Inventing Links:

Inventors Associations

General Links

Magazines & Books

Marketing and Licensing

Manufacturing

Patent Information

Scam Avoidance

Toy and Games Inventing

Inventors Associations

United Inventors Association - The mission of the UIA is to provide leadership, support, and services to inventor support groups and independent inventors. Membership is extended to these as well as to others who provide reputable service and support to the inventor community. The Inventors’ Awareness Center is the inventor education and advocacy program of UIA and is presented in detail under the section “Red Flag Warnings.”

International Federation of Inventors Association - IFIA is a non-profit, nongovernmental organization created by seven European inventor associations in 1968. Today, its membership belong to more than 110 countries.  IFIA is the only organization which groups inventors associations worldwide, and a unique spokesman for inventors. 

Houston Inventors Association - Outstanding inventors group servicing the Houston Texas Area

Texas Inventors Association - Home inventors’ group for Ask the Inventors! serving the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas Metroplex.

General Links

Academy of Applied Science - The Academy is recognized nationally as an educational resource center offering enrichment programs for students, and professional development for teachers and educational administrators.

InventorsHQ - Helping inventors from around the world to get their products from the garage to the marketplace for the least amount of out-of-pocket money as humanly possible. 

Invention Evaluation

Canadian Innovation Centre - The Canadian Innovation Centre (CIC) is Canada's leading organization dedicated to assisting inventors and innovative companies. Our range of services includes invention evaluation, technology due diligence, market research, and education programs.

Wisconsin Innovation Service Center - The Wisconsin Innovation Service Center (WISC) specializes in new product and invention assessments and market expansion opportunities for innovative manufacturers, technology businesses, and independent inventors. Since 1980, WISC has researched the viability of over 6,000 projects. Technical experts and researchers use an extensive array of resources to analyze information on technical feasibility, existing patents, market size, competitive intensity, demand trends, and other areas. WISC's research products cover product feasibility, competitive intelligence, distributor assessment, customer satisfaction, and licensing partnerships. 

I2 Innovation Institute - 

Scam Avoidance

Federal Trade Commission 

National Inventor Fraud Center - Provides information to consumers about invention promotion companies and how people can market their ideas.

UIAUSA Red Flag

InventorEd, Inventor Promoter Caution List

Patent Information

US Patent and Trademark Office

Patent Search International

http://www.patentsearchinternational.com/

Finally a  company that does a HANDS ON Patent search AT the USPTO with a legal opinion from a Registered Patent Attorney for only *$225.00
*Normally this would cost $250,
 Mention Ask the Inventors! and get the 25.00 discount.
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TRADEMARK SEARCH

Delphion Site for International patent searching.

Neustel Law Offices, LTD - a patent law office that helps businesses and inventors protect their intellectual property assets including patents, trademarks and copyrights. Michael Neustel is a U.S. Registered Patent Attorney with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and is licensed to practice in front of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 

[email protected] Gerard Moy, a terrific registered Patent Agent here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (although he works with clients throughout the country), for information services and fees, please click here

Patent Hunter - This is a must-have for serious inventors.  This software program, created by U. S. Patent Attorney Michael S. Neustel, allows you to download multiple patents at the same time from the USPTO database.  You now have patents and images available for viewing at your convenience. 

Patent Wizard. This software, created by U. S. Patent Attorney Michael S. Neustel, lets independent inventors prepare and file provisional patent applications that look like they were done by an attorney (a real plus with the USPTO!)

Magazines and Bookstores

Inventnet - The Inventors Network

The Inventors Bookstore  - The United Inventors Association bookstore.

Inventor's Digest - This site is designed for anyone who has ever said, "I've got a great idea. . .Now what do I do?" It's also THE spot for anyone who's searching for the next HOT product! Check out our magazine site and then follow our links to the wonderful world of invention!

Manufacturing

Thomas Register -  Listings of manufacturers according to the types of items they manufacture.  Available in a 20 volume set at public libraries everywhere and in a more limited version online.  When you are ready to locate possible licensees this is one of the first places you should visit.

Licensing Agents

If you have visited our website before you may remember that we used to have a few agents listed.  As our knowledge and contacts in the industry have grown we have come to realize that licensing agents work in specific areas.  We have extensive contacts with legitimate licensing agents and services in many different industries (this includes licensing agents for products as well as licensing agents in the toy and game industry).  We are happy to refer you to the agent who works in the area of your invention and is most likely to be able to help you.  If you are interested in a referral please contact us. We can help!

Toys and Games

Toy and game inventing is a special category of inventing and operates a little differently than the rest of the inventing industry. 

The approach for selling a toy or game to a toy company is different from selling an invention to a manufacturer.  Before an inventor presents his product to a potential manufacturer or licensee it is important that he have some sort of protection for it (i.e. utility patent or provisional patent application) but that is not the case when presenting toys or games.  As a matter of fact, toys and games are almost never patented.  The toy and game industry is very fast moving and they would be left behind the trends if they waited to receive patents for their products. 

This does not mean that you should not conduct a patent and market search to be certain that your product does not already exist; you should. 

The toy and game industry is also different in that it is a very “relationship-based” industry.  The players in the toy and game industry all know one another and they operate on a high level of personal trust.  To be accepted as an “insider” takes years of developing personal relationships with the decision makers in the various toy companies.  It is very difficult for an independent toy inventor to “break into the club.”   This is NOT to say that an individual has not or cannot be the exception.  

If you do not want to fight the uphill battle of getting in to see the decision-makers in major toy companies we can help!  We know legitimate toy agents and we can refer you to them when we know the type of toy you have developed (like every industry, major toy manufacturers specialize in specific types of toys).  Just contact us.  We are happy to sign and fax a signed non-disclosure agreement to you before your submit your toy idea to us.  Or, you can print out the non-disclosure agreement on the "Want Us to Help You" page of our website.  That NDA has digital signatures that we honor.