of media. Despite this fact it is still recommended that you register formally with the Copyright Office to establish a public record and give yourself concrete legal protection for any suits filed in court.

A copyright gives you protection for 70 years after your death or if you created the work with another it lasts 70 years after the last surviving author’s death. As far as anonymous works and works that were made for hire, the time is extended to as long as 120 years from the date of creation.

Unfortunately there are no international copyrights to guarantee you copyright protection globally, but most countries recognize the Berne Convention on the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works and/or the Universal Copyright Convention. These are the top international copyright agreements for providing foreign authors with copyright protection. If you are in doubt about whether or not a work you have is protected, be sure to consult with a qualified copyright attorney. That is the only way to be absolutely sure you have all the bases covered.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach Florida. Find more about this as well as copyright attorneys at http://www.focusonip.com

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