Inventor Help

If reading is one of the ways you learn best, check out the following books.

The Inventor’s Bible, by Ronald Louis Docie, Sr. (Great Content. A Must Read)
How to License Your Million Dollar Idea, by Harvey Reese (Fast read. Good information)
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cashing in on Your Inventions, by Richard C. Levy (Make sure you have this one in your library.)

And one of my absolute favorites, The Magic of Thinking Big, by David Schwartz, Ph.D

These books offer highly valuable and reliable information – if you’re confused on a subject and need clarification, they can help. But they rarely offer a path to follow or steps to take. They’re descriptive, not prescriptive.

Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office website (uspto.gov) – I knew few inventors who do so as frequently as they should. The USPTO has devoted an entire section of their site to “Inventor Support”, offering a FAQ on patents, copyrights, and trademarks in their resources section. The site also explains the ways you can use the USPTO to get even more inventing help (freely).

Join an inventor’s group. Check out the following listings. If you learn best from other’s examples and want to network, then this is a great path. Some inventor’s groups are stronger than others, but each offers the opportunity to meet someone with whom you might connect or learn from. Or at the least, vent to. Visit Inventors Digest for a complete list.

Read Inventor’s Digest. The magazine is one of the best ways to get current information about inventing and the inventing community. Check it out online for free.

Join a forum. Forums aren’t always reliable, but they do offer the chance to interact with thousands of other inventors and experts. And in that way, they’re unique. Have your own question? Post it. Or read through previous threads about topics that are sure to be familiar to you. I like and use the forums on “inventorspot.com” and obviously, “inventright.com”.

Don’t know what company to approach or how to get the information you need to do so? As I wrote last week, InventRight has created a directory of companies online, and it’s free. Others exist, but you usually have to pay to access them. Inventions are wanted – find out what type and where.

Get the inventing help you need by relying on more than one of these tips. Knowledge is power. Gain enough of it to empower, but not overwhelm yourself.

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Stephen Key is a successful award-winning inventor who has licensed over 20 products in the past 25 years. Along with business partner Andrew Krauss, Stephen runs inventRight, a company dedicated to educating inventors about selling their ideas and the skills needed to succeed. You can ask questions and get advice on the inventRight forum, check out the resource center, and listen to the weekly radio show on inventing.