"Nothing ever works right the first time. You have to MAKE IT WORK."; Thomas Edison
Invention Concepts is able to "partner with" other inventors in perfecting their idea, and "making it work".
We have no interest in "stealing" your idea, as we have hundreds of our own. But, if you have a good idea that "doesn’t quite work right", we can provide several services in helping you to "make it work".
This service can take several forms:
"Patentable Improvements" (which is really our specialty) involves making changes to your invention which are themselves patentable.
Engineering assistance" is simply the process of making ordinary technical suggestions within the "state of the art". One case involving a complex sliding assembly involved a simple suggestion to make a complex part of bronze (for ease of machining), and the simpler element of tool steel.
"Reducing to Practice" entails producing practical drawings and/or prototypes that will actually work. We are especially proficient in devising cheap and simple "proof of principle" prototypes. Sometimes the service is a s basic as suggesting a "quick and sloppy" way of testing an idea that you can do in your own back yard. Or it can be as complex as going to one of our manufacturing contacts for a test of a new metal casting technique.Generally "Engineering assistance" and "Reducing to practice" are done for a negotiable fee, contingent upon "success" in making it work. If this just involves giving advice or making engineering or prototype suggestions, the fee might be quite nominal.
"Patentable Improvements" are a special case regulated by Patent Law. To protect your patent rights, we will normally sign a "recognition of priority" contract, where we stipulate your "priority" to the master concept.
If (and only if) we develop a critical patentable component or process without which the invention could not possibly work, then that (by law) makes us "co-inventors", and places us in a "partnership" position. Even if your idea was legally "weak" (lacking the potential to actually work, as first conceived), the "recognition of Priority" contract prevents us from stealing even an incomplete concept. But that isn't ever our intention. We only make money if YOU make money.
If we merely make a patentable improvement to your idea, and your invention will legally "stand on its own", then our patent rights is for the "improvement patent", and yours are for the "basic patent".Since we are (first and foremost) inventors, we make it a policy not to "invent" for a flat fee. We like to retain primary patent rights for anything patentable we develop, including improvements upon your inventions. But we are neither unreasonable nor greedy.
IF we serve as "consultants" working for a fee on improving your invention, we can negotiate a contract where (if we come up with a critical component or improvement), our "contribution" and "patent right" value is reduced relative to yours. (In other words, if we work for a fee, we do not sign away rights to inventions or improvements on inventions we develop while "employed" by you. We merely reduce the percentage of patent rights (rights to royalties) relative to yours.
OR, if we don't charge any fee, we can "follow the law" and become simple partners if we develop a critical component or (commercially) necessary improvement. Don’t let that scare you though. A typical contract (signed before a "free" consultation does several things: It recognizes your priority, It provides for "binding arbitration" relating to assessment of the relative value of the patent component, and provides a "Confidential Disclosure Form" that bars us from disclosing your secrets to anyone else.
While we often provide "free consultation", please recognize that it may not be completely "free" if we develop a critical patentable component (especially for a device that would not work without it). We are very good at inventing, and can usually come up with at least something that is patentable.
"Free Consultation" is offered largely because it allows us to obtain fractional patent rights in a device that is already being developed (that is, if we can pull a rabbit out of the hat, and invent something that makes an invention works or makes it immensely more valuable.) If we invent a spectacular improvement, it places us in a limited partnership situation, and we will make money when you make money.
If, during such a free consultation, we make critical (non-patent related) suggestions on engineering or prototype production, we ask you to recognize that we are giving you a service "for nothing". We like to solve your problem, even if it doesn't require an invention to do so. If we "solve your problem" with just plain good advice or technical know-how, we REQUEST that you pay us what you feel the service was worth, at a rate comparable to other consultants in the field.