You have an invention or an idea for an invention

Invention development companies are private and public research companies that purport to help inventors develop, patent, and promote their ideas so they can be commercially licensed or sold. While many of these organizations are legitimate, some are not.

I state my stand on the use of such companies on my website - www.gadgets-gizmos-inventions,com. But, you may want to go that way anyway to develop your patent or invention. If that the case, here are seven helpful tips for you to make smart patent and invention development decisions:

?1. Learn About the Patent Process.

?When you understand the basics of how to get a patent, you will know when invention marketers are making promises they, or the patent system, can't deliver. Knowing the steps to do a patent search, and what is required, as well as knowing what happens in the patenting process can only help you in making the right decision. You will have a better idea about whether the company you are talking to knows what they are doing for you - and not just their pocketbook.??2. Do Your Homework.

?Check the organization's references, ask for credentials, and then check them. Ask them for statistics on how many successes they have had compared to how many total clients. They are required by law to offer you this type of information. In fact, the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999 gives you the following rights when dealing with invention promoters.

Before an invention promoter can enter into a contract with you, it must disclose the following information about its business practices during the past five years:

?how many inventions it has evaluated,

?how many of those inventions got positive or negative evaluations,

?its total number of customers,

?how many of those customers received a net profit from the promoter's services, and

?how many of those customers have licensed their inventions due to the promoter's services.

This information can help you determine whether the promoter has been selective in deciding which inventions it promotes, and how successful the promoter has been. Ask for names of uccessful?clients, and talk to them.

Invention promoters also must give you the names and addresses of all invention promotion companies they have been affiliated with over the past 10 years.

This information can help to determine whether the company you're considering doing business with has been subject to complaints or legal action.

You can call the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at 1-866-767-3848, and the Better Business Bureau, the consumer protection agency, and the Attorney General in your state or city, and in the state or city where the company is headquartered to check them out.??3. Be Realistic.

?Not every invention is patentable. Know that very few ideas - even the good ones - become commercially successful. Be wary of any developer willing to promote virtually any invention. If you are presented with the phrase - "We think your idea has great market potential" - beware, and take it for what it is - in a lot of cases, just a sales pitch. ??4. Know Where Your Money Is Going.

?Ask the organization how your money will be spent. Be on guard against large up-front fees and find out exactly how the money is spent. If the company gives you something like - "Our company has evaluated your idea, and now wants to prepare a more in-depth research report. It'll be several hundred dollars" - ask them if the idea is good enough for more research why don they foot the bill. ??5. Protect Your Rights.

DO NOT disclose your invention to a developer over the phone (or at any time) before first having them sign a confidentiality agreement. You could forfeit valuable patent rights. A sample confidentiality agreement is available on my website. ??6. Track Your Invention's Progress.

?If you decide to use an invention development organization, deal directly with the agent or patent attorney who will be handling your patent application. A lot of these type of firms outsource the work which is not good for you.

Many invention promotion firms also may claim to perform patent searches on your idea. Fraudulent invention promotion firms usually do patent searches that are are incomplete, conducted in the wrong category, or unaccompanied by a legal opinion on the results of the search from a registered patent attorney.

Because unscrupulous firms promote virtually any idea or invention without regard to its patentability - they may go ahead and market an idea for which someone already has a valid, unexpired patent. In that case, you may be the one subjected to a patent infringement lawsuit - even if the promotional efforts on your invention are successful. Most probably, the way the infringement suit is attracted is through a successful product.??7. Don't Get Discouraged! ??The patent process can be very complicated, so you will probably need professional help. There are many good patent agents and attorneys that can help you. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office maintains a nationwide register of attorneys and agents who meet the legal, scientific and technical requirements of the office.

The first step should be a patent search done by a reputable searcher. Your patent attorney can help with this, and should review the search for a package price, depending on the complexity of the invention.

Hang in there. It is a long and complicated process. But if your idea passes the initial search test and evaluation, there is a good chance you can receive a patent - in two or so years.

The nine stages of flight. The people and their accomplishments.

1. 400 BC- flight in China

The Daoist book called "Bapouzi", which means "Master who Embraces Simplcity" describes some ideas intrinsic to rotary wing aircraft, as early as the 4th century AD. The ideas were stemmed from observing bamboo flying toys which children in China used to play with.

