The Invent Blog®

New invention promotion company complaints listed on the USPTO site (http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/complaints.htm):

Davison & Associates Inc.
January 2005–Guay’s Complaint, Davison’s Response

Synergy Consultants
February 2005–Santorello’s Complaint, no resposne from Synergy yet

QVC Product Search–QVC is looking for 100 new products to sell…and are offering inventors and entrepenuers and open audition.  They have one date left open this year:  Friday April 22, 2005 at West Chester, Pennsylvania.  Check their site for more details.
[via a mention in Fast Company magazine]

A U.K. consumer advice site with a discussion of invention promotion companies ("Scams–Invention promotion firms")

Denise Howell on the new version of the Google Toolbar
http://feeds.feedburner.com/bagandbaggage?m=415

Kevin Heller on the new version of the Google Toolbar
http://techlawadvisor.com/2005/02/googles-autolink.html

Cool Outlook trick.  Did you know that you can drag and drop in Outlook?  Highlight an address in an email and drag it to your “Contacts” folder or highlight a date and drag it to your “Calendar” folder…and Outlook will take over from there.

There is a wonderful software program that does this same thing, but bigger and better.  Check out Anagram at http://www.getanagram.com.  Anagram allows you to hightlight data in any program (not just in Outlook itself), click CTR-C twice and Anagram will dump the data into the appropriate place in Outlook (addresses, appointments, etc.).  They have a 45 day trial and it is worth trying it out.

If you use Gmail, try out the Gmail Notifier…a little program that runs in your Windows system tray and notifies you when you have email (see:  http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/index?promo=gdl-en).  Want a similar thing for the Mac?  (see:  http://www.seroundtable.com/archives/001009.html).  Want a FireFox extension that does the same thing?  (see:  https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=173&vid=331&category=)

Patent Chronicles—Insights into software and business method patents from a patent searcher.

My Guide to Downloading Patent Copies off the Internet has been updated with this:

• PatentHunter.  Free trial version.  Subscription basis.  US version $69, International version $99.  PDF and HTML.  Seems to be a comprehensive searching program (not just a patent downloader).
• PatentOrder.  Patents: EPO, USPTO, DEPATISNET ("this German Patent Office service covers a variety of countries"), Canada, Australia, France, Spain, others. Single PDF via e-mail.  Free trial.   Price unknown.
• PatDocs.org.  PDF of US patents.  Two products, Patent Reader (free) and PatPDF ($59.95).

Via the USPTO site:

Senior officials of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, as well as a representative from the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program, will be available live on-line next Thursday, February 24, from 2 to 3 pm (EST). They will be answering questions and offering tips for independent inventors. Instructions for taking part in the online will be posted on the home page of the USPTO website at 10 am (EST) on Thursday. Inventors can begin logging on for the on-line at 1:30 pm.

The independent inventor on-line is part of the USPTO’s continuing efforts to promote and protect America ’s independent inventors. This effort includes educating inventor-entrepreneurs about the risks of working with invention development companies.

We have transcripts and frequently-asked questions and answers from previous onlines available on the Inventors Resources pages. Check them out and save time — your question may already have an answer waiting for you!

Transcript of previous Online for Independent Inventors (25 January 2005) is now available.

Lone Inventor’s Blog on “Invention Promotion Scams“

Pierce Law IP News Blog on “National Inventors Hall of Fame announces its 2005 Inductees”

Question from reader:  “Have you ever run across a flow chart for determining whether a copyrighted work has entered the public domain?”

My answer:  PDF–http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/copyrightterm.pdf or HTML–http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm

Can’t stand the new Acrobat Reader version…wish you could download Reader 4.0?  Look no more.  Check out:  http://www.oldversion.com/  ("Because Newer is Not Always Better").  Old software versions available include:   AOL Instant Messenger, Eudora, MSN Messenger, IrfanView, iTunes, QuickTime, RealJukebox, RealPlayer, Winamp, Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer, Acrobat Reader, DeadAIM, WinZip, etc.  You get the point. 

I frequently store my draft Tech Tips (and other blog posts) as "draft" emails in my Gmail account.  No matter where I am, I can load Gmail and add to the notes.  It is a great use of Gmail.  If you want to try it, send me an e-mail at snipper@gmail.com.

Great tip from Matt Buchanan at Promote the Progress Blog: 
"Check out http://jiwire.com/.  It is a Wi-Fi HotSpot directory, including listings by hotel.  They even have an app you can download to your laptop for on-the-fly locating of Wi-Fi.  All free."

If you have tips…feel free to share.

I stumbled on a great resource earlier today:  a flowchart for determining 35 U.S.C. §102(e) dates [PDF] on the USPTO site.  A text version appears HERE.

On another note, I wouldn’t think you’d be able to navigate the USPTO site like THIS and THIS, but I guess you can.

Don’t forget that THIS FRIDAY (Feb.18) is the deadline for registering for the ABA TECH SHOW IF you want the $100 off early bird discount.  If you are a member of the ABA Law Practice Management section you get another $100 off.  Details here.