Inexpensive Resources for Inventors

The following are other sites and tools on the Internet you may wish to use in your attempt to research or market your invention. The below links are provided as a convenience for inventors and are in no way affiliated with the New York Society of Professional Inventors. Due to the fact that websites often change, some of the information listed below may no longer apply.

GENERAL RESOURCES

Invention Promotion Firm Complaints
The USPTO has compiled a list of complaints that have been filed against various invention promotion firms. See if any company that you are considering doing business with is on the list. [http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/complaints.htm]

Federal Trade Commission
Plug in a company name and see if the Federal Trade Commission has investigated and filed charges against them. [http://www.ftc.gov]

Better Business Bureau
Plug in a company name or phone number and see if anyone has complained about them. Use the zip code of the business in question to do your search. [www.bbb.org]

InventorEd.org
Look up a list of inventor scam operations a mile long. Lots of other useful resources, to educate inventors. [http://www.inventored.org]

InventorFraud.com
This site used to list the scam companies an inventor should stay away from, but this information has been taken down - probably due to lawsuit threats. But the site does contain an extensive list of resources that inventors consider to be reputable. Be sure to visit it. [http://www.inventorfraud.com]

United Inventors Association
Great organization and website for inventors. Many resources and good advice on how to spot invention marketing companies to steer away from. [http://www.uiausa.org]

Patent Cafe
One of the most comprehensive web resource for inventors. You used to be able to post information about your patented invention here for free, but now they charge for it. Too bad they've gone commercial. [http://www.patentcafe.com]

InventNet
Many free links for inventors. However, a fee is required for invention posting or forum participation. [http://www.inventnet.com]

United States Patent & Trademark Office
Provides general information regarding patents, trademarks and how to file for such. [http://www.uspto.gov]

Tradeshow Central
Search for all upcoming industry tradeshows in the United States and around the world. [http://www.tscentral.com]

Inventors Digest Magazine
The Magazine for Inventors! Has a ton of useful links. Get on their mailing list to learn of companies and media outlets looking for inventions. [http://www.inventorsdigest.com]

Alt.Inventors Newsgroup
Read advice. Post advice. Ask a question. A great way to network with other inventors around the world. [news:alt.inventors]

Misc.Int-Property Newsgroup
Another newsgroup for inventors. Frequented by patent attorneys. [news:misc.int-property]

FREE PATENT & TRADEMARK SEARCHES

United States Patent & Trademark Office
Now has full text and images and is the best site for a free patent or trademark search. But you have to install a free viewer software to view the images. [http://www.uspto.gov]

FREE INTERNET ACCESS

Your Local Public Library
Inquire at you local library about such a service. The Suffolk County, NY Public Library systems provides such a free service for Library members via their SuffolkNet program. Residents can sign up and receive a loaner CD-ROM containing the required software which they load onto their home computer. Free e-mail is also included. Other library systems may have similar programs now or in the future. (Due to a lack of county funds, Nassau County. NY's NassauNet free Internet access program has been discontinued. But you can still access the Internet at their libraries.)

Juno
This popular free e-mail service has limited free Internet access. But their free service connection has been very unreliable at times in the past and limits your access time. Better fee-based service is also offered. [www.juno.com] The company is also now associated with the NetZero internet connection company.

INEXPENSIVE INTERNET ACCESS

AT&T Worldnet
Reliable web access offering a number of fee-based service plans. Consumer Report magazine highly rated this reliable service. You can either order the free software by phone, or stop by a local AT&T store and pick up a free CD. [www.worldnet.com] or 1-800-WORLDNET

FREE E-MAIL

There are a multitude of free e-mail services on the Internet which can be found by using any of the web search engines such as yahoo.com, excite.com, etc. to search for the key phrase "free e-mail". However, most of these services require that you already have internet access capability. If you already have internet access, the provider service you are using most likely provides you with a free e-mail account.

Yahoo E-Mail
Free e-mail service for anyone who has access to the Internet through their home computer. [http://www.yahoo.com]

Hotmail
Free e-mail service for anyone who has access to the Internet through their home computer. [http://www.hotmail.com]

Juno E-Mail
Free e-mail service which does not require Internet access is JUNO. This program can be downloaded from their web site. (Of course, if you don't have Internet access to begin with, download it at the office or have a friend download it for you.) Your home computer must be at least a 386 model with minimum 9600 baude rate modem. These requirements may change as technology advances, so beware. The unique thing about this free e-mail is you can dial in to send and receive e-mail messages without having to have an Internet provider, such as AOL. But, if you do have internet access, you can send and receive mail while surfing. The latest free version Juno allows file attachments onto messages and even has some spam limiting capabilities. [http://www.juno.com]

FREE WEBSITE HOSTING

Your Internet Service Provider
These days, most fee-based (and some free) Internet service providers also give you some free server space so you can put your own website into orbit. They often provide nice-looking page templates and easy tools for you to use to build your site.

http://www.freewebsiteproviders.com/
If you are looking to set up a website to call your own and don't know much (if anything) about HTML code, here is a listing of free and low-cost website hosting services to check out. Number of allowable pages, images, and amount of server space varies from service to service. But a simple website of your own will go a long way in getting the word out about your PATENTED invention and give a potential manufacturer a place to look at it without the hassle of red tape. Many of these services have a simple form to fill out as a means of creating your website without hassling with HTML code. Please note that many of these services come and go, so expect the listings to not be up to date all of the time. Basically, you get what you pay for with these sites.

One word of caution. Due to the fact that these types of free services services tend to be short lived, keep in mind that all work you do in promoting your website can be for naught if your website hosting service goes out of business and you have to set up a different website address. It is recommended that you obtain your own website domain name if long term promotion is anticipated. (See Godaddy.Com below.)

http://www.50megs.com/
This service offers a variety of different plans, so it is worth surfing by and checking them out. There may be a free or fee-based one that will suit your needs. Easy page templates for beginners. Free service requires the display of ad banners at the top of your website. Already own your own domain name? 50megs.com can host your domain for a very reasonable charge. Nice features and free add-ons are available. Highly recommended. [http://www.50megs.com]

Godaddy.com
Want your own domain name? You can get your own www address for only $9 per year registration/renewal fee here. They'll even host the site for you for a service fee. [http://www.godaddy.com]

Suggestion: If you want to be able to create your own website, visit your local computer store and purchase a website construction software kit. Microsoft's "Front Page" is a good one, though expensive. There are much cheaper ones with less features and capabilities - but fine for beginners. Some books on creating a website contain a CD with software to do so. These days, website creating software allows one to create a website without having to actually know the HTML programming language.