Thursday, September 22, 2011

Why inventors should not first file for a utility or design patent

Ah ha!  You've got it... The next million dollar invention.  What should you do first?  You search in Google, 'What to do with an invention.'  Nine times out of ten, you'll find the industry standard that tells you to protect your ideas with a utility or design patent.  What they fail to mention is that by doing this, you could possibly waste several thousand dollars.

Everyday, inventors all over the world approach intellectual attorneys with their inventions.  They sit down, write out a utility or design patent, pay anywhere from 12 to 15+ thousand dollars, and wait two to four years for their product to be approved by the USPTO.  However, after they have waited for what seems like forever, they receive a letter from the USPTO only to inform them that their patent has corrections that need to be made before a patent can be granted.  

What happened?  The attorney you used had great recommendations and you filled out all of the paperwork properly.  Oftentimes, utility and design patents are written without first consulting with an engineer or manufacturer to see if your design is even possible.  So once you have already paid the fee for your original patent, you approach a manufacturer who makes a few tweaks to your design, and then you are forced to pay more money for revisions to the original patent.  Now you're back to square one - waiting to hear back from the USPTO with your new and improved patent.  

According to Joseph Rhodes, President and CEO of RIDD, there a few simple guidelines inventors should follow after having their 'Ah hah' moment.

  1. Before filing for a patent, be sure to have a proof of concept, meaning that your designs have been   approved by a manufacturer.  Your design should make for a practical, working and manufacturable product.  
  2. Go a step further and have a working prototype made before filing for a utility or design patent.  
  3. Instead of filing for a utility or design patent, file for a provisional instead. Once your product starts to generate funds, then go out and spend the extra dollar for a design or utility patent.  
  4. After filing for the provisional, be sure that there is a maintained interest level for your product. Make sure that you will be able to recoup the money you spend on a patent before filing for it.  

For more information on the patent services offered at RIDD, visit our website - www.rhodesdevelopment.co, or call us Monday through Friday between the hours of 9-5 EST.  We would love to answer any questions you have about the patent filing process!    

Friday, September 9, 2011

Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC to launch Helping Hands Charity on October 28



Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC, an in house development firm out of Athens, will launch their Helping Hands charity from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. on October 23 at the Athens-Clark County Library.  The company has partnered with Dollar Tree to provide food to 50 Athens families.  In addition, local nursing students will be on site to give free health screenings to everyone in attendance.   

“The whole purpose of Helping Hands is to show people that their community cares about them,” Joseph Rhodes, President of RIDD, said.  “Once you are able to give someone hope, you would be surprised at how much it changes their entire outlook on their given situation.”
 
Despite these hard economic times, according to a recent New York Times article, Dollar Tree stores have seen an increase in sales for the past three quarters.  With more than 4,000 stores across the United States, the corporation will donate food to the charity for a mere 30 cents per item.

“It’s amazing that such a large corporation took interest in a new organization in Athens, Georgia,” Rhodes said.  “They are one of the fastest growing corporations in North America right now, which says a lot about their belief system as a corporation and their business ethics.” 

In addition to providing food for families in Athens, Helping Hands is also hoping to give a home and education to six Athens citizens next year.  RIDD plans to purchase and renovate a large housing facility in Downtown Athens where these community members will live with their families while receiving a free education from a local technical school.  Although those given this opportunity will have to pass drug screenings during their stay, the charity hopes to change lives so that they can get off the street and enter the workforce with proper training.

“Getting people a job that pays minimum wage with no education is useless,” Jacklyn Kerch, Chief Operating Officer at RIDD, said.  “If we are able to put someone in a positive situation with people helping them along the way, they will not want to put that opportunity at risk with drug use and crime.”

Helping Hands and RIDD will continue to give back to the community on the next to last Sunday of every month and eventually hopes to spread its influence across the country.  For more information on Helping Hands, contact RIDD at (706) 534-0230, or feel free to send an e-mail to info@rhodesdevelopment.co.