Inventor Resources

Prototyping

Satellite IoT 101

The Achilles’ heel of IoT is that it only works in places that have infrastructure to move data to the cloud. WiFi and ethernet work great inside of buildings, and cellular and LoRa help in remote areas, but all are at the mercy of how much coverage is available.

Inventing 101

Understanding Improvement Patents

With an improvement patent, you add improvements to a previously patented invention. If you are not the owner of the previous patent, you might be able to get a patent but not be able to sell the product related to the patent because you would be infringing on the original patent.

Social Hour

Going Communal on Facebook

Last month, this column covered using LinkedIn Groups to share and improve your invention. But Facebook, with its massive user base and diverse set of tools, also offers fertile ground for inventors and entrepreneurs to build and nurture a dedicated following.

Think Marketing

Creating Careful Chaos

Innovation isn’t invention; it’s often a necessary, welcome change in the way we do things. The strategy must balance the chaos of innovation with the stability of conformity. This is the most efficient, cost-effective path to successfully launch an innovative product.

Lander Zone

Patent Search Options

If you do your own patent search without much experience, you probably will not find the prior art the patent examiner will find during searching. This will result in the rejection of your patent application if you file it on your own. 

Social Hour

Safety in Numbers

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, provides many opportunities for inventors and entrepreneurs to find new ways to refine ideas, gain feedback and network. LinkedIn Groups can enhance this.

Inventing 101

Think Like a Licensee

Companies always want a margin of at least 50 percent. You need to have a good grasp of the percentage of the retail price the company receives to address this issue. Understand and leverage these 4 main deal-making factors for your potential partners.

Meant to Invent

Licensing Concepts Faster

I have experienced an array of timelines when pitching and licensing new concepts—from licensing an item to the first person I pitched it to, to licensing a concept within a month of pitching to dozens of companies, all the way to licensing a product after pitching it for a couple of years, and everything in-between.

Prototyping

Ouch! That One Stung

A key part of success when crowdfunding is to have a beautiful working prototype with high-quality digital assets (photos and videos). Consider these strategies for launching a product so it does not meet the same fate as the Hornet.

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