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Entrepreneur Magazine’s Inventions, Patents & Beyond, the internet radio show for inventors, our show topic is Non-Disclosure Agreements. This show will teach you how to use a nondisclosure form. You will also learn what should be included in the nondisclosure form and how to enforce one.

Last week’s show topic was “Infringement and Cease & Desist Letters.” An improperly worded cease and desist letter could get you into serious trouble, and you could find yourself in unwanted litigation. Listen to this show to learn what should never be in a cease and desist letter and when one should be sent. We also discussed what you should do if you receive a cease and desist letter. Don’t worry if you missed the show. You can listen to the entire discussion whenever you like. Go to www.youinventit. com or www.wsradio.com and you can listen to past shows from either site.

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Janusz Liberkowski and his Anecia Survival Capsule won the very first American Inventor prize of One Millions Dollars. Janusz’s invention has the chance to be furthest reaching and have the greatest impact on society. He will be given the opportunity and the engineering resources of one of the biggest safety seat manufacturers, Evenflo to make his product a reality and save the lives of many children.

Janusz’s Anecia Survival Capsule aka Spherical Safety Seat, is an infant car seat where the baby sits inside nested spheres to protect the child from sudden impact of a crash. In a collision, the spheres spin and automatically position the child’s neck and back so that they are perpendicular to the impact force, thus shielding the baby from the destructive force of the impact. There have been similar car seats that use some of the same principles but the Anecia Survival Capsule protects the baby in all three dimensions while the others only protect in two. Since the Anecia Survival Capsule works with free floating spheres the baby is protected from any change in direction.

The Season Finale greatly resembled that of an American Idol episode complete with retrospectives and of course finding out the results after the break.

The first Inventor to be eliminated tonight was Queens, NY’s own Francisco Patino. Every member of the top 4 will be given the opportunity to further develop and market their products. Francisco will spend time working with Trek to further work on his Double Traction Bike. He also received a personal message from Lance Armstrong.

Erik Thompson got to meet the greatest wide receiver of all time, Jerry Rice and will also be given the chance to make his invention a reality.

Ed Hall will be marketing his product with the biggest game company in the world, Hasbro, who also makes such classic games as Monopoly.

But in the end the winner of the Million Dollar Prize was Janusz Liberkowski. The ABC’s American Inventor did a great job of outlining the struggle of the inventor to get his or her product to market. To these finalists, the struggle is almost over for the rest of us, the our journey continues.

Janusz Liberkowski, is a Polish immigrant and works as a mechanical engineer in San Jose, California. He and his wife are the loving parents of one-and-a-half year old twins. The death of his oldest daughter Anecia in a car accident was the inspiration for the creation of this revolutionary invention to save children’s lives. Janusz has said that if his invention can save just one it will have been worth it but it has great potential to save many many more.
Some information provided by ABC

Q: Can one patent a game(sport)? For example soccer, but played at a completely different format, say with less players and different rules ?

A: George, You may be able to patent a new game or sport if the new game or sport is novel and not obvious. For example, it would probably be obvious to play soccer with more or less players. Whether or not different rules would be patentable would depend on how different the rules were. (more…)

Q: When can you file for a overseas patent? Before or after a posting?

A: According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/documents/1800_1832.htm a license for foreign filing is not required to file an international application in the United States Receiving Office but may be required before the applicant or the U.S. Receiving Office can forward a copy of the international application to a foreign patent office, the International Bureau or other foreign authority ( 35 U.S.C. 368, 37 CFR 5.1 and 5.11). A foreign filing license to permit transmittal to a foreign office or international authority is not required if the international application does not disclose subject matter in addition to that disclosed in a prior U.S. national application filed more than 6 months prior to the filing of the international application ( 37 CFR 5.11(a)). (more…)

Thursday, May 18 at 9/8c , “The Finale Results Show” on ABC

On the last episode you saw how the inventors were able market their inventions in 30 second commercial spots. There were some that were gripping while a few missed the mark.

Erik Thompson’s Catch Vest commercial was panned by the judges but they all agree that its a great Invention.

Francisco Patino’s D-Tract commercial was panned by Doug for being too glitzy but Peter liked the CGI graphics and the look.

