Books
As an inventor you are likely an expert in regard to your invention (if not you need to become one). Most inventors are not experts in the other required fields such as business, marketing, and legal. To be successful you need to understand and implement the whole program. It is your future you are working on. Get educated and get moving.
Books have always been a great resource for learning. If you take a college course you will most likely be getting most of the information from a book. Here are books that can substantially improve your understanding of the invention process. You can get them at your library or buy them. If you buy them by clicking the links below you will be helping support us while we support you.
If you have a book you would recommend please submit it through by clicking here. Please send us the book title, Author, and a brief paragraph why you recommend the book.
Bookstore
Don't File a Patent by John Smith, a local inventor and no nonsense businessman who figured out there are situations where patenting is a waste of time. You can find one of his products, Storm Stoppers, on line. It was developed using off the shelf materials and a good marketing campaign. Now he is the primary source and making a good living. He tried the patenting approach on something else, it was infringed, he sued, and won but lost substantial time and money in the process. His take on the whole thing is develop your product and sell it. Make money and move on.
Bob DeMatteis - This is written by one of our previous members who invented the plastic grocery bag as we know it today.
Harvey Reese - If you want to invent then license read this. There is far more to it than getting a patent. This walks you through the process of licensing and explains how to make your idea attractive to a manufacturer and how to get your foot in the door. It is hard work. Finally, it tells you how to negotiate the deal.
Jack Lo & David Pressman - Patent drawings are not really that difficult to draw. Even if you are not a great artist you can save substantially on the creation of patent drawings by doing the bulk of the work yourself. Provisional patents do not require formal drawings but you can reduce the cost of your utility patent by having a good start on the patent drawings when you file the provisional patent and or hire an attorney or patent agent. This book will demistify what patent drawings are all about and make it easier for you to talk to your patent contractors. After using this book I was able to create my own patent drawings and was complemented on their quality by my attorney.
Jack Lo & David Pressman - This is just like the one above but it includes how to use your camera and computer to make the drawinigs. I have not read it yet but in this day and age I believe it will be worthwhile.
Dr. Pamela Riddle Bird PhD - This engaging book takes you from start to finish on the invention process. Dr. Bird is from the Florida area and has connections all over the world. She and her husband, the inventor of the artifical ventelator, gave a presentation for us at the Orange County Library in September, 2010. If you would like a comprehensive overview of the invention process (Idea to market) this is a great place to start.
Doug Hall - This deals with all of the items covered in the Business Translation Workshop which can be found at Planet Ureka. It is essentially 10 questions to benchmark your confidence in Leading Growth. It also covers the 3 main points a new product needs to succeed. Overt Benefit, Dramatic Difference, Reason to Believe.
Stephen Key - A co-founder of Invent Right was recommended to me at the South Florida Inventors Expo as a great consultant for licensing. You can find his videos on youtube. This book is a tell all of his 30 years of experience in the field of licensing. It covers his 10 step plan for licensing which is used in his classes and has a contact list of 1400 companies looking for ideas.
David Pressman - A must read for anyone contemplating applying for a patent. Whether you do it yourself or use an attorney this will let you know what the process is. The more work you do the less you have to pay the attorney. This book explains why each part of a patent exists and how to compose a patent application. It helps immensely to enter your attorney's office with a good understanding of what you are getting into.
David Pressman did a wonderful job with "Patent it Yourself" Here he collaborated with Richard Stim to show you how easy it is to get a provisional patent pending. While this does not constitute full patent protection it does place that now all important time marker. Once you have done this spend the next 8 months wisely and find out if you can actually make money with your idea. If so then start the utility patent process which can easily take 4 months.
Ian Brace - Before you spend too much on your invention you need to determine if enough of them will sell at the right price to make it worth your while. A big part of that process is market research which will likely involve a questionnarie. This book explains in minute detail how to ask the right questions.
Kristopher Jones - Building a web site does not automatically get you exposure to the world. You have to help folks find it. This 307 page tome is written by the founder of Pepperjam, a leader in the Search Engine Marketing industry. It walks you through the process of developing a website that will show up well on search engines. One of our members used this book to take a website from non-existence to virtually the only one which shows up on Google in a matter of months.
James White - Read this before you apply for a patent. This walks you through how to evaluate your concept for market viability. It provides checklists along the way. If you cannot make money on your project then don't waste money on the patent. This was the first book I read when I started my foray into inventing. It opened my eyes and provided a lot of rules of thumb which made it much easier for me to evaluate new ideas.