Promotion Companies

What About Those Invention Promotion Firms?

In response to a number of inquires as to the efficacy of so-called invention promotion or invention marketing firms, which have these days proliferated television, radio, and newspapers with their offers of promoting an idea, we offer the following observations.

In our opinion, extreme caution should be exercised if one is tempted to deal with such companies.

To quote Deputy Commissioner of Patents Micheal K. Kirke, in his testimony before U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Regulation, 09/02/94:"Unscrupulous invention development organizations attract inventors with tales of huge royalties, take their money, and provide little, if any, real service. Indeed, they often do real harm to the invterests of those they are ostensibly trying to help. I want to emphasize that there are reputable invention develpment organizations. The basic problem for the unwary inventor, however, is that he or she lacks sufficient knowledge about the process of protecting inventions and invention development organizations to be able to distinguish between the good and bad."

The American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 was enacted in an attempt to protect inventors from the deceptive practices of certain invention promotion companies. An overview of this important act may be found at the U.S. Patent Office website, which you may access by clicking here.

The Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. (202) 326-2180 has also pursued unscrupulous invention promotion companies. Under 15 USC 45 and other statutes, the FTC can go after such companies who deceived customers in contracting for their services. Private causes of action under federal law include 18 USC 1341 (Mail fraud statute), 18 USC 1343 (Wire fraud statute), and the ever-broadening RICO Act, 19 USC 1962 (a) & (d). In addtion, many states have enacted legislation in an attempt to curtail activites of said companies, or to provide a means of redressing harm done by them.

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