Is Your Idea Going To Get Noticed?
You've just come up with a great idea for a new invention and it's going to revolutionize fishing. But is it good enough just to have a great idea about a new product? Probably not. The Innovation Service Center at the University of Wisconsin (262-472-1365) considers each new idea submitted in 33 ways and you should consider addressing as many as possible to help get your idea noticed:

Trademarks Versus Patents
A trademark is a word, name, or device a manufacturer or merchant uses to distinguish his goods from others. Registering a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office offers some advantages. It provides evidence of exclusive ownership, gives grounds to the claimant to take action against possible infringement, and can be recorded with U.S. Customs to prevent importation of infringing foreign goods. In most cases, you must take infringers to court to protect a trademark.

Federally registered trademarks can be renewed every 20 years. A trademark is considered abandoned when it's not used for two consecutive years. The subsequent user of a mark can then claim exclusive rights.

Patents fall into two categories: utility and design. Utility patents protect the function, chemical mixture, or mechanical process of an invention. Design patents protect the shape or design of an item. A utility patent is considered better in the fishing industry because protection may envelope movement, composition, and function.

Patents granted by the federal government exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention (if you can successfully challenge them in court). Patents must be maintained by paying fees to the Patent Office over a period of 14 years for a design patent, 17 years for a utility patent. After that time a patent cannot be renewed and the invention enters public domain.

Similar to a design patent, trademark protection can include the shape or design of a product. Joe Hall, president of Blakemore Lure Company, Inc., trademarked his famous spinnerhead jig called the Road Runner. He was subsequently challenged in court by other manufacturers. Challengers said the Road Runner should have a utility patent rather than a trademark.

Ironically, Hall set out to prove the opposite of what he would have to prove had he obtained a utility patent: that shape had nothing to do with function, rather than the other way around. "We were challenged twice," Hall said. "But we were ready. We made another lure with a spinner attached to the head that had a different shape. It performed the same function as the Road Runner, which helped us maintain the validity of our trademark."

Protect Yourself

The American Intellectual Property Law Association has a booklet called How To Protect and Benefit From Your Ideas. It's available free at their website and includes a chapter on fraudulent invention-development companies and a wealth of other information.

The Small Business Administration offers booklets on patents, trademarks, legal protection, and starting a new business.

The American Bar Association publishes booklets defining patents and ownership rights, selecting an invention promoter, and other topics.

To check the credentials of a consulting firm or invention-development company in your area, check the phone book under state government for the consumer fraud agency or other bureau of the justice department. If the company is located outside your state, contact the Federal Trade Commission (202-326-2222) or the Better Business Bureau, (703-276-0100). Ask if complaints or civil suits have been filed against the firm in question. Fraudulent firms change names often, so be wary.

Get a list of satisfied customers. If the company won't supply phone numbers for at least 25 clients, move on.