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| Best Invention Marketing on a Budget |
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Do you have invention ideas and think one might be the next hot breakthrough product? Of course, you want to protect your idea, develop it, and one day sell your invention. But where do you start?
There are a ton of services at your fingertips, but as a burgeoning inventor, beware —invention and patent companies are extremely varied in what they offer you. It’s a confusing industry for sure, and there are a ton of blurred lines about what each company offers and delivers. That’s where we come in to help.
Article Overview
- How To Choose?
- Best Invention Companies By Category
- Other Recommendations
- How Much Does It Cost?
- Filing A Patent
How Do You Choose An Invention Company?
Before you jump into an agreement with an invention or patent company, there are several things you need to know. The unfortunate truth is that not all invention companies are created equal. In fact, there have been a number of fraudulent practices associated with different companies over the years.
Are You Protected?
Fortunately, the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 gives you some rights. Patent and invention companies are required to disclose certain information before you sign a contract with them, including these four key elements:
- The number of inventions they’ve evaluated and which ones received positive or negative evaluations
- Their total number of customers
- How many of those customers received a net profit from their services
- The number of those customers who have licensed their inventions as a result of their services
How To Get A Patent And Avoid Scams?
Do your research!! In addition to the information companies are required to disclose, here are four key tips that can help you avoid fraudulent practices.
- Review invention and patent practices and laws through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- Conduct a Google search on the company in question—include “FTC,” “scam,” “fraud” in your searches.
- Join a local inventor group and ask for referrals and experiences from more seasoned inventors.
- Consider getting an initial consultation from a local patent attorney or patent agent.
The Best Invention Help Companies
We based our rankings and winners on a number of factors, including services offered, BBB rating, previous litigation, pricing, customer reviews and more.
Best Overall: InventHelp Review
InventHelp has been in business since 1984 and has a long history of providing trustworthy help with inventions. They get excellent consumer reviews and have an A+ BBB rating.
However, if you’re looking for a one-stop shop when it comes to patenting your idea, look elsewhere. InventHelp, as its name suggests, offers you invention help through the process, but you can’t actually file any kind of patent applications through their service and they don’t do thorough research/analysis of your idea.
Their strengths lie in their marketing services through trade shows, a network of companies looking for new inventions, 3-D prototypes, etc. So, if that’s all you’re looking for, Invent Help is a reputable company with a long track record of customer satisfaction.
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Best Invention Marketing On A Budget: InventionHome Review
InventionHome is one of the leading invention companies, and they’ve been BBB accredited since 2003. Their North American Product Invention Network includes thousands of companies looking for new products (Walmart, Target, Best Buy to name a few).
It appears that their main focus is helping you to license your invention, rather than sell it outright, and their prices are reasonable compared to other companies. Invention Home charges 20% of your licensing royalties with no large upfront fees required.
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Best Patent Company: Thoughts To Paper Review
Thoughts to Paper makes it clear from the get-go—they’re not an invention marketing service, like many other companies we’ve reviewed in this article. As quoted on their website, “We are not an invention promotion.” Their strength solely lies in helping you in getting a patent—and they do it well.
What we like about Thoughts to Paper is that they’re up front about what they offer you and most of the fees they charge. They’ll run a thorough patent search for you ($245-$295, depending on the scope), do a patent illustration ($60), and work with you to apply for a provisional or full patent (fees vary based on how much of the application process you handle yourself).
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What About Davison And Docie?
We reviewed several other top invention companies to give you an idea of what you’re facing in this confusing industry. We’ve included some of the top names with our honest, well-researched reviews of each. Click on one of the companies below to jump to its review.
Davison | Docie Invention & Patent Marketing
Davison Review
Davison has been in business for more than 25 years and they claim that they help inventors prepare and present their innovative products.
But Davison has had some major problems over the years, most notably a $26 million fine by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2006 for bogus customer practices and another $10 million settlement with the FTC in 2008 for charges that they deceived customers across the country.
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Docie Invention & Patent Marketing Review
Docie Invention & Patent Marketing was launched in 1976 by Ronald Docie, Sr., a successful inventor and patent agent who’s well-known and respected in the invention assistance world.
He is also the author of The Inventor’s Bible and is still committed to helping future inventors. Docie Invention & Patent Marketing offers assistance with idea evaluation, market research, trade shows and general marketing needs.
They’re not a huge powerhouse; rather more of a consultant firm, where you’ll deal directly with Ronald Docie for his expert advice.
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How Much Do Patents Cost?
Check out this video by an award-winning Houston patent law firm to understand a bit more about the patent process and how much you can expect to pay to patent your idea, design or product.
How Do I File A Patent?
If you’re still unsure about how to get started and how to patent an invention, we recommend reading our companion article on how to file a patent and check out The Inventor’s Bible, Fourth Edition: How to Market and License Your Brilliant Ideas by Ronald Docie, Sr., owner of Docie Invention & Patent Marketing.
As we said earlier, it’s a complicated process, and there are a lot of companies out there that will try to take your money for little or nothing in return. We hope we’ve given you some solid recommendations for avoiding fraud—consider one of our top picks if you want to move your invention along!
What advice do you have for fellow inventors about how to patent a product?
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