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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 23, 1990)
turns profit Joe Sorenson Despite protection, some inventors taken to cleaners Herbert Hoover, an in formation specialist for the Nebraska Technical Assis tance Center, has some horror stories to tell — stories about Nebraska inventors who sent their ideas and life savings to invention submission com panies and never saw re turn on their investments. “Over the last two years. (NTAC) has received proba bly over a dozen calls" from inventors who were taken by submission companies. Hoover said. Une inventor lost $8,(XX) to a sub mission company. Hoover said. And he said the inventor had no way of getting the money back. “Its not a good story." he said. “It’s a sad story, in fact.” Hoover said the problem is that no one knows how many Nebraskans are taken by submission companies. “I feel there are a lot more out there." he said. Hoover said most invention submis sion companies work from the East Coast, with Washington. D.C., Penn sylvania and Massachusetts the three areas where most locate. The submission companies charge several thousand dollars to send ideas to marketing companies. But inven tors could do the same thing them selves for the cost of postage. Hoover said. The biggest problem with submis sion companies is that they do not do “good, tnorough patent searches." Hoover said. A patent search involves looking through other patents to deter mine if an invention is unique. Submission companies “don’t follow up on their promises." Hoover said. “They run with the idea without check ing to see if the idea is available for them to use in first place." The inventor should have gone to the nearest patent depository or li brary" to do a patent search. Hoover said. Marvin Twersky, president of the Lincoln Inventors Association, said patent searches are important. “I would say it's the first thing, the No. 1 thing you do." Twersky said. Hoover said one inventor who called NTAC for help had contributed almost $35,000 to a submission com pany and it was asking for more. Then, “we did a search and the idea was already patented” by someone else. Hoover said. But inventors don't have to rely on submission companies for help in ap plying for patents and researching and marketing their inventions. Help is available from such resources as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Engineering Library patent depository, the Lincoln Inventors Association and lawmakers. Alan Gould, librarian at the Univer sity of Nebraska-Lincoln Engineering Library, said the library has been a patent depository since 1978. Patents on collection there run from 1790 1889 and 1941 to the present. NTAC does free patent searches for many inventors, but inventors may do searches themselves or with assistance at the library. Gould said. Hoover said NTAC interns will do a free patent search on an idea, but they have a four to five month backlog. For inventors, doing their own searches has the advantage of keeping the idea secret, he said. NTAC also offers short-term engi neering assistance. Hoover said. After helping with patent searches and pro viding engineering assistance. NTAC officials refer the inventors to business development centers. Although NTAC provides research services, its officials cannot ask inven tors to stop using submission compa nies. Hoover said, because the compa nies operate legally. But NTAC can tell its clients to be wary. “When we get through working with a client, we may say they should get a patent attorney." Hoover said. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Of fice offers the Disclosure Document Program which allows inventors to register their ideas with the patent office. These papers are kept at the Patent office for two years. The inven tor is not given patent protection, but this allows them to register their idea. Twersky said one oilhe biggest pro tections for inventors is keeping a bound notebook, or personal log, during the development oi a product. This includes drawing diagrams and keeping full daily records of progress. Hoover said l he personal logs estab lish the dales of the conception of the idea. “The best are the personal logs." Hoover said. “The more documents the better to win a (patent) case." Another possible help for inventors could be considered by the Nebraska Legislature as soon as next session. Twersky said many states, includ ing Nebraska, are considering tighter restrictions on invention submission companies. In Nebraska. Sen. Lowell Johnson of North Bend said he is working with several groups and individuals on writ ing similar legislation. Johnson said one of his constitu ents got him interested in the issue after he reported having trouble with an invention submission company. See COMPANIES on Page 11