In working on my book, Smart Inventors Finish Rich, Ten Steps to Reaching the American Dream, I got to interview some amazing women and learn about a whole bunch of great technology created for and by moms!

Women Have Been Inventing Since the Beginning of Time
I know sometimes the world of invention is thought of as more of a man’s domain. In reality, women have been inventing since the beginning of time. For instance, did you know that the inventor of the ice cream machine was Beulah Louise Henry? She began inventing as a small child, sketching mechanical gadgets, and received her first patent at age 25 for the ice cream maker in 1912! Ellen B. Boyce obtained a patent for a washing machine way back in 1862. And the machine that made the grocery bag? That patent went to Margaret Knight in 1871.

What is interesting is that in preparing for an upcoming inventor’s summit, www.workinginventorweekend.com, I have gotten a lot of emails from women inventors! They were very glad to see that Thomas Edison’s grandniece, Sarah Caldicott (with her new book, Innovate like Edison) and I are on the list of guest speakers. When people find out that I coach inventors, it seems EVERYONE has an idea that they would love to see in the marketplace! If you think I might be talking about you, and you want to be inspired by amazing inventions, inventors, and their ingenuity, read on!

Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grant
One of the most fascinating people I got to talk to was Audrey Reed-Granger, Director of Public Relations at Whirlpool. There she heads up the Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grant Rewards Innovation and Ingenuity of Mom Entrepreneurs event. And, get this: the invention CAN’T have anything to do with appliances. Whirlpool wants to reward women inventors who are making the world a better place; not better appliances!

Mary Anne Amato from New York is one of the winners of the Whirlpool invention contest. Mary Anne invented the Quick Change Crib. Mary Anne’s crib allows parents to change crib sheets without lifting the mattress or removing the bumpers, which is the normal practice when changing sheets in standard cribs. Her design lets parents slide the mattress out of the crib, giving direct access to change the sheets.

No-Squeeze Juice Box Holder
Owner and creator, Julie Steele, came to the invention world via her stay-at-home mom status. With two toddlers who loved to squeeze juice boxes all over the car, around the house, and onto themselves, she was a woman in search of a solution! Realizing she wasn’t the only parent to struggle with a sticky mess from juice boxes, Julie set out to solve the squirt problem and invented “No Squeeze Juice Box Holder” – a patent pending solution to the squirt problem that is also cup holder-friendly. And Julie created “Story On The Go!™” an audio CD to transform car rides into a fun story-time experience kids will love and learn from. Julie developed 9 original short stories featuring lovable barnyard animals that children ages 3 to 8 will love, and each story theme encourages good behavior! A great solution for carpool, daily errands, road trips – even bedtime! www.nosqueeze.com

Ellaroo Baby Carriers
Creator/owner Vesta Hartman Garcia became an inventor of babywearing industry by creating solutions to fit her life and goals. After her daughter was born in 2002, a limited selection of baby carriers on the market put Vesta on a path that ultimately led to Ellaroo. Ellaroo designs are inspired by traditional baby carriers from around the world while keeping the modern, style-conscious mom and dad in mind. Ellaroo prides itself on not only offering gorgeous, bold baby carriers sure to get noticed, but on being an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable business. All Ellaroo products are made from organic and earth-friendly products. www.ellaroo.com

Native Remedies
Company creators and owners, George and Adrienne, set out to create Native Remedies after having dealt with their own child being diagnosed with disorders such as ADHD and ADD. The disruption it caused in their lives, as well as the devastating effects of Ritalin, inspired them to launch an online destination that offers parents alternative health solutions and hope. To help little one feel better faster and more naturally, Michele Carelse, a Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in natural medicine, formulates the natural, herbal, and homeopathic remedies. With a website chock full of useful health information, from diagnosis to lifestyle advice and recommended products to maintain and improve a healthy body and mind, you can see why they have over 150,000 satisfied customers worldwide.
www.nativeremedies.com

