is  the company "International patent consultants" a reputable company?

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Request for Question Clarification by secret901-ga on 06 Aug 2002 01:29 PDT

Are you referring to the one in Nutley, New Jersey?

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Clarification of Question by rudithanne-ga on 06 Aug 2002 17:12 PDT

yes the one in Nutley

According to the Better Business Bureau, IPC has an unsatisfactory record:
http://www.parsippany.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=22776

In my experience, none of these patent marketing companies ever do
anything that is worth even a fraction of their fees and the FTC has
warned against using several of them.

I don't have specific information about this company but think about
it, would GE, IBM, or DuPont really look to a source like this for
product ideas? Companies such as Sharper Image which do actively seek
some kinds of products are very legit if you have something they might
be interested in.

Companies which are looking for new products simply have someone
searching the new patents as they are issued.  If they find something
interesting the chances are that they will tweak it just enough that
they can apply for a new patent anyway. If they find something really
great and easily marketable they will find the patent owner.

I have friends who spent a lot of time and money patenting various
things and never saw a penney in return. As with most things the way
to make money with a patent is to go out and manufacture the product
yourself or find someone who sells a similar kind of product and make
an arrangement with them directly.

I realize this isn't exactly what you asked and may not be of any
interest which is why I posted a comment rather than an answer and you
aren't being charged anything for comments but I hope this is useful.

Hello rudithanne-ga, 

An excellent website that should lead you deeply into the world of
patents is at:
http://www.piug.org/vendor.html

Among its internet listings be sure to visit: 

"The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is an
international organization dedicated to promoting the use and
protection of works of the human spirit. These works – intellectual
property – are expanding the bounds of science and technology and
enriching the world of the arts. Through its work, WIPO plays an
important role in enhancing the quality and enjoyment of life, as well
as creating real wealth for nations."

http://www.wipo.org/index.html.en

I can appreciate the caveat of siliconsamurai-ga.  So many sharks out
there waiting to feed off your work, but there is also the danger of
letting valuable discoveries drift unprotected.  Recall that Isaac
Newton invented the Calculus about 20 years before Leibnitz(I think?)
and left his work in a drawer not exposing it to the world until the
competitor came along to grab some of the fame if not fortune.
Someday after you've done all your homework, ya gotta trust somebody
to help you get off the drawing board.

Great Luck to you ( I hope you invented a cure for old age!)

Brad-ga

yes the one in Nutley

Reguarding patents in general. I was commenting on the patent
marketing firms in particular. I suggest using Nolo Press's fine
patent software to patent any product yourself.  Having a patent on
your resume may be more valuable than the patent itself so I wasn't
discouraging anyone from obtaining a patent.

From a practical standpoint people spend a lot of time and money
searching for a similar patent before filing. In my opinion this may,
perhaps, be a bit of a waste since the first thing the PTO will do is
perform a similar check as part of the application process.

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has file on invention promotion
firms, lists several that complaints have been filed against and
suggestions on how to deal with them
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/data.htm#LicensePromotion

Digger