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:
Finding the right contact person increases the chances your invention will be seriously considered.The best person to start with at a company is someone in the role of "Product Manager." There are different names for the function at different companies. As a rule, it's someone on the marketing side who is in charge of commercializing similar new products, the person who would, for example, present your invention to Walmart or negotiate with Amazon, once it's developed. Next best are people with titles like VP of Design. Try to avoid engineering (although you may end up there). Sales and marketing people ...
Seeking end user customers, pitching licensees, pitching retailers and pitching partners/investors to start your own business are very different things. Each one has a different emphasis:1. Customers care about features and benefits and price.2. Licensees want a competitive advantage, ways to increase profits. Patents that cover the lowest cost, best way of making something or cover an innovation that will enable them to expand market share. 3. Retailers want to know why (and how) your product will generate more profit for its allocated space (peg, shelf, counter, floor or web page) than existing/alternative products, that you will be reliable and ...
You should be. But don't let the worry stop you.Checking for possible infringement issues can get complicated and very expensive. A legal opinion from a lawyer on whether or not your invention violates someone else's patent rights can be (usually is) MORE expensive than getting an issued utility patent!This is an area that's filled with gray areas and many, many unknowns, especially in fields that move quickly like tech and biotech. If it's a hot field, even if you can't find anything to worry about in a search, there's a decent chance someone already has a patent pending (including provisional ...
You have a brilliant, amazing, life changing invention (or at least one that will reduce frustration a little bit or make life more fun). How do you tell people about it? You have a fraction of a second to grab attention, maybe two seconds to engage someone to start paying attention and maybe 10-30 seconds to hold attention and convert them into action, like buying or giving up an email address. With all of the advances in measuring and following consumer behavior over the past 20 years you'd think that marketing had become easier, that there's an easy formula. I'm ...
Adventures in Manufacturing InventionsWe just received three quotes for a new product. It's a single piece but uses two different types of plastic, a soft plastic co-molded over a hard plastic. It's small too. I guessed and hoped the unit cost would be approx $0.50 per unit and the mold around $10,000.Quote 1 / USA: Tool = $16,400; unit cost = $2.85Quote 2 / China: Tool = $21,395; unit cost = $2.67Quote 3 / China: Tool = $10,000; unit cost = $0.50The China #3 quote was exactly what I'd hoped for! We've also worked with the factory before and LOVE ...
