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!    

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.    

Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC brings jobs to Georgia

Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC, an in house development firm that recently opened in Athens, is expected to bring 325 jobs to the Georgia economy by the end of 2012.  The company has brought several successful inventions to market since its opening nearly two years ago.  Rather than saving the extra dollar and outsourcing to China, Rhodes takes all of their prototyping, tooling and manufacturing jobs to companies in the US.

“The manufacturing business has been hurting in the US, because other countries offer very similar services at a cheaper price,” Joseph Rhodes, owner of RIDD, said.  “Our goal is to bring back the hundreds of thousands of dollars overseas and make more jobs for the Georgia economy.”

In addition to bringing money back to manufacturers in Georgia, Rhodes also believes it is important to make the lives of his employees and clients simple.  RIDD employees are given profit share, stock options, three weeks of paid vacation, full 401k, and free health insurance.  Clients not only get drastically reduced prices on services, but they are also given payment plan options to make the process of getting a product to market less burdensome.

“We really just want to take business back to the way that it used to be ran - when people were promoted from within and companies actually cared about their employees, listened to their wants and needs, and did something about it,” Rhodes stated.  “There’s no glass ceiling in our business.  You’re going to go just as far as you want to by the work and drive you put in the company.”

None of RIDD’s good deeds have gone unnoticed, as the company has been recognized both on the state and national level.  Most recently, the company was named by Biltmore as the Top 125 Innovative Businesses in the United States.  In addition, Southern Distinction Magazine is currently following RIDD for six months with a new editorial each month regarding products and new developments.  The company was also chosen as the Top 10 Innovative Businesses in the State of Georgia.

Services at RIDD, available for inventors and small businesses, include: attorneys that are accessible for patents, copyright and trademark; a research and development team to gather critical information from the marketplace; a marketing team to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy of your product in order to help develop licensing agreements; a public relations team to build the product name and develop a target market; and an accounting team that will be accessible if you obtain a licensing agreement or generate a profit from your product.

RIDD is a member of the Athens, Georgia Chamber of Commerce.  If you are interested in learning more about the company, feel free to visit their website at www.rhodesinventiondesignanddevelopment.com or call them during regular business hours Monday through Friday.  

Rhodes Named Top 125 Innovative Businesses in US

This week, Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC has been named as one of the Top 125 Innovative Businesses in the United States by Biltmore Who's Who - "one of the fastest growing publishers of biographies in the world."  


The organization's goal is to "encourage, and bring together accomplished members, to allow them to easily network, research, share information and do business with each other."  Joseph Rhodes, President of Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC, will have his short biography published in a hardcover book alongside other members with outstanding achievements. 

According to Rhodes, his company was formed for one purpose: to give inventors and business owners the ability to produce products along with providing vital services at a drastically reduced price.  Keeping to that mission, the company has maintained a 100% client satisfaction rating, has been nationally recognized by magazines and news articles, and has been ranked one of the Top 10 Innovative Businesses in the State of Georgia for the past two years.  In addition, Southern Distinction Magazine is currently following the company for six months with a new editorial each month regarding products and new developments.  The company is also a member of the Athens, Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Introduce yourself to Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC

Hello Inventors!

Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC is an in-house development firm, handling every aspect of product development and managing existing products. We provide our clients with attorneys that are accessible for patents, copyright and trademark, a research and development team to gather critical information from the marketplace - including focus groups, a marketing team to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy of your product in order to help develop licensing agreements, a public relations team to build the product name and develop  a target market, and an accounting team that will be accessible if a licensing agreement is obtained or a profit from your product is generated. All of these and more are available to a client through the entire process of your new creation. 

Getting started with our company is a simple process. Contact Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC to discuss your individual needs.  If you are interested in our individual services, please contact our office by phone or e-mail for pricing. If you are interested in our company fully developing your product, the process is simple as well. If both Rhodes Invention Design & Development and its independent investment board deems a product sell-able, we will contact you with a contract offer to become a client with Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC along with the exact amount the independent investment board is willing to invest. Your client fee covers day to day activities that occur within the company surrounding your product. Rhodes Invention Design & Development, LLC does not receive any royalties that may be made from a product.  Instead, the royalties that are made from a product that is placed through our company will be payable to the company's independent investment board.  Therefore, the client fee is non-negotiable.

All of our services are offered in a bundle or individually.  To make things even easier, clients receive drastically reduced prices for our services with payment plan options.  

Our services are, but not limited to: patents, trademark, copyright, contractual law, licensing, prototyping, tooling, manufacturing, engineering services, CAD, 3 dimensional imaging, marketing, CPA and public relations.  In addition to offering these to inventors, all of our services are also offered to businesses!  

We look forward to providing you with more information and updates about our company and the progress of current clients and products. Please feel free to visit our website, or e-mail us at rhodesinventiondesign@gmail.com if you have any questions.