Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 53, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 17, 1974 Page: 14 of 20
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rio Grande City Public Library.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
r
I
The
Consumer
Alert
bv John L. Hill
Attorney General
AUSTIN - So you built a
better mousetrap, but the world
hasn't beaten a path to your
door?
At this point, you may find
yourself attracted by ad-
vertisements for idea or in-
vention promotion and
marketing firms. After all,
what you really need is an
expert to handle such details for
you, right?
You could be wrong, in some
cases. The Attorney General's
Consumer Protection Division
urges caution before paying
large fees to firms offering
services variously labeled
invention or idea promotion,
marketing, or development or
patent searches and develop-
ment.
Last summer, our Consumer
Protection lawyers testified at a
Federal Trade Commission
hearing in Dallas - the first of a
series of hearings nationwide to
determine if a trade regulation
rule is needed to curb fradulent
activity in the idea and in-
vention promotion field.
Our attorneys described the
method of operation found time
and again in the invention
marketing cases we have in-
vestigated or taken to court for
violation of the Texas Deceptive
Trade Practices-Consumer
Protection Act.
Someone with an idea or an
invention sees an ad promising
patent search and protection;
evaluation and feasibility
studies to determine product
marketability; engineering and
production services; or ex-
clusive contacts with
manufacturers.
The would-be inventor pays a
fee averaging $1,000 or more
and submits his idea or gadget.
Virtually all those submitted
are judged by the firm to be
"highly marketable."
Inventors are assured that
their product will be exhibited
in fairs and shows and that the
market development firm,
through its extensive
arrangements with
manufacturers, will locate a
distributor.
While some few inventions
have been marketed by such
firms, our attorneys stress that
the overwhelming majority of
persons have never received a
return that even approaches the
amount of money they pay as
fees.
In fact, many of the services
offered are ones an inventor
could handle as well himself,
especially in light of the fact
that the "market evaluators"
or "analysts" for most such
firms are merely salesmen who
push the "special services"
ottered by their employers.
In addition, inventors with a
possibly saleable item could
find themselves inadequately
protected if they rely on such
idea promoters to conduct
patent searches or to process
patent applications.
The chief of our Consumer
Protection Division and the
head of the U.S. Patent Office
have issued joint warnings of
consumer fraud in the invention
development field.
Patent Office officials say
that while inventors can even
prepare their own patent ap-
plication, file it with the office,
and conduct the prosecution of
the application themselves, it is
extremely difficult for anyone
unacquainted with patent law
and the procedures of the
Patent Office.
They suggest that persons
who are not experts in such
matters hire patent attorneys
or agents registered to practice
before the Patent Office.
Otherwise, inventors may fail
to get a patent or may get one
that doesn't adequately protect
their invention.
Since there are more than 300
subject classes and 90.000 sub-
classes of patents, it's obviously
a complicated matter for an
amateur to determine if an idea
already is patented. Inventors
who wish to do so themselves,
however, can conduct a check
at the Patent Office Search
Room in Virginia, or in one of
several special libraries across
the country. Or they can hire a
qualified person registered to
practice before the Patent
Office to do it for them.
Persons who have a com-
plaint about an idea or in-
vention marketing firm should
contact the Attorney General's
Consumer Protection Division,
their county or district at-
torney, or their local Better
Business Bureau.
THE KIO GRANDE HERALD
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17,1974
PAGE 14
SNOW WHITE PARTY - Miss
Mary Meighan Smith
celebrated her third birthday
with a Snow White party on
Sunday, October 13, at the
Community Room of the Rio
Livestock Saleyard. Meighan,
whose birthday was October 14,
is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Dewey Smith Jr. of Rio Grande
City. She and big sister Nancy
Nell and about forty of their
friends enjoyed the party. The
children went "fishing" for
favor bags and found Snow
White's pinata cottage full of
goodies for all! The children
also played several games and
were served sandwiches, cake,
ice cream, chips, and punch. All
the decorations carried out the
Snow White theme.
FURNITURE
mi
Selling Furniture
is not only thing
we do best!!
'SERVICE'
That's another Key
asset at LFD...Because
we believ^ that if we keep
you happy...
you'll keep coming back
for more!
Come see for our furniture For Our Service
LAREDO
FURNITURE DISTRIBUTORS
300 E. MAIN 487-2440
RIO GRANDE CITY
I
I
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Van Nest, Lloyd A. Rio Grande Herald (Rio Grande City, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 53, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 17, 1974, newspaper, October 17, 1974; Rio Grande City, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth194479/m1/14/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rio Grande City Public Library.