Patent, Trademark & Copyright : Law Office of Kloss, Stenger & LoTempio

THE INVENTOR’S BIBLE

About the book

THE INVENTOR’S BIBLE, includes a workbook to help an inventor take an idea from conception to the distribution of a product. The book touches on marketing, licensing, and selling an invention. The book reviews the invention process, including:

• Patenting
• Selecting a manufacturer
• Finding the right market
• Developing a marketing plan
• Presenting a product to a company
• Negotiating a royalty deal

My review of the book

This book provides a good explanation of the invention process. The real life stories teach inventors of the potential pitfalls commonly encountered by new inventors. It maps out an inventors voyage through invention, development of the product, to protection and marketing. I think The Inventors Bible is a good book for independent inventors. The book is well written, very readable and covers a lot of useful topics. The Inventor’s Bible is an excellent collection of practical information from an inventors prospective, based on the author’s business experience. Even though the book is not presented from a legal viewpoint it is helpful because it looks at inventing, patenting and product development from a business angle.

About the Author

Ronald L Docie, Sr’s career in selling inventions spans more than three decades. His inventions are featured in Wal-Mart, Kmart and thousands of other distribution channels. As an agent for inventors, Docie has negotiated license deals with many companies including General Motors, and he’s a consultant to Johnson & Johnson on idea submission. He is the president of Docie Development, LLC, an international company that provides services for inventors and corporations.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

About the book

Ralston presents the full story behind the 2003 event that became worldwide news:during what began as a routine day hike he was trapped by a boulder in the Canyonlands National Park in eastern Utah, he was forced to amputate his lower right arm in order to free himself. He then fashioned a tourniquet for the arm, rappelled 75 feet down the canyon and started walking. He walked seven hours before being found by rescuers.

My review of the book

Does life sometimes present you with hard choices? How may times will one decision irrevocably change your life? What if you had to cut off your own arm to save your life? Could you do it? Could anyone? Aron Ralston did it and he describes it in detail in the pages of this book.

In order to read this book you have be in the right frame of mind because Aron is extremely articulate and his graphic descriptions “pull no punches.” The good news is once you have read this book, the answer to the questions I posed at the beginning of this post will be: whatever problems I have, really aren’t so difficult for me to handle.

I read this book because I thought if anyone could relate to Aron I could. I cut off my right hand when I was 12 years old. It wasn’t intentional but the result was the same; we had to stop the bleeding by tourniquet until there was medical attention; we had to learn to become left hand dominant even though we were born right handed; and we had to tackle life with a new awareness. Aron finishes the book with this quote:

“Our purpose as spiritual beings is to follow our bliss, seek out our passion and live out our lives as inspirations to each other, everything else flows from that.”

People tell me they are inspired by me, they say, “I couldn’t rebound like you did with that injury.” But I say it’s no big deal, you could and you would because your only choice is to live life to the fullest and go forward. Giving up is not an option.

I found inspiration in the strength of Aron Ralston’s words and deeds. He has reinforced my belief that the human spirit is much more resilient than we give ourselves credit. Remember no matter what the circumstance just follow your bliss!

About the Author

Aron Lee Ralston (born October 27 1975 in Indiana, USA), a student of mechanical engineering and French at Carnegie Mellon University, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. At Carnegie Mellon, he served as a Resident Assistant, studied abroad, and was an active intramural sports participant. He left his job as a mechanical engineer with Intel in 2002 to climb all of Colorado's "fourteeners", or peaks over 14,000 feet high during the winter season. He is now a motivational speaker.

I, Woz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon - Getting to the Core of Apple's Inventor

About the book

In this autobiography,  Steve Wozniak describes his life–before and after Apple. From his childhood where he learned about electronics from his father, to the time of the invention of the Apple I personal computer, to the rise of Apple as an industry giant. A firsthand account by Steve Wozniak, inventor genius, about the origins of Apple and the computer revolution.

My review of the book

Everyone wonders how a true genius comes up with his great idea. Steve Wozniak tells of his early childhood and how his interest in electronics was the foundation that guided him to the world's first practical personal computer. It can be argued that Steve Wozniak  is one of the great inventors of all time, but he will not go down in history as a great writer based upon this book. Although his stories of childhood pranks and interaction with Steve Jobs regarding his technical life leading up to Apple are very interesting, parts of it are over technical for the average reader.  in addition, the reader gets the feeling that the author has too much control over the editor. One must wonder if the ego of the multimillionaire author controls the direction of the book and the editor is incapable to reel in the line.

Despite the book's shortcomings, after reading it you will feel as though you got to know the person Steve Wozniak and you can't help but like him. in addition, I was interested to learn that Apple protected much of their early technology with copyright rather than patents because of the high cost of patent preparation. I thought it was also interesting to read about his struggles with corporate politics. He reveals that he wanted to stay out of management t but remain involved in the inventive/creative side of the business. I had hoped he would have shared more details regarding how they split up the profits of the company and his relationship with Steve Jobs.

About the Author

Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder, changed the direction the computing industry with his design of the world's first mass produced personal computers, the Apple I and Apple II.

In 1985, Steve was awarded the highest honor bestowed on America’s inventors; the National Medal of Technology by the then  President of the United States, Ronald Regan. In 2000 Steve was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame and was awarded the prestigious Heinz Award for Technology, The Economy and Employment for “single-handedly designing the first personal computer and for then redirecting his lifelong passion for mathematics and electronics toward lighting the fires of excitement for education in grade school students and their teachers.”

Wozniak founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and was the founding sponsor of the Tech Museum, Silicon Valley Ballet and Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose. He currently is the Chief Scientist at Fusion-io and recently he danced on “Dancing with the Stars.”

 How to License Your Million Dollar Idea, Second Edition, Harvey Reese

About the book

This book provides potential inventors information to take a product from the idea stage to a shelf on the store. The author reveals his system for coming up with new ideas. He tells about his experiences taking a product through the licensing process. He proposes a method of how to approach and present those ideas to professionals in the industry that can manufacture, market and distribute a product. He gives an overview on the patenting process and a hypothetical presentation of the product and negotiation of a bare-bones licensing agreement. How to License Your Million Dollar Idea, Second Edition also features an expanded appendix of sample patent forms, licensing agreements, disclosure statements, publications, contact information, and more.

My review of the book

In my role as patent attorney, inventors come to my office with new ideas all the time. My job is to protect their idea but also represent them in the best possible way. Many inventors don't know how to present their patented product to a company for licensing agreement. I believe this book gives them a rudimentary understanding of the entire process. I have recommended this book to many clients to educate them of the pitfalls of selling a product that they have invented. I believe this book answers a lot of basic questions about the pitfalls of taking a product from the idea stage to on a shelf at the store. In addition, I enjoyed the common man approach in which the book was written. The book uses anecdotal story based examples to describe the invention process.

About the Author

Harvey Reese is a businessman and inventor. Based upon his success in licensing ideas he has written books that inventors can use to profit from their ideas. The two latest are The 12 Amazing Secrets of Millionaire Inventors, which shows the inventor all of his options when he’s struck with a great idea, and How to License Your Million Dollar Idea which is designed to help the inventor who has already decided on the licensing option. He is a frequent guest on local radio talk shows where he answers callers who have questions about their product ideas and what to do next. He is also an author of many articles for Inventor’s Digest.