1. Are you lawyers?
No, we directly
are not lawyers. However, if a legal issue arises we have
an expert network of honest down to earth legal representatives
that help us constantly. This includes an outstanding Intellectual
Property law firm in our region.
2. Are you certified patent agents or licensing agents?
We
do have a patent agent on our staff and our outsourced legal
team has many patent agents, patent
engineers, and patent lawyers. We are not certified license
agents, there is no official certification offered for product
representation.
3. Are you consultants?
We are and we aren’t. It really
depends on how involved the inventor wants to be in the process.
You can choose a full service (we do everything) and then
basically we are consulting as we represent. If you are actively
involved, then we are more like partners versus consultants.
4. Do your company resources know the Intellectual Property
process inside and out, including domestic and foreign laws?
We know the process very well because we have gone through
it frequently with all of the patents we have filed. However,
we are by no means the experts in IP legalities, that is
why we work so closely with our legal team. We focus on marketing
and selling concepts and let the lawyers focus on the legal
requirements.
5. How do you get paid for your services?
We get paid when we are able to bring you commercial value
for your invention. If and when we bring you commercial value
(revenues), we will receive a very fair (much lower than
other representatives) commission based on gross revenue
receipts. All terms regarding compensation are agreed to
up front with a no hassle process.
6. Do you help inventors who are in need of funding?
Yes, in some cases, we are willing and able to help invest
in certain projects. Of course, we are a small business and
have extensive money tied up in our own intellectual property
and business roadmap. However, if there is a fit and available
budget, we will help subsidize a portion or all of the expense.
In doing so, we would negotiate a % of ownership of the concept
rights.
7. How do I know my idea is safe if I disclose it to you?
First, we would like to build your trust by talking with
you over the phone, sending you references, asking you to
view our website, asking you to call Dun & Bradstreet,
asking you to call the Better
Business Bureau, and any other
investigation you feel necessary. There are a lot of scams
out there and our team has to work extra hard to win over
the trust of potential clients. After building trust, we
will sign a non-disclosure agreement (either you provide
or we can), we will file the NDA with our lawyer firm, and
ask you to file with your own lawyer firm. For each company
or potential licensee we work with, you will be notified
in advance and receive all communication transmissions and
meeting minutes. All outsourced services that we work with
on your project will also abide by these rules and you will
be notified of all communication.
8. Can
you guarantee commercial success of my invention?
No, and I don’t think anybody can. The best we can
do is evaluate your concept, analyze the current market,
and make educated decisions about the potential of your concept.
We will not take a project that we don’t have faith
in. If we have done some homework on your concept and we
accept it, that means we have strong confidence that we can
create a deal. We are putting in our time and resources up
for free unless we don’t succeed so it is in our best
interest to make it work.
9. Do
you accept all proposals or clients?
No, as mentioned in the
previous question, we only take projects that we feel
we will be successful in bringing the client a deal. If we
have no experience in your particular concept’s field,
then we won’t be able to help you. Also, we may not
be able to take your project based on our resource availability.
We are a small business with a team of people supporting
projects however we may from time to time be very overloaded
with projects. If this is the case, we will always put you
on a first come, first serve waiting list.
10. What if
I sell my idea before your company is able to?
If you choose to sell your product in parallel to our representation
(e.g. you or another representative are also seeking a deal)
then we would like to at least know of your actions. If you
land a deal first, then you can decide to use our services
to help you with that deal or you can simply cancel our services.
11. What
if I choose to work with you and in the future decide to
cancel?
You may cancel at any time, please be courteous
to the time that we put in and the effort we make. If we
work very hard and you cancel, we may ask you to compensate
us for the time we have invested.
12. Is
there an agreement or contract to sign?
Yes, in any business arrangement where time, money, and
intellectual property is involved, a contract or agreement
should be put in place. We would like to work with you to
establish a very fair set of terms and conditions that can
be documented and signed by both parties. This agreement
will in no way be a long drawn out legal nightmare. Because
we are inventors like you, we will agree to terms/conditions
that are equally fair to the inventor as well as the representation
firm. Note, most representation firms you will find have
their agreements heavily skewed in favor of the company and
not the inventor. Be aware of this.