Baby Care Timer
What new parent does not need help with learning and remembering and communicating the basics of baby care? New parents are sleep-deprived and overwhelmed and often find it hard to remember who did what and when - like how long ago a diaper was last changed, how long ago the baby was last fed, or how long ago medicine was given. And it’s not just mom taking care of the baby; dads, grandparents, and others are helping out. To make baby care easier, the ITZBEEN was created. It is a multi-purpose timing tool that helps keep track, communicate, and share basic baby care information with the press of a single button. A quick glance at the ITZBEEN may help someone figure out why a baby is crying; perhaps the baby has been awake too long or needs to be fed! www.itzbeen.com

B.B. Sleep Solutions, LLC
No parent is born knowing how to swaddle a baby, and it’s important because better swaddling can lead to longer sleep times and prevent and treat colic. A solution that would make that happen has got to be music to any parent’s ears! Enter B.B. Sleep Solutions. They offer swaddling blankets and instructional DVDs that educate parents on how to effectively swaddle and soothe baby 100% of the time. www.bbsleepsolutions.com

Think you got a great idea?
If you are a woman and got a hankering for inventing and being innovative, check out the Whirlpool Brand Mother of Invention Grants at www.whirlpool.com/moms. Is it worth going for? You be the judge! I think it is AMAZING!!!

Beth House received a package featuring a $20,000 grant, a new home office, and a two-day business boot camp to leverage Whirlpool expertise, including product development and marketing. In addition, Beth also will receive Whirlpool brand’s most innovative products—a Duet® or Cabrio™ washer and dryer and a Whirlpool® Fabric Freshener. The criteria for the Whirlpool Contest are similar to those of most great inventions: it has to create a solution to an unmet need; it must be unique in the current marketplace; and it should offer a viable business solution.

And if you want to get mini-MBA in inventing and learn how to QUICKLY turn your ideas into cold, hard cash, check out the upcoming Working Inventor Weekend

http://www.workinginventor.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=102

with Scott Evans of PassitOnToday.com. I’ll be there speaking along with some amazing people! And keep me posted–whether it’s how much you loved these products, or you want to tell me about your newest invention, email me at digitaldarlings@earthlink.net.

If you have ever seen one of those commercials for help with your invention, beware. Some and most of those companies are not real. In fact invention promotion companies have a track record is terrible. So if the success rates are so poor, why are these companies raking in the dough at $300M/year?

The reasons primary are:
1. Inventors need better education and resources so they don’t get scammed
2. Invention submission companies revenue model is not based on putting inventor’s products on the shelf.

The first point you might not be surprised about. And fortunately, in more recent years, there are sites like this one and www.workinginventor.com where inventors can find honest answers. The second point is what confuses most people. Here’s why. Most inventors don’t understand that an invention submission company’s revenue model is different from a licensor’s.

A licensor makes their money when they put a product on the shelf and it sells. But an invention submission company’s revenue model IS NOT based on generating revenue from selling a product. Their business model is to charge upwards of $15,000 for a quick evaluation, a report, file a patent (generally a design patent), write up a generalized marketing plan, and supposedly submit your invention to licensors. And they probably don’t see any need to change it because the industry reports show they are making $300M a year doing things this way.

However, a licensor, for instance, would make their money by actually making, distributing, and selling your product. Since the invention promotion companies are not counting on making money from the sale of your product, their motivation to go through the hard work of setting up a manufacturing deal and creating a real product on the shelf is nil. It is not how they make money. Period.

But what is misleading is that they are supposed to, by law, have a certain percentage of inventions made. So that means they are supposed to make at least some of the products that get submitted to them. But when inventors compare the amounts paid to submission companies vs. how much inventors made from selling a product, only .002% (15 inventors our of 6592 inventions submitted) made more money than they paid out.

