The field of inventions and patents is filled with fraud and con-artist scams. Most people who invent, believe that their inventions are valuable and will eventually bring them some degree of financial success. Con-artists take advantage of this hope, preying on an inventor's anxieties, fears and hopes to separate inventors from their money. The most common scams are so called "Invention Companies" or "New Idea Companies". Although some of these companies are honest, many steal the money of thousands of inventors annually. These companies usually advertise on radio or in the back of magazines and may have catchy 1-800 phone numbers. Many of these companies are also advertised in phone books along with the regular listings for patent attorneys.

What these companies usually provide are various publicly available census statistics that show things like "how many kitchens there are in America". (That is, if your invention is some type of new kitchen utensil, who might be interested in buying it ... someone with a kitchen!) They then pass off these statistics as the "market potential study" for your invention and tell you that your invention is worth millions of dollars. In the next breath, they ask you for your life savings so that they can "introduce" your invention to this market.

In reality, things work much differently. ONLY a registered patent attorney or agent is permitted to file a patent on behalf of an inventor. This means that if an "Invention Company" is going to obtain a patent for you, they must hire a patent attorney or agent. If you have an invention, go directly to a patent attorney or agent. He or she will talk to you honestly and realistically, helping you with all you will need, according to your own situation and circumstances. Your patent attorney will gladly show

For more information about various invention companies, please see the Links page.