2. Ancient Greece

Hero of Alexandria, an ancient Greek engineer, worked with steam and air pressure to create sources of power. He developed the "aeolipile" which used jets of steam to create a rotary motion.

3. 1484 Leonardo da Vinci- The Ornithopter and the Study of Flight

An ornithopter is a type of flying machine that attempts to fly by imitating the flapping of a bird's wings. Leonardo Da Vinci conceptualised it in the 1400s, and many others attempted in troughout the centuries but none successfully.

4. 1783- Joseph and Jaques Montgolier- The Flight of the First Hot Air Balloon

These brothers were the inventors of the Montgoliere-style hot air balloon, Globe Aerostatique. On 4 June 1783 they flew their first balloon as a public demonstration to claim its invention. The flight lasted two minutes and flew two kilometres.

5. 1799-1850's- George Cayley- Gliders

Sir George Cayley was an English engineer and one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. In 1799 he conceptualised the modern aeroplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate systems for lift, thrust, and control. Many consider him the "Father of Aviation".

6. 1891 Otto Lilienthal

Otto Lilienthal, known as the "Glider King" was a German pioneer of human aviation. He followed the same experimental approach as Sir George Cayley. The hang glider he created involved a triangle control frame and a basebar. By shifting his body, he was able to change the centre of gravity, and thereby control his gliders.

7. 1891 Samuel Langley

Samuel Langley was an American astronomer, physicist, inventor, and a pioneer of aviation. Langley built a rotating arm and powered larger flying models with steam engines. His first success came in 1896 when he flew an unpiloted plane of a mile.

8. 1894 Octave Chanute

Octave Chanute was a French-born American railway engineer and aviation pioneer. He also helped the Wright Brothers, both in terms of giving them advice and publicizing their experiments. He published the very influencial book "Progress in Flying Machine" in 1894.

9. 1903 The Wright Brothers- First Flight

Orville and Wilbur Wright were two American brothers who made the first controlled, powered, and sustained human flight in 1903. They were the first to invent the aircraft controls that made fixed wing powered flights possible.

Thomas Edison said it and I believe it: "Many of life's failures

There are more losers than winners in the game of life because losers many times are people who tried something with all their effort and failed. Because they failed rather than succeeded, they became reluctant to try again. Thomas Edison was not one of those people.

One of the first lessons athletes are taught in competition is that when you give your full effort and are knocked down, you must get up and try again, and again, and again until you succeed. Once you are successful one time, you can hone your talents and use your skills to succeed again and again.

One of the critical areas of life where people fail at an amazing rate is in their relationships. Once involved in a relationship, when faced with challenges and hardships, many more people decide to move on to another partner rather than work through the problems and hardships with the partner they have. There are reasons why marriages fail and giving up too soon is one of them.

Thomas Edison is arguably one of the greatest inventors in the history of the world. He is certainly one of the most prolific, holding 1,093 United States patents in his name as well as patents in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Edison would be dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" for the impact of his inventions, which included originating the concept and implementation of electric-power generation and distribution to homes, businesses and factories, a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. He would create the first industrial research laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ.

Edison, who was home schooled by his mother, spent only 3 months in formal schooling before his teacher declared him "addled" and unfit for learning. His schoolteacher would go on to no great acclaim. Edison would patent the stock ticker, phonograph, fluoroscope (x-ray machine), and the first commercially practical incandescent light (light bulb) among his 1,093 patents, and form 14 companies (including General Electric, one of the largest publicly traded companies in the world). Edison virtually created the electric industry.

One account claims that Edison and his associates tried 5,000+ different elements before using a lower current electricity, a small carbonized filament and an improved vacuum inside a globe to produce the light bulb, the first reliable, long-lasting source of light that would literally light up the world.

The business world is littered with entrepreneurs who started and bankrupted 1, 2 and even 3 companies before starting a 4th company and succeeding beyond their wildest dreams. These entrepreneurs got knocked down, got back up, did not repeat their mistakes and moved on.

Thomas Edison also said this: "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." Consistent, persistent effort combined with learning from mistakes is a big factor in overcoming failure. To Edison's credit, failure was not a word used in his vocabulary.

As Mark Twain said, Edison "never allowed schooling to interfere with his education."

Copyright 2009 Ed Bagley