NEVADA INVENTORS ASSOCIATION

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"Education, Assistance, and

Networking for the Inventor"




To go to the main Page or the news letters and then the old articles Page, up till Dec. 1999.

Meeting Schedule
Regular monthly meetings of the Nevada Inventor's Association are on the 4th Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to Noon in room 101 of Washoe Medical Center.
Guests, new members and students are encouraged.
If you know someone who would be interested in learning more about the ins and outs of inventing and developing new products, please invite him or her.
Also, anyone who has a business or service that might benefit inventors is welcome.
All meetings are protected and everybody is expected to sign the confidentiality agreement at the meeting entrance.

January 2003 Saturday, January 25
9 a.m.to noon Room 101,
Washoe Medical center
Speaker: Paul McCain

Next month Saturday, February 22
9 a.m. to noon Speaker:
Dr. Bill Torch

Hot for a Rod?


Get the real steel with Rod Bods' reproduction
There are only two sources in the United States for steel reproduction 1932 Ford roadster bodies, and one of them is right here in The Truckee Meadows.

Paul McCain of Rod Bods in Sparks will be featured speaker at the January 2003 meeting of the Nevada Inventors' Association. Paul's dad, Jim, overcame several years of obstacles to bring his creation to market

The Rod Bod products are designed for the hot rodstreet rod builder and use contemporary reinforcement for safety. They also have a recessed firewall and a flat all-steel floor that will accommodate a modern engine and transmission, as well as other updated safety features..

Another feature of this product is the low-cost marketing campaign they have successfully implemented.

Learn more about their problems and their solutions
Saturday, January 25 at the regular meeting in Room 101 of Washoe Medical Center.


PatentWizard 2.0:

Reviewer Don Costar likes new software

At first, l was reluctant to consider this PPA (Provisional Patent Application) software for three reasons:
(1) Though I was intrigued by PatentWizard's as, I'm not what you'd call a computer power User.
(2) Should I consider a PPA?
(3) Should I spend $249 and tackle the application process now?

Know if I had faith in my invention, and I had to start somewhere, l decided to stop procrastinating. As it turned out I needn't have been so indecisive.

Upon receiving the CD, I wasted no time. The "welcome" window that popped up when I inserted the CD made the automatic installation fast, simple and complete - with an icon placed on my desktop for easy access to the program.

It became apparent this PatentWizard company is not just offering a show to" list. This is a serious and helpful tutorial for inventors who want to help themselves pursue the business of inventing.

Read their license agreement. They are so ethical about their product, it insures no inventor pays for the program believing it will magically create an entire application for them by somehow reading the inventor's mind. There's no misunderstanding about what's expected from the inventor, but the step-by step guide that follows is so helpful, it's light years ahead of any "trial and error" method.

PatentWizard's unique system makes the inventor's work so much easier, and makes it so much more refined that creating a full patent application later is an extension of work already done. When you think about it, that's a lot....

Bottom line: The serious inventor won't find any surprises or disappointment when he/she starts to use the PatentWizard PPA program. They will find a wealth of built-in help, examples, sources and guidelines to literally "Personalize" their application.

Considering the additional patent attorney review service offered, l easily recommend it as a "Must buy" for any inventor ready to move ahead.

Product Information:
PatentWizard LLC
2534 South University Drive, Suite 4
Fargo, North Dakota 58108
Phone: 888/382-7690

Editor's note:
Special thanks to Wing & A Prayer Dance Company for allowing me to use their computer and scannerprinter—and occasionally their time—to continue to produce this newsletter.

Members who have ideas or information they want to share with NM are encouraged to send them to me at cobenedict@775.net. Or call me at 787-3640 to use snail mail.

From The WEB
Patent & Trademark Office
www.uspto.gov

Senator John Ensign
www.senate.gov/-ensign

Senator Harry Reid
www.senate.gov/-Reid

Congressman Jim Gibbons
www.house.gov/gibbons

IRS
www.irs.gov

Don Costar
www.doncostar.com

business card advertizers

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News from Washington:
PTO plans stronger regulations on inventors
By Don Costar, Founder Nevada Inventors Association

On July 5, 2002 the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) released its "21st Century Strategic Plan" a collection of position papers that describe how the PTO intends to approach the problems facing the agency in the coming years. •The number of utility patent applications filed annually has reached 325,000. This volume of applications is on top of approximately 400,000 existing applications awaiting examination. Arguably, this is a very serious problem.
•Since examination requires a search for prior art, which is the most time-consuming part of examining an application, the PTO has proposed that all applications filed by entities with less than $70,000 annual income be examined by a Certifiedw contractor outside the PT0 itself. In other words, all applications by independent inventors will have their applications examined by a PT0 "certified" private company.
•The agency argues that this will save the PT0 money by having the patent applicant pay the time-consuming search costs instead of the PT0. The applicant may submit the Certified search document with the application, or direct the PT0 to have it done for an additional fee to the applicant.

Bottom line: it appears the fees for filing a patent application by an independent inventor will escalate dramatically in the near future, with one fee for applying and one additional fee for examining. It depends on how soon the Congress passes the new budget bill, and how much of that bill will authorize the Congress to appropriate fees from the PT0 budget for the general fund.

It has been reported that there are about five law firms that will be Certified for patent searching. Because of this, inventors fear the days of hiring a patent search for $200 to $300 will soon be over, and the work done by law firms that will charge from five to ten times that figure for (possibly) the same work. It also precludes searches done by the inventor himself.

So what has brought about this avalanche of filings? Well, it took 109 years for the Patent office to issue the first one million patents. (1802 to 1911)But it took only eight years to document the fifth to the sixth millionth. (1991 to 1999)That plus the onset of software patents that some argue should never have happened (copyrights?) have created a monster that threatens to destroy our patent system unless addressed - now!

Note: This information is compiled from various sources that report on happenings at the US. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and addresses a concern of the independent inventor.

Share yourself with your peers
NIA would like to recognize the accomplishments of our members and friends. Did you make a break-through on a problem? Get recognized for an achievement? Reach a milestone?

Or do you have a problem - or horror story - that you can share?

Please let me know what's new with you so your colleagues can offer their support or help. Someone in the group may have been where you now are and be willing to offer tips or solutions. Please e-mail your story to me at cobenedict@775.net.

NIA Officers - 2003
President:
Dr. Bill Torch, 329-4060

vice President:
John Martinson, 747-1650

Secretary-Treasurer & Webmaster
Vince Chemist, 677-0123

Sergeant-at-anns:
Floyd Krebs

Programs:
Carol Foldvary-Anderson, 1-775-267-5365

NIA Founder:
Don Costar, 322-9636

Newsletter editon
Connie Benedict, 787-3640 cobenedict@775.net

NIA Webbite:
www.nevadainventors.org
To go to the main Page or the news letters and then the old articles Page, up till Dec. 1999.
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Page done by Vince Chemist.
Created on Jan. 30 2003
Updated on November 29, 2005