SLAPPing the whistle blowing inventors

December 28, 2004 on 9:12 pm | In Independent Inventors | Comments Off

Ron J. Riley of InventorEd.com left a comment on one of my posts on invention promotion companies earlier today.  I’m not sure that I’d seen his site before, but it appears to be a great resource of "Information about inventing, inventors, obtaining a patent, and enforcement of patent rights…[and] offers practical advice on what an inventor should do to succeed in this very difficult profession."

One interesting section of his website deals with SLAPP lawsuits filed by invention promotion companies against inventors who dare to speak up when they feel defrauded.  The term SLAPP referring to the "corporate technique of suing people into silence and submission..known in lawyer lingo as "SLAPP
suits," an acronym for "strategic lawsuits against public
participation."" 

Ron’s comment in said post above pointed out (among other things) that you can search for SLAPP suits filed by Invent-Tech (Invention Technologies) by going to http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/civil, selecting "Standard Case Search" and then searching "party name" for "Invention Technologies."

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Girl “inventing” Power

December 28, 2004 on 10:32 am | In Independent Inventors | Comments Off

USA Today:  Research program is a step up for students

Two have U.S. patents. For several others moving in the same direction, it’s just a matter of time.  Two have been inducted into the National Gallery of Young Inventors’ Hall of Fame.  Twenty-two have earned Siemens Westinghouse finalist or semifinalist awards; seven have Intel Science Talent Search honors; and 16 have Intel International Science & Engineering Fair awards.
 
All are students or recent graduates of Hathaway Brown School, a private, all-girls school in this very upscale Cleveland suburb, and all are products of Patricia Kelly Hunt’s high school Student Research Program…
[via Kevin]
 
All I have to say is WOW!!!
 
It reminds me of this article on MSNBC I recently saw:  Motherhood sparks inventiveness (“It is said that “necessity is the mother of invention,” but these mothers are inventors of necessities. They are part of a growing business called “Mom Inventors”).
 
From my experience, 8–9 out of ten inventors I see are men.  Of the women inventors I have worked with in the past, they tend to be much more organized (and their projects are more likely to succeed) than their male counterparts.  Anything that encourages girls and women to invent…is a good thing.
 
 

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Blawging FAQ

December 28, 2004 on 8:42 am | In Weblogs | Comments Off

Dennis at PatentlyObvious had a post this morning about his blog, its history, stats and content.  Similarly, I posted my Tips for prospective blawgers in the same vein last week (for those of you who were on vacation and missed my post…check it out).  The two posts, and comments, are the starts of a pretty decent FAQ for prospective blawgers.

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IP Blogs clean up at the 2004 Legal Blogging Awards

December 27, 2004 on 5:03 pm | In Weblogs | Comments Off

Dennis Kennedy named “The Intellectual Property Blogs” the “Best Legal Blog Sectors” in his 2004 Legal Blogging Awards.  Being one of the IP Blogs…I couldn’t agree more.  IP Blog Sector President Marty Schwimmer’s The Trademark Blog took home the “prize” for Best Practice-Specific Legal Blog.  See Dennis’ post for the details.

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More invention promotion company complaints filed

December 22, 2004 on 8:38 am | In Independent Inventors | Comments Off

The USPTO Independent Inventors site has been updated recently with the complaints from a number of inventors against invention promoters/promotion firms.  Both the complaints (and in due course) and the invention promotion company’s response are available for viewing (even though the USPTO’s links appear to be mixed up..some of the complaints are linked to responses, etc.)

Complaints filed in 2004 include complaints against:  Advent Product Development, American Inventors Corp., Davison & Associates Inc., International Patent Consultants, Invent-Tech, Invention Consultants, U.S.A, IP&R, New Product Advisory Group and Patent Trademark Institute of America.

Some interesting quotes from the more recent complaints:

  • “spent over one hour on the phone persuading me that my idea was a “grand slam” and sure to make me lots of money once his company assisted me in the patent process” 
  • “gave me advice not to file for a provisional application told me disclosure agreement was good enough”
  • “They promised to actively promote my inventions, but they have done very little in that record. They have put me into financial distress. Whenever I call their office on ____, I always get the runaround. When I went to their office in New York City, back in early 2001 Mr. _________ made it sound as if my ideas were sure fire winner and that I should expect to start seeing income within a period of 1 year.”