How Invention Scams Companies Work
If inventor’s success rates with invention submission companies are dismal, how come so many inventors keep doing business with them? It is in part because they use a series of “hooks” to lure inventors into the company’s confidence. Some of the steps sound legitimate and are similar to what real invention development companies do, but the result is very different.

Let’s take a look at the steps. So if you are typical, you are watching TV and you see one of their advertisements. They strike a cord with a “would-be” inventor by asking if you have an idea, would you want to become rich by presenting your idea to industry.

1. You call the 1-800 number to get the “free” Inventor’s Kit. You give them your info

2. They call you to ask for money for an “Invention Evaluation or Review.” Typically this is $500. If you don’t call them back, they keep calling. Once you paid for the Review, then they “discover” that your idea is “original” and could be a big seller.” Many times, this is not true – but they say it just so that you will go the next step with them.

3. You get excited by the news and pay the next “installment” of upwards of $4,000 for the next phase, creating a “Report.” “The Report” comes as a nicely bound book that says your invention is patentable and marketable.

4. Then to continue the process of getting a patent and marketing the invention, there is a request for a lot more money.

5. This process goes on until they end up with a lot of your money. You end up holding a worthless (most times) design patent. A seasoned, respected patent attorney will charge about 1/2 that or less to file most patents.

The Federal Trade Commission has compiled a list of warning signs to watch for when talking to invention promotion firms, Table 1. Federal Trade Commission attorney Peter Lambert says, “Inventors often fall for flattery. Inventors have spent a lot of time and energy thinking about something and they are looking for validation. What inventor’s need is honest feedback — not ego stroking. But because invention promotion companies know an inventor’s weakness, they prey on that.”

Table 1 Invention Promotion Firms Warning Signs
Telephone Script Invention Promotion Firms Use When Speaking To Inventors& The FTC Facts About What Invention Submission Companies Tell Inventors

“We think your idea has great market potential.”
Few ideas - however good - become commercially successful. If a company fails to disclose that investing in your idea is a high-risk venture, and that most ideas never make any money, beware.

“Our company has licensed a lot of invention ideas successfully.” If a company tells you it has a good track record, ask for a list of its successful clients. Confirm that these clients have had commercial success. If the company refuses to give you a list of their successful clients, it probably means they don’t have any.

“You need to hurry and patent your idea before someone else does Be wary of high pressure sales tactics. Although some patents are valuable, simply patenting your idea does NOT mean you will ever make any money from it.

“Congratulations! We’ve done a patent search on your idea, and we have some great news. There’s nothing like it out there.” Many invention promotion firms claim to perform patent searches on ideas. Patent searches by fraudulent invention promotion firms usually are incomplete, conducted in the wrong category, or unaccompanied by a legal opinion on the results of the search from a patent attorney.

“Our research department, engineers, and patent attorneys have evaluated your idea. We definitely want to move forward.” This is a standard sales pitch. Many questionable firms do not perform any evaluation at all. In fact, many don’t have the “professional” staff they claim.

“Our company has evaluated your idea, and now wants to prepare a more in-depth research report. It’ll be several hundred dollars.”If the company’s initial evaluation is “positive,” ask why the company isn’t willing to cover the cost of researching your idea further.

“Our company makes most of its money from the royalties it gets from licensing its clients’ ideas. Of course, we need some money from you before we get started.” If a firm tells you this, but asks you to pay a large fee up-front or to agree to make credit payments, ask why they’re not willing to help you on a contingency basis. Unscrupulous firms make almost all their money from advance fees.

Know your rights. The Inventors Protection Act of 1999 gives consumers the right to specific answers before they sign a contract with an invention promotion firm.
Source: FTC and USPTO

The FTC Targets Legal Action Against Invention Promotion Firms
The rapid growth of such firms and the flurry of legal activity got the attention of Congress in the late 1990s, when lawmakers approved the American Inventor’s Protection Act in 1999. The law mandates that the U.S. Patent Office keep a complaint database for consumer reference. The Federal Trade Commission and various state authorities have taken several sweeping legal actions against invention firms. They began in 1994 and Table 2 has more examples.