13. How
involved will I be in the process?
As much or little as you want to be. If your background,
experience, and time allows you to be involved in the project,
then we will do our best to accommodate you. If you choose
to be completely hands off, that is also your option. We
recommend starting inventors to be involved if they can so
they can learn the process and one day do it for themselves.
14. Do
you represent my inventions at trade-shows?
It is very possible that we will feature your invention
at one of the many tradeshows that we attend. We plan to
attend at least 12 major tradeshows per year. Tradeshows that we attend are generally in the categories of our own
inventions found in our portfolio. If we represent your project
there may be some nominal cost to you to cover such costs
as shipping, printing, booth attendee cost, and potential
booth space. Not all tradeshows are alike so we do not have
one set of rules. Because of this, we will have to discuss
with you any details about your concept’s inclusion
into our tradeshow actions.
15. Do
I get any special promotion or advertising of my invention?
Yes. All clients receive a free membership to Inventchain™ which
includes invention listings and an inventor network. This
membership is a $360 per year benefit.
16. Where
are you located?
We do business out of multiple offices in
the Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area. We are
planning to add more remote offices in 2006 potentially including
New York City, Chicago, and far east offices most likely
in Taiwan. Our addition of these offices is driven by our
main business which is the support of our own inventions.
In addition to adding remote offices, we do travel to many
cities throughout the year enabling us to meet people in
person. Cities we visit annually include but are not limited
to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh, New
York City, St. Louis, and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale.
17. Do
you travel on behalf of clients?
Yes we are willing to travel
on behalf of clients however specific traveling
for a single client (e.g. if we are traveling for you and
only you) then we will ask for 50% up front fee of travel
costs before travel and the balance of 50% at the conclusion
of the travel. If we are already traveling (to a tradeshow
for example) then travel costs would be minimized if not
zero. Again, there is no set rule so travel also must be
discussed with us.
18. What
products do you have on the market?
All of our inventions
on the market can be viewed at our portfolio. This includes
products we own and also those that we represent.
19. Why
do you charge lower commissions than typical agents and brokers?
Because we feel that the inventor should reap
the most benefits. We charge less but if we do our work we
will gain enough compensation to pay us for the time and
resources dedicated to your product. Also, because we are
inventors, we are very used to large companies and license
agents approaching us and asking for > 50% commission
or ownership. We think this is ridiculous and will not be
put in the category of money hungry large companies.
20. Why
don’t you charge inventors an up front or monthly
fee for representation?
Because we can’t guarantee
you any commercial success will result from our representation.
Also, we want to be different than the others who charge
retainer fees, down payments, and monthly payments. We feel
that if we work for free up front, it will cause us to work
harder and with more passion. This hard work and passion
will lead to our future compensation if we can land the inventor
a deal. Simply, we don’t do it because we don’t
like it when companies try to charge us up front for representation.
21. What
charges, if any, would I incur in order to get my invention
through the process?
Although we do not charge
for representing you, it may be determined that your invention
is not ready for marketing. In most cases, inventors have
not done the following:
a. Searched idea
b. Filed for patent
c. Created graphics and other visual presentations
d. Created prototypes (if applicable)
In such cases, 21ICC may not take the project if there are
large gaps in the requirements. As mentioned previously,
we may have the ability to help subsidize such costs however
all inventors need to understand that it takes money to put
into concept in order to get any money out of it. The old “it
takes money to make money” cliché is something
that all inventors are well aware of.
Do not get discouraged, if you feel your product has potential,
take great passion in that and find a way to make it happen.
A common acronym known to small businesses is OPM (other
people’s money). Think of this if money is your hurdle.
Relatives, Friends, Banks, SBA (small business administration),
Private Investors, and our team can help you.
Any questions we haven't answered
for you, please feel free to fill out the following form
and we will do our best to respond as quickly
as possible.
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