Short List For Busy People

If you have an idea, we recommend that you look around, here and elsewhere, before you leap into anything. We advocate that you learn as much as possible so that you can better deal with the world of innovation.

There is no "cook book" in this business. But there are guidelines and principles to follow. See Intellectual Property for examples. We need first of all to know what your ideas and expectations are and something about you as a person. From there, virtually any direction is possible. In that spirit "Short List" is a condensation of our site.


Invention Assessment  

Assess Your Idea — Innovation Institute, Walmart Innovation Network, WIN, Center for Business & Economic Development Southwest Missouri State University. Preliminary Innovation Evaluation System, PIES, can be down loaded in any of several formats. Useful to inventors. Online idea assessments tend to be valid in the limited sense that ideas with low scores typically go nowhere while high scores only indicate a possibility; there is no guarantee. Modest fee.

Invention Evaluation Form — Neustel Law Offices. We concur with the approach taken by this site. Self scoring. Free.

Learn how to proceedIdeas | Anatomy of a Patent | Creativity | Patent It Yourself | Patent Pro Software, We are of the opinion that there is no such thing as software that can do a complete and proper job on a patent application, but it may have use in organizing, structuring and phrasing. So also we recommend that an attorney or agent review your work of art before you file.

Discover the world of knowledgeLibraries / Scientific Information

Find your own nicheInventorship | Entrepreneurship | Creativity. Amargosa sites.

Add to your libraryInventor Help — Inventor's Bookstore: Jack Lander. Jack posts only the top value books for inventors.

Retain an attorneyPatent Attorneys — Neustel Law Offices. Specialists in patents, trademarks and copyrights. Site also contains much useful information for the inventor.

Read about scamsInventnet.com/scam — The inventor's network, non-profit site. Describes how to distinguish legitimate proposals from scams.

Amargosa    
We are ready to help at planting time with pro bono advice.
Creativity — Amargosa. A quick walk through the various dimensions of creativity—how to conceive an idea
Ideas — Page for inventors who have an idea.
Inventorship | Entrepreneurship Notes for the curious.

Getting Started with the Business of Invention    
Remember, patents strong enough and unique enough for commercialization come from combined sophistication in: 1) patent law, 2) writing patent specifications, 3) drawing claims that are protective both broadly and narrowly, 4) manufacturing costs if you manufacture yourself, and 5) the market/competition. It is most important that the inventor know just what it is that he/she has invented and how it all fits together in the eyes of the patent examiner and what he/she will allow. It also helps to know who is who in manufacturing and how to negotiate. There is no substitute for knowledge and knowing where to go for what.

Fraud Awareness — A most important issue.      
Consumer Protection — FTC. The place to start.
Federal Trade Commission — FTC. "Working for consumer protection and a competitive marketplace." Inventor's door for registering complaints with the folks that can do something about it. This site has a lot of useful information and links and is the place to go if you suspect a scam. See also: Invention Promotion Firms — FTC.
"Good Guys" — National Inventor Fraud Center; Neustel Law Offices, LTD. Whatever an inventor / entrepreneur might need can be found on this page. We highly recommend it.
Invention Promotion Firms — FTC. Heads up, and common sense tips on how to detect fraudulent operations straight from Uncle Sam.
InventorEd — Excellent place to start. If you are a novice, try: http://www.inventored.org/novice/.
Inventnet.com/scam | Inventor Red Flags | Inventor Alert — Additional caution lists .
See also Inventor Fraud and California Codes — California. General information of interest.
Scamsters Abound — Business Week / McGraw Hill. Late news from the FTC.

Creativity — Where it all starts     
Creativity — Amargosa. A quick walk through the various dimensions of creativity. An idea is only creative when it becomes reality and that requires the human element.
How Stuff Works — PBY Publishing Co. Interactive and well done with a search engine. The intellectually curious will love this user friendly site. Recommended for inventors of all stripes and ages.
Multiple Intelligences — Thomas Armstrong. Eight ways of "thinking". A useful introduction to this interesting field.

Enabling Links
Anatomy of a Patent — U. S. PTO. Describes the elements of a patent. Helpful for the first timer.
Books about Inventing — The Inventor's bookstore. "Books on the invention, patenting, marketing, and other inventor's related subjects."
Basic Facts About Inventions — Geocities. A brief lay-person's guide.
US Copyright Office — A useful site covering more that copyrights. You can join a forum or contact people who might assist you.
Inventnet.com — The inventor's network, non-profit site. For the independent inventor looking for information on how to develop and market his/her new invention. Excellent range of services. Forum is especially useful and easy to join, requires password.
Inventor Help — Inventor's Bookstore: Jack Lander. Jack posts only the top value books for inventors. Jack is also a businessman who understands the real world. Another COOL guy.
Patent Attorneys — Neustel Law Offices. Specialists in patents, trademarks and copyrights. Site also contains much useful information for the inventor.
Patent It Yourself — David Pressman. A good place to order David Pressman's classic and best selling do-it-yourself book on patents.
U.S. Patent and Trade Mark Office, PTO — U. S. PTO Site. Primary site for general information, guides, searches, rules, legal materials, fees, petitions, data, trademarks, document formats, public affairs.

