Inventing Made Easy: The Entrepreneur's Indispensable Guide to Creating, Patenting and Profiting From Inventions [Paperback]

Tom Bellavance (Author), Roger Bellavance (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007

Do you dream of huge profits from your inventions?

Anyone who has ever had an idea for an invention has probably fantasized about getting a patent and making millions of dollars off it. Realistically, it's not that easy. Taking your idea and transforming it into reality is one of the hardest things you could ever try to do. Realizing commercial success makes the whole process doubly difficult. Failure is all too easy unless you have a guide to show you how. Inventing Made Easy: The Entrepreneur's Indispensable Guide to Creating, Patenting and Profiting From Inventions is your personal guide to creativity, driving an inspiration from concept to reality, inventing, prototyping & market testing leading to validation and finally business start-up and marketing for sales and success.

This no-holds-barred book tells it like it is. Authors and veteran inventors Tom Bellavance and Roger Bellavance educate the novice as well as the established inventor about many of the perils and pitfalls inherent to the process. The authors blend years of inventing experience with credible authority and a passionate belief in every inventor's potential.

It's as if you are getting insider information from a best friend. This book teaches how to light the fires of your creativity to dream up winning ideas. The authors take you step-by-step through the maze known as the patent process. You can explore your options as you read about the many ways to make money with your inventions. This book's savvy marketing tips teach you how to successfully promote and sell your products.

Inventing Made Easy really shines as a source of information on starting up a small business and selling an invention. It further explores powerful and proven ways to help the aspiring entrepreneur obtain sales and commercial success from an invention.

Jam-packed in this book and in its voluminous appendices are listings of inventing resources. Profoundly valuable and not easily gathered, they alone are well worth the cost of the book. This book brims with hundreds of hours of research at your fingertips.

This comprehensive reference is the only book you'll need to create, patent and market your invention successfully. With their straight-from-the-hip narrative, free of the heavy technical jargon typical of the many books on the subject, the Bellavances become your "mentors" throughout the process. In this comprehensive resource, you'll learn how to:

Make your creativity flow to mega-generate ideas.

Safeguard (through proper documentation) and patent your idea.

Protect yourself from industrial espionage and patent infringement.

Avoid being victimized by invention promotion firms.

Find a manufacturer and set up licensing deals.

Exploit proven marketing outlets and techniques to promote and sell your products.

Profit from your invention with your own business.

You can avoid many of the pitfalls and problems that cause many inventors to fail. Inventing Made Easy shows readers how to take full control of the inventing process. With it, you possess the tools to invent and blaze a bold path to success.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When Thomas Edison made his famous remark about genius being 99 percent perspiration, he didn't even have to take into account the labor and frustration involved in conducting a patent search. The Bellavances' guide, though, will help take some of the sweat out of getting a patent and bringing a new product to market. Inventors themselves, the authors provide clear explanations, thorough details, candid advice, and important caveats for each step of the process. They explain what patents are, why they are necessary, and how to get one, but they also highlight several misconceptions about them. Moreover, they follow through with the entire spectrum of practical marketing tips. Among the considerations they include are licensing, test marketing, invention promotion groups, identifying and selecting manufacturers, trade shows, etc. They also recommend that those conducting a patent search put themselves in the hands of the "trustworthy and highly trained staff" at the various patent depository libraries. This comment alone shows that the Bellavances know what they are talking about and guarantees the value of their guidance. David Rouse

Review

"!!!! Exceptional. Writer Tom Bellavance and inventive entrepreneur Roger Bellavance guide the creative process, locking in rights, marketing and developing business. Advance praise from Guerrilla Marketing series author Jay Conrad Levinson: "Takes inventors by the hand and leads them safely through the minefields of misinformation."" -- Today's Books, Public News Service, 8/3/99

"The classic story of success in America is that of the inventor. Today, however, inventors have to know a lot more than just how to come up with a new widget. The authors explain what the inventor needs to know to protect their interests and, for the novice, this book is probably the best investment they will make." -- Alan Caruba's Bookviews Newsletter, 7/99

"The hard-earned information presented will immediately be appreciated by experienced inventors and entrepreneurs wishing they had had this valuable resource early on. The must-read chapter on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office unveils the reality all inventors must come to terms with. The entrepreneurial information ... outstanding!" -- Edison Inventors Association Newsletter, 5/99

Inventing Made Easy is an easy-to-read and information-laden book that should bring a smile to the face of any inventor, not to mention an increase in that inventor's net worth. The book takes inventors by the hand and leads them safely through the minefields of misinformation and all the way to success in the marketplace. -- Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerrilla Marketing series of books

Praise for this Inventor's Resource "The Bellavances' guide will help take some of the sweat out of getting a patent and bringing a new product to market. Inventors themselves, the authors provide clear explanations, thorough details, candid advice, and important caveats for each step of the process. They explain what patents are, why they are necessary, and how to get one, but they also highlight several misconceptions about them. Moreover, they follow through with the entire spectrum of practical marketing tips. Among the considerations they include are licensing, test marketing, invention promotion groups, identifying and selecting manufacturers, trade shows, etc. They also recommend that those conducting a patent search put themselves in the hands of the "trustworthy and highly trained staff" at the various patent depository libraries. This comment alone shows that the Bellavances know what they are talking about and guarantees the value of their guidance." -- David Rouse for ALA's Booklist, 8/99