The problem is that these companies are so profitable, that a fine doesn’t deter them. They wait a period of time, change their names and resurface on the airwaves. It takes years to establish that they are conducting poor business practices again. Unfortunately, during that time hundreds of inventors get scammed. For more information from the FTC on invention scams, go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/services/invent.shtm

Table 2. FTC Targets Legal Action Against Invention Promotion Firms
Companies the FTC Investigated & The Legal Action from the FTC

American Inventors Corporation
The FTC sued American Inventors Corp. in the mid-1990s after the firm made $60 million off 34,000 amateur inventors The owner of American Inventors Corporation agreed to pay more than $2 million in fines.

Global Development Services Inc.
Global Development Services Inc. settled out of court in 1996, after agreeing to pay $1 million in consumer refunds and to give customers a written notice stating that, since its inception in January 1994, not one of its clients has received profits of any kind from an invention as a result of Global’s services.

National Invention Services Inc.
National Invention Services Inc., an invention promotion firm out of Cranford, N.J., agreed to pay about $750,000 in consumer redress under a proposed settlement announced in July 1998 by the FTC. The case was part of the commission’s 1997 Project Mousetrap roundup, which cited a number of companies for bilking $90 million from consumers.

Universal Consulting Service
(Also called Continental Ventures Inc.,) Agreed in 2000 to refund more than $240,000 to consumers after it was sued by the Missouri state attorney general.

Invention Submission Corporation
The firm agreed to pay $1.2 million to redress consumers without admitting to any wrongdoing. The FTC charged that the company made several misrepresentations to consumers while persuading them to pay fees ranging from $395 to $4,890
Source: USPTO Website. See http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/complaints.htm

Tips to Prevent Being Scammed
If you are talking to an invention submission company, there are several things you must do. First, before you give an invention submission company ANY money, go to the USPTO site and download http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/aipa/hr2215ip.pdf or call 1-800-PTO-9199 to get a copy of this, the American Inventors Protection Act document: Subtitle A- Inventors Rights/Invention Promotion Service.

This document will show you how common invention scam companies are. Second, it will give you the opportunity to test the company’s scruples. Next, ask the invention promotion company to send you an ORIGINAL copy of this law (the one you downloaded.) Compare what you got from the USPTO site (above) vs. what they give you. Oftentimes, what they will send you is a reworded version leaving out certain information. And if they are different, this would be your first red flag that they may be a fraudulent invention promotion company.

Second, the Federal Trade Commission suggests you ask these companies (in writing) for:
• How many inventions it has evaluated
• How many of those inventions got positive or negative evaluations
• Its total number of customers
• How many of those customers received a net profit from the promoter’s services
• How many of those customers have licensed their inventions due to the promoter’s services.

KEEP This Information. If you ever file a fraud complaint against the company, the Federal Trade Commission will want a copy. The AIPA Act requires invention promoters to disclose to inventors in writing the number of positive and negative evaluations of inventions they have given over a five-year period. No real invention firm accepts all inventions. In addition, it also requires them to disclose the customers’ success in receiving net financial profit and licensing agreements as a direct result of the invention promotion services.

For instance, companies must reveal how many consumers actually made more money than they paid the promotion firm. However, most inventors don’t know this and don’t ask for it. Experts say typically companies never reveal this data, or if they do they do so at the last possible moment, after a consumer has all but signed on the bottom line.

Lambert of the FTC said, “I’m not aware of a single invention submission company with over 1 percent.”

Investigate the company before you send any money or make a commitment. Look up the numbers on the internet and call these offices to see if there are any complaints:
• USPTO at 1-866-767-3848
• Better Business Bureau your state or where the company is located
• The Consumer Protection Agency and
• Attorney General in your state and where the company is headquartered.

Be aware, be safe and never stop learning!

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