Products created and commercialized by Invention City and its partners have generated over $500,000,000 in retail sales and tens of millions in royalty income. We are actively looking to license new inventions in all categories and all stages of development. When we say "yes" we offer to do it all and pay for everything so that you risk nothing more - we take responsibility for patents, prototypes, engineering, design and marketing, to turn your new invention idea into a manufactured product with a real opportunity for market success. The first step to working with us is our Brutally Honest Review. Click to see the video and read our fine print in bold.
Starting as garage inventors we've had over 25 years of experience creating, developing, licensing and selling inventions to Fortune 100 corporations and start-up companies. This gives us deep first hand knowledge of prior art research, market evaluation, building prototypes, engineering for manufacturing, industrial design, writing and filing US and international patents and trademarks, defending patents and trademarks in the US and internationally, negotiating licensing agreements, managing licensing relationships, sourcing and managing manufacturing and fulfillment, marketing via traditional distribution to mass merchants, chains, individual retailers, direct marketing via DRTV, internet and crowd funding, forming strategic partnerships and launching and selling start-up companies. We don't know of anyone in our industry who's had our breadth and depth of experience. We've enjoyed a lot of success and have learned from failures too. Learn more about us here.
Over the years we've heard from inventors who've wasted thousands, tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuing their dreams and failing. Invention City's mission is to help inventors keep money in their pockets, increase their chances of success and commercialize great new product ideas through licensing and partnership deals. The Invention City team is comprised of successful inventors and entrepreneurs who've made their money by bringing new patented products to market. We want to make money with you, not from you. Read about us here .
Lies don't fly.
Choosing Invention City
The difference between Invention City and other invention companies is the success, depth and unique experiences of the Invention City team along with a business model that's structured to profit with inventors rather than from them. Invention City grew out of WorkTools, Inc., (read about WorkTools here.) We come at this business having been bona fide garage inventors and that's where our hearts remain. These links explain:
We believe that inventors should do as much as they can on their own and then, when informed and ready, seek help and advice from providers who genuinely care. Our Brutally Honest Review is a great way to get professional feedback and a real chance for success. A visit to the info booth is a good way to get started. Be careful about disclosing proprietary and confidential information to anyone. We hope that your visit is productive. Please visit us often and let us know how we can make things better.
Invention City provides inventors and new product idea developers with information, resources and help for each stage of the inventing process. Use the links above to learn how to:
For years I've heard that "drug companies extend patents" to keep on charging exorbitant prices for drugs after a patent runs out. It makes no sense. The life of a patent is 20 years from filing date. It can't be extended. Yesterday, the NY Times ran a piece on how AbbieVie, makers of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira®, "Made $114 Billion by Gaming the U.S. Patent System."The article didn't answer the how directly. It was more concerned about the costs to US taxpayers and to the people who need the drugs. But it did provide enough information to finally figure ...
Yesterday I was contacted by an inventor who had paid $2000 for an utterly inadequate provisional patent application. Now, $2000 and even more for a PPA can be reasonable, provided that it's close to being ready for filing as a non-provisional patent, with the invention described in appropriate detail and decent drawings referenced in the specification. In this case, the filing was a legalistic sounding word salad that barely described the invention and unreferenced drawings the inventor had done himself. With regard to establishing priority, the inventor could have filed his own drawings and a one line description with the ...
Should I Be Doing This?"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." The first steps are easy and fun and cost nothing. You have an idea and spin it in your mind. But once you decide to try and make the idea real, there are real costs with regard to your time, money and focus.Paths diverge depending on your goals, capabilities, assets, personal network and the invention itself. But at the beginning stage, before getting in deep, the question every inventor and entrepreneur should ask and answer is, "should I be doing this at all?"It's human nature ...
FOUR STRIPES VS THREE PLUS $$$$Thom Browne is a high end fashion designer who likes to use stripes on his creations. Adidas is an athletic wear company that identifies its brand with stripes. Adidas, with a trademark on the use of stripes on footwear and clothing, sued Thom Browne for trademark violation. Yesterday, a jury in Manhattan decided that there was no violation. Here is what the fight was about:I had my own trademark run-in with an athletic wear company. Years ago, with dreams of a surf-wear empire, I filed an intent-to-use trademark for "LA SURF" (I also filed for ...
AI will be everywhere in 2023.In 2023 AI will become a part of all of us in ways big and small. In schools, teachers will have a hard time distinguishing student written essays from essays written with prompts using Open AI's Chat GPT. Internet searches will become more conversational with written responses to questions rather than a simple list of links. And people who love images, like me, will spend hours upon hours creating and modifying them with AI assistance (and a bit of photoshop).The image above was created using open AI's DALL-E-2 (with a bit of photoshop). My prompt ...