Invention Assessment   
Assess Your Idea — Innovation Institute, Walmart Innovation Network, WIN, Center for Business & Economic Development Southwest Missouri State University. Preliminary Innovation Evaluation System, PIES, can be down loaded in any of several formats. Useful to inventors. PIES tends to be valid in that ideas with low scores typically go nowhere while high scorers only indicate a possibility; there is no guarantee. Modest fee.
Innovation Evaluation — University of Wollongong. With this site open, click on "Innovation Advice & Support" for a 32 question self evaluation. Also provides on-line exhibitions for inventors and other support. An excellent site.

Marketing your invention      
Inventions that Become Profitable — Nolo Press. "License Your Invention". ISBN: 0-87337-407-X. Covers the nuts and bolts of many issues with forms and discussion. Good luck.
Inventions for Sale — Inventnet. Postings of patents issued and pending that are for sale.
Entrepreneur network — TEN, a non-profit corporation; Ed Zimmer hangs out here. Dedicated to helping Midwest inventors and entrepreneurs through information and connection.
Innovation Evaluation — TIRC University of Wollongong. Provides on-line exhibitions for inventors and other support. An excellent site.
ThinkUSA — Murray Ansell. Links markets and technology world wide. "…services includes market research, market-entry strategy development, product development, and arrangement of both manufacturing licenses and distribution agreements."
Personal Trading Company — eBay Inc. One of the largest of its kind. If traffic is what you want, you might give this site a try.
Invent It — Inventions Marketing Service. A service center providing strategies for inventors for linking their idea to manufacturers.

Information / Raising Capital / IPOs / DPOs 
Home based Entrepreneur — SCORE Electronic Counseling. Counsellors to America's Small Business.
Investment Banking — Yahoo database, business, economy, finance, investment, banking.
Private Stock Offerings — Cambridge Financial Services. Alternative to IPO, software to aid the process, links to further resources.
Proposal Preparation — JADE Research Corp. "The SBIR Resource Center".
SEC Search EDGAR — US Govt Securities and Exchange Commission. This is a searchable index. See also: SEC Home Page
Women in Enterprise — GROW Business Series. Women in Enterprise deliver an ongoing series of business training modules with a strong focus on networking among the women participants. 

Health / Bio Chemistry    
Health Sciences Libraries Consortium — The Health Sciences Libraries Consortium is a not-for-profit organization founded to promote information sharing among its members.
Medical-Informatics — Galaxy. Telemedicine, remote consultation - telepathology, teleradiology.
National Institutes of Health — News, grants, search engine.
National Women's Health — Female health issues, clinics listing
PubMed — Scanned on a daily basis by LeadDiscovery's panel of industrial researchers for breaking publications with drug discovery potential. Selected publications are disseminated to the drug discovery community through DailyUpdates.
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services — News, search, gateways, HHS agencies
Women's Health Weekly — Article database, links.

Energy     
U.S. DOE Energy Research, ER — Info and news, lab & grant info, ER science, support organizations.

Environment     
Earthtimes — Independent publication on environment and current affairs, daily on the web.
Environmental Libraries — Yahoo Links.
Environmental Protection Agency — EPA home page, news, publications, data bases & software, laws, regulations, projects, programs.
Recycler's World — Organized by commodity.

Technologies (Information/Resources)     
Computer Information Center — Current news and events.
Consulting — SRI Consulting. "Specializes in creating growth and opportunity from technology advancements and innovation." Provides broad world views appropriate for our times. Their "Seven Defining Forces" read more like Seven Opportunities to us. Excellent site for the strategic mind.
Engineering Libraries — Yahoo Links. Serves audiences of wide and diverse needs.
Engineering / Technology — Galaxy. A Professional's Guide to a world of information.
High Tech seminars, Conferences & Trade Shows — Centerpiece is an information matrix.
Invention Dimension — MIT. Lemelson-MIT Awards program, Invention related links, what's new, inventor of the week.
Physics Libraries — Yahoo Links
Technology Web Site Guide — WebCrawler search engine for technology.

 

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