Just Do It!  Words to live by. I need to just do things more often. Here’s an example. Today at breakfast my son and I discuss some ideas for a new kitchen tool. It’s time for lunch and I’ve done a product and IP search and contacted eight companies with an introduction letter to start [...]

A week ago I posted that in one morning, I brainstormed a product idea, did a product & and patent search, and contacted eight companies with the intent to licence the product. A week later here are the results: One company said they have enough products in the particular space Two are interested! One said [...]

Has this ever happened to you? You think of  a product idea, not a patentable idea but something that might sell, and you put it on the back burner. A short while later you see “your idea” in a catalog. Harvey Reese calls this “slacker’s remorse“. The problem: When a child looses a tooth, they [...]

The durometer, or hardness, of a rubber is an important characteristic that allow you to specify how soft is soft or how hard is hard. Just as Fahrenheit and Celsius are both scales to measure temperature, there are different scales used to measure hardness of nonmetals. Related Articles The Medium is the Message Invention “Contest” [...]

1. Rushing out to get a patentYou may feel like someone may steal your idea. Fight the temptation. A utility patent can easily cost you $8,000. Having a patent only buys you the right to stop someone else from using the idea. If there is no market for the invention, the money is wasted. 2. [...]

Here at the Invention Addict Blog, I’m always trying to innovate and find new ways to help my readers. This is a first for me; I’m doing a book review. Why a book review you may ask? Well, I do not benefit from this, I don’t get kick-backs. I want to help two groups of [...]

“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”-Albert Einstein  I was walking one of our dogs and this quote came to mind. As I grow as an designer  and inventor I continue to [...]

This post by a patent attorney on the Patent Pending Blog provides some grim stats. The bottom line: 2-3% of the independent inventors that Bob Shaver sees actually winds up making money off of their patents. Maybe the answer is not in the patent but getting a company to license your invention. I think people [...]

Ben is at it again. Time to get Quirky! Related Articles Back to School Gift Ideas New Quirky Product For Sale – Pivot Power Several Paths to Success Protect your iPad with the Cloak; broken tablets are no joke Keep your cables on the table – Cordies Thank you for reading. Comments are welcome and encouraged. Let me [...]

Although I have not yet had a successful Quirky submission (I only entered in the freebies) I do have 6 US patents and 17 years in product development and design. I’ve read through many of the submissions and I cringe sometimes to think someone plunked down $100 bucks for and idea that is not unique, [...]