Inventors are interesting people. I know a few and what I can say for sure is they’re definitely eccentric. I don’t mean that in a bad way—if they were normal, they wouldn’t have the vision to connect things that don’t generally go together to come up with something new. Let’s face it, they see the world very differently from most of us, and it’s for that reason that not all the inventions they come up with are practical. In fact, the vast majority of inventions that receive patents never make it to the market at all. 

Why? Because they fall into the category of “ridiculous ideas,” such as the beerbrella (pictured). There’s no need in the market. But that’s not the only reason they don’t make it to market – after all, I’ve seen dumber things than the beerbrella on infomercials. The other big reason is that inventors know how to come up with ideas and maybe even a primitive prototype, but they typically don’t know how to build a commercial product let alone market and distribute it; and that fact leaves them open to being taken advantage of by invention promotion scams.

1. If it sounds too good to be true—it is! Enough said.
2. They suck you in with low fees and a money-back guarantee (no reputable attorney would give a blanket guarantee for anything). Once they hook you, they’ll ask for upwards of $12,000.
3. They promise to “submit” your invention but they don’t talk about what happens once it’s submitted. Securing a patent is an iterative process that requires some back and forth with the Patent Office. What they won’t tell you is that you’ll likely get turned down on the first pass. Trouble is, they only committed to submitting, not     continuing to try to secure a patent. You might also want to look at the Federal Trade Commission site “Spotting Sweet-Sounding Promises of Fraudulent Invention Promotion Firms.”