New Inventor Top Ten Mistakes

1# Not visiting the United States Patent and Trademark Office Web site
Free inventor resources are available at www.uspto.gov. Free patents searches, free trademark searches, and free advice on how to avoid scams. This is the organization that issues US patents.

2# Promoting inventions that don't exist
Avoid paying for market studies, websites, promotion, non functioning prototypes, and renderings for products that don't exist. In most cases it will be cheaper to design and produce the real thing. If a company cannot produce a working prototype they probably do not know how. Investors will question the lack of a working prototype.

3# Trying to make money and save money at the same time
Choose designers and engineers, by experience and capability not by price. Business is about making money and better companies will cost more. The same is also true for products. Remember most professional are available at hourly rates and spending a few hundred early on can save thousands in mistakes later.

4# Using a one stop shop
Experts tend to be specialists. One stop shops tend to be generalist. Using experts will get you better results for less. For example the best baseball player is not the best hockey player or basketball player.

5# Not using Google
Google is the most powerful information system in the history of mankind. And its free. There is not better way to learn about inventions. For instance Google can locate forums where customers comment on existing products.

6# Not understanding patent basics
Patents are used for protection. New inventors often don't understand how they work and who is responsible for enforcement. Confusing provisional , utility, and design patents could cost thousands of dollars.

7# Not recognizing sales pitches
First time inventors tend to gravitate towards sweet sounding sales pitches. Promises of huge profits, quick returns, and large customer bases. In product development and protection better companies will tend to rely on reputation and experience to draw customers.

8# Believing that an Invention can fail in a year
Inventions do not fail in a year. New uses are found for many inventions. It is important to plan for the long haul and avoid all or nothing schemes. For example the Audio Cassette Adapter was created for CD Players not for iPods.

9# Not representing their Inventions
The Inventor is the main point of contact. Investors, distributors and vendors all want to talk to the inventor. The inventor must understand the product, how it is made, and how it operates.

10# Trying to avoid risk
Developing an inventions is a financial risk. Attempting to secure free services, manufacturing, and engineering indicates a lack of confidence. The inventor must have "Skin in the game".