Attention Inventors: Everyday Edisons – Casting Call

Think you have a good idea? The Emmy and Telly-Award-winning PBS television show “Everyday Edisons” announced recently that it is currently casting for its fourth season, set to air summer of 2011. The program is looking for 10 small-time inventors with big ideas. According to their Web site, www.edisonnation.com:

They will pick 10 outstanding innovations. All it takes is a great idea. As they say, give yours a shot at success and find out if you have what it takes to become an "Everyday Edison!"

The winning invention featured on the show will have the option to enter a contract to receive money for sales of their invention, after it is commercially manufactured. Everyday Edisons premiered in 2007, and has become one of PBS’s most critically-acclaimed programs.

Now is the Time to Invent and Patent

Companies have started to change their attitudes about accepting outside idea submissions from lone inventors. In the past, many companies instituted policies rejecting any outside idea submissions and instead relied on their internal R&D departments to come up with new products. Many of these companies did so to avoid potential patent infringement or other IP claims.

However, with the change in the economy, many companies are cutting back in their R&D budgets, so they are realizing that accepting outside ideas to buy or license is more cost effective. A prime example is Procter & Gamble, where Greg Swartz of Arizona, a lone inventor invented a battery-operated odor-eliminating device called the “Hang ‘n’ Fresh” that hooks inside garbage cans. Swartz took the approach of simply emailing P&G and received a response in 24 hours, in which the company took the invention under consideration. If approved, Swartz may have a large royalty license agreement or assignment (total sale of the invention) to P&G. In fact P&G established an external-ideas program in 2001. In 2008 P&G received 3,740 submissions, and has about 1,000 contracts under the program.

Patenting your invention, or in the very least filing the patent application now, and doing the proper homework as to the right contacts at the right companies, can land you a similar royalty or a million dollar assignment of your invention.