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Quiet Corner Pr (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966506979
• ISBN-13: 978-0966506976
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,618,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inventing -- realistically, July 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Inventing Made Easy: The Entrepreneur's Indispensable Guide to Creating, Patenting and Profiting From Inventions (Paperback)

This book is a great dose of reality about the inventing, patenting, and marketing process. The authors don't hold back on the truth about what to expect from patent "protection." They're generous about sharing their experiences and letting us benefit from their mistakes and hard knocks. Their comments about the realities of trying to get shelf space in the retail market kept me from making a big mistake in my marketing plan, and I'm working around the problem. My only reason for giving this book only 4 out of 5 stars is that the second section of the book (100 of 250 pages) containing sample inventions and appendices, such as inventors associations and government addresses, could have been left out, lowering the cost of the book. The appendix data changes so rapidly, the information would be more valuable if available on a web site. The material in the rest of the book, however, was very valuable and not available in other inventors books I've read, so I'd recommend reading this book to find out what to expect -- realistically -- from the patenting and marketing process.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Successful Inventing is Not so Easy, January 23, 2006

By 

Bill Bazik (Fairview Park, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inventing Made Easy: The Entrepreneur's Indispensable Guide to Creating, Patenting and Profiting From Inventions (Paperback)

This book has been written by two experienced inventor-entrepreneurs who share the knowledge they have gained in the school of hard knocks. While the title is a great eye-catcher for book store displays, they quickly point out that inventing may be easy -- but successful inventing is not.

The book is written plain and simple for the first-time inventor, while still offering much advice that can benefit the experienced inventor or entrepreneur. It covers the field from the first glimmer of an idea to the merchandising of a market-ready product.

Typical of their insights is that "Many experienced inventors feel, for the most part, design patents are a waste of time and money unless the design is incredibly distinctive". Many novice inventors have been scammed by outfits that do not explain the difference between design and utility patents.

On the subject of patent searches, they give the addresses of locations where you can do your own preliminary search. They, however, recommend a professional search and note "if your patent search is not comprehensive, it is next to worthless". They also note several ways to protect yourself during the patent search stage.

One of the valuable suggestions given in the book is to use news releases to promote your invention. The author's note that something on the order of 75 percent of the stories in our newspapers are based on news releases and that they are almost free! Some twenty tips are given on how to write a news release. A sample release is included.

Ever notice that some products are only marked patented while others also have the patent number? The writers discuss the pros and cons of which way to mark your product.

If you attempt to submit an idea to a corporation, many will ask you to sign a "waiver". They comment "These infamous agreements are toxic to inventors". They advise you to see your patent attorney before signing anything.

While there are some respectable invention brokers, the vast majority of those that advertise on radio or television can only be described as sharks. The authors list eight questions that must be asked if you even think of dealing with an invention promotion group.

On the subject of raising money by seeking out venture capitalists, they cite the very poor odds. In one four year period only 4,000 awards went to 275,000. They note networking is the key to locating "angels" (informal investors such as accountants, doctors, etc.). If you decide to set up your own business, there are five basic routes you can go: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, S corporation, and LLC (limited liability corporation). They give the advantages and disadvantages of each of these routes.

If your product becomes a success in the marketplace, patent piracy may make its appearance in the form of lower-priced imported imitations. The legal cost of fighting a patent infringement case is, for the small business operator, prohibitively costly. Here the authors give an interesting option, treat the infringement as a "golden marketing opportunity". Take you case to the public. America loves the underdog and by creating publicity by the means they suggest the infringer may have second thoughts.

The book is up-to-date and gives guidelines for setting up a Web site on the Internet. Radio and TV advertising are discussed. This includes QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Mention is made of how large firms hog shelves at retail outlets by buying shelf space. (Currently the U.S. Senate is holding hearings regarding this "slotting fee" practice.) Cautions are given for dealing with packaging companies and warehousing firms. They advocate JIT (just-in-time) inventory management and share a hard earned lesson whereby one of the authors wound up with 65,000 Emergency Call Police banners in storage!

Chapter 7, "Patents: the Joke Is On Us" is a must-read. It takes the position that for the small entity "your patent is next to worthless" in that you have to sue to protect it and it creates a "false sense of security". Blame falls on "the Patent and Trademark Office, big industry, the judicial system, and lawyers". Also discussed are the PTO scandals and the "maintenance fee trap". Suggestions for curing the evils of the U.S. patent system are given.

An eight section appendix gives the addresses of helpful inventor associations across the nation, addresses of Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries, patent office fees, Better Business Bureaus, and more.

Some may be taken aback by the authors' frank opinions and realistic views, but if you are putting blood, sweat, and tears into an idea, isn't that better than the over optimistic mind-candy some books offer?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical and frank, February 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Inventing Made Easy: The Entrepreneur's Indispensable Guide to Creating, Patenting and Profiting From Inventions (Paperback)

The authors give a broad description of the patent process, as well as tips and considerations to market the developed ideas. Other interesting topics include the basics of marketing and bussiness development. I particularly like the poignant remarks on the reality of patent laws, which are designed to protect the rich and powerful instead of the poor and average; expect to be dissapointed if you do not have the money to sue someone for infringing your ideas.