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Tips for prospective blawgers

December 21, 2004 on 10:11 pm | In Weblogs | 1 Comment

As the year winds down (and I approach my 1 year anniversary blogging), I thought I’d offer a few tips for attorneys who are thinking about blogging.  I (and probably every other blogger) frequently get the same questions asked by other attorneys considering blogging…so why not create a post on the topic?  I’ll also leave the comments open so other blawgers can add their own tips, comments and ideas (and a link to their blog too)…or create their own post and gimme a trackback.  I’ll probably add my own comments as I think of more things.  That being said…on with the show:

1.   Why did you start blogging?  Buzz Bruggeman at ActiveWords (if you haven’t tried ActiveWords…do) kept prompting me to start blogging…I eventually caved.  I had been blogging on our firm’s intranet for a while (I had (years ago) converted my bookmarks into a stand alone html document that I set as my home page…everyone in the firm eventually started using it and at some point I added a "news" section at the top of the bookmarks…that "news" section essentially being v1.0 of my blog).  Considering blogging, I realized that Marty’s Trademark Blog was the Bible of its topic, so I decided to do a patent blog (instead of an IP blog).  Within a few months of my blogs launch, other patent bloggers started blogging (Crouch, Buchanan, Heinze, Sorocco, etc.) and so I eventually started the transition to a blog covering independent inventors.  I’m still working on the conversion, but that leads me to my next point…niche.

2.    Niche.  Most bloggers start writing about what interests them, but most eventually find their voice/audience and start blogging in a niche.  If you are starting a blog, my advice would be to blog about what interests you and don’t worry about standing out right now.  As your blog evolves, you can decide where to take it.  Don’t worry about it now.

3.  How much time does it take?  Like any question you ask an attorney, the answer is "it depends."  It depends on how much time you want to spend.  I personally prefer blogs who give me a post, maybe two, of the best information (rather than bury me in posts to read).  To blog like that, you could easily do it in 5-15 minutes a day.  If you want to write detailed posts, or lots of them a day…it is going to take you some serious time. 

4.   What is your favorite blog?  I really like Homann’s the [non]billable hour blog.  If anyone is going to write something I print out and think about…it is going to be Matt.  At some point in the future I am going to convert my blogroll into a separate post…with reviews of all of my favorite blogs.

5.  Comments, e-mails and forwards.  There are days when all of us bloggers think "why in the world do I even bother posting…"  Thus, if you like a blog, leave comments to posts you like, send the blogger a "great post" e-mail, and please, please, please forward posts you find interesting to other people you think would find it interesting too. 

That’s a good start (and it is getting late)…the comments are OPEN!!

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New (to me) Kid on the Blawgk

December 19, 2004 on 11:05 am | In Weblogs | Comments Off

I was surfing around the other day for an old law school buddy of mine (Keith Good)…and found his blog!  I had no idea he was blogging (he’s even been blogging longer than me).  I thought I might give his blog a mention…please forward its link to anyone you know who might find it interesting.

FarmPolicy Blog.  News, analysis and commentary regarding U.S. farm policy.

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IP Speakers

December 17, 2004 on 10:21 am | In The-Practice-of-Law | Comments Off

I am the CLE Chairman for our state bar’s (Idaho) IP Section.  I’m always looking for interesting speakers on IP topics for CLEs.  If you are interested, let me know.  The state bar won’t allow me to pay an honorarium…but I can arrange for airfare, hotel, etc.  Winter’s a good time for skiing on our local ski resort:  Bogus Basin.  E-mail me at:  snipper@gmail.com.

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Vote for Pedro, er Homann

December 16, 2004 on 8:24 am | In Weblogs | Comments Off

Click on THIS LINK and vote for fellow blawger Matt Homann for an “Influential and Important Legal Thinker” award.  It takes about 10 seconds to do so.  If you want the scoop…see this Homann post.  Homannbuttonphp

UPDATE:  Oh yeah…he is a "write-in candidate."

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Conference calls…the bane of an attorney’s existence

December 15, 2004 on 2:49 pm | In The-Practice-of-Law | Comments Off

I’ve been participating in Matt Homann’s “Think Tank Tuesday” for a few months now, and it has been a great way to meet some really interesting people.  One of them has been fellow blogger Zane Safrit at Conference Calls Unlimited.  Conference Calls Unlimited is kind enough to provide the TTT group with a free telephone/web conference every month and I’ve been really impressed with the quality of their system/services.  They are a full-service phone and web conferencing service provider clearly (from my experience) committed to keeping their customers happy.  Rather then spend oodles of money on advertising, they have been channelling their previous advertising budget back into customer service (it reminds me of Amazon.com…they don’t advertise, they use their “advertising budget” to give customers free shipping).  What has impressed me (I’m a sponge for taking other people’s ideas and applying them to my own business) is how they have grasped the “customer comes first concept” by providing personal attention to their clients, having human beings answer calls (no more talking to machines), etc.  Zane told me that if I know of anyone interested in trying their phone/web conferencing …to have them contact Chaz Czinder at 877-227-0611, ext. 18.  Just mention you that I referred you and Chaz will hook you up with a special price or free introductory offer.

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