12th September

I’ve been ripped off by an invention promotion company…what should I do next?

by nipper. | Posted in Info For Inventors   3 Comments »

“I’ve been ripped off by an invention promotion company…what should I do next?”…is a frequent question I receive from readers, particularly in response to my post on Independent Inventors and Invention Promotion companies. 

I recently asked an inventor advocate what she’d recommend.  I’ve taken her recommendations (and added some of my own):

1. Patent Office complaint page.  Unlike the FTC website, directions in how to self-draft it then snail mail are found toward page-end at:  http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/complaints.htm
     
2. FTC.  Filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Comission (www.ftc.gov).  Go to the home page taking the link “Complaint” at the base of that page, filling in answers.  
     
3. State Attorney General.  Submit a copy of your complaint to the Attorney General of the state in which the invention promotion company is located and your state’s attorney general.  A listing of attorney general contact information can be found on the National Association of Attorneys General website.
     
4. BBB.  Submit, mail or fax a copy of your complaint to the Better Business Bureau in the invention promotion company’s home city and your local BBB.  Most people only sumbit it with their local BBB…which allows the invention promotion companies to indicate that they have a favorable rating with the BBB (referring to their local BBB) when in fact they may have hundreds of complaints filed against them in other cities.  http://www.bbb.org

5. RipoffReport.  Submit a complaint to www.ripoffreport.com (enter the invention promotion company’s name in the search box to add your complaint to the existing list).
     
6. Local Media.  Identify your  local (a) “Syndicated” Newspapers and (b) “We Help Consumers” TV show segments.  Identify the name(s) of their investigative reporters leaving a message for them to call you re a local human interest story about an inventor sucked in by an invention submission company. 
    
7.  Local Nonprofit Inventors Groups.  Additionally, if there is a local nonprofit inventors group more likely than not there are other inventors stung too in which case they could band together as a group. 

You could also contact a local attorney (in your state) to discuss any legal recourse you may have against the company. 

Other ideas?  The comments are open.

UPDATE: One inventor pointed out that if you paid by credit card many times you can “file a claim with the credit card company for failure to provide services contracted…” For that inventor, the result was a complete refund.

[Update: See also this post (and its comments) -- Counseling Victims of Invention Promotion Companies]

Related posts:

  1. Another Invention Promotion Company Story
  2. Peoria Journal-Star on getting your invention rolling
  3. FAQ on Invention Promotion Companies
  4. More invention promotion company complaints filed
  5. UPDATE: post on Invention Promotion Companies

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 12th, 2006 at 8:55 am and is filed under Info For Inventors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “I’ve been ripped off by an invention promotion company…what should I do next?”

  1. Doug Says:
    September 13th, 2006 at 8:59 am

    We have had some success in getting part of or in a few cases all of the money back by writing to these companies on behalf of the client. This is something that does not always work, but it is typically well worth the effort.

  2. Melanie Easley Says:
    September 13th, 2006 at 11:48 am

    There should be a free screening area for new inventions and a list of investors willing to invest in some of the best inventions for those of us that don’t tote around enough money to patent our ideas and don’t want them stolen. Personally, I’d be willing to give a certain amount of all royalities to anyone that would help my husband see his invention concerning revoluntionizing the fishing industry, before my husband dies. He needs to know that I’m not the only one that believes in him, like I believed in him in 1984, when he told me about his idea for a coffee machine that brewed only one cup at a time………now look around. Thanks for letting me vent. Melanie

  3. James Jones Says:
    December 21st, 2008 at 2:43 pm

    Add me to the list for class action suit against IP&R if one ever happens. I could have used my $19,500 I was scamed out of for product developement.Steve B. should be ashamed, being a inventor himself. I guess he invented a way to rob inventors of their money.