Ed Hall’s Word Ace was applauded by all the judges and really captured the essence of game and sold it.

Janusz Liberkowski’s Anecia Survival Capsule the commercial which showed firemen coming to an accident scene, opening the car door with a crowbar to find a smiling baby secured in her Anecia capsule was emotional and pulled on the heart of the viewer. Every new mother in America would go out and get one. Peter was still concerned that Janusz’s invention is still in the prototype phase and Ed wanted him to show how the capsule moved but all agreed it was a powerful commercial.

You’ve seen the inventors turn their ideas and invention into finished marketable products. After weeks of hard work, the last four inventors will learn who will become the next “American Inventor.” The inventor who received the most votes nationwide will be revealed — LIVE — and will receive the one million dollar prize.

A message from the ABC guys:

DID YOU MISS YOUR CHANCE TO AUDITION FOR THE FIRST SEASON?

If we head out on a second search, we want to make sure you don’t miss out. Sign up now and we’ll contact you when we’re getting ready to hit the road again.

The competition is open individuals or teams of inventors.

The product must be something that can be mass produced and sold in a retail outlet.

You can come with a sketch, a prototype or even just an idea.

KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR INFORMATION OF ANY UPCOMING AUDITION DATES AND LOCATIONS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING YOU AND SEEING YOUR INVENTIONS.

Go more info, check www.americaninventor.tv

Q: Are there any statistics relating to the number of patent applications that are registered for the same type of idea/invention per day, year or month. Just an average. Or would you know of anyone who could furnish me with this information?

A: Sorry, cannot help you.

John Pemberton Law Office of Steven B. Leavitt, L.L.P.,

Phone: 972-412-2671, fax: 214-292-8657, mobile: 817-929-8403, e-mail: john@youinventit.com

How many times have you seen a patent and asked how did they get a patent for that? I see this all the time working in the computer industry with software patents. There could be prior art for 10 years but it somehow got missed in the review. If worded correctly clicking a link in this very blog might become patented. The patent office in recent years has become overflowing with patent requests which has not allowed them to do the necessary research in patent review letting bad patents in with the truly unique ones. Hopefully that will not be the case anymore.

The USPTO has started a pilot program for peer review of patents. The project is called The Peer to Patent Project and is being sponsored by IBM and hosted by the New York Law School. Peer Review should act as a quality control to the USPTO’s already overworked examiners.

“The Community Patent Project aims to design and pilot an online system for peer review of patents. The Community Patent system will support a network of experts to advise the Patent Office on prior art as well as to assist with patentability determinations. By using social software, such as social reputation, collaborative filtering and information visualization tools, we can apply the �wisdom of the crowd� � or, more accurately the wisdom of the experts � to complex social and scientific problems. This could make it easier to protect the inventor�s investment while safeguarding the marketplace of ideas.”

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will hold a briefing on May 12, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the agency�s Madison building, 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA. If you are interested in the improvement of the patent review process, further information and how to register for the event can be found here.

INVENTION:
EZ-X Portable Gym – A compact, portable gym system which features collapsible bars and interlocking weights so that the user can do a variety of different weight training exercises with one device. Also includes resistance cords and more. Like having an entire gym in one bag.

Jerry Wesley, 51, is a correctional officer with the California Department of Corrections in San Diego. He also has worked in law enforcement for the past 10 years. Jerry lives with his girlfriend and has a 22-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. The EZ-X is a passion project for him, so much so that it caused the break-up of his first marriage. He has devoted countless hours and resources to developing the product, which he hopes will make it easy for anyone to get a complete workout anywhere, anytime.

INVENTION:
Flushpure – A new kind of toilet seat lid that filters out bacteria and other harmful particles that normally escape when you flush the toilet. The seat features side seals, which force the toilet spray through an air filter on the top of the lid.

Joe and Jenny Safuto, 47 and 32 years old, share their Los Angeles, California home with Joe’s 12-year-old twin daughters. Joe is a performing magician, comedian and singer, and Jenny is a make-up artist. Joe was inspired to create the Flushpure after his mother passed away from a respiratory infection. The event made him very aware of airborne illnesses and he vowed to do something to make our air cleaner.