Inventors Richard Brull Curt McMillan along with their Steel Table Group created a product that allows you to secure deck accessories that would typically move in windy weather conditions.

The Deck-Down is a three-step slip and clip method that provides you with a solution to lock down grills, furniture, pool accessories, umbrellas, planters and whatever outdoor accessories you need to keep from moving or flying away when a wind storm hits and attempts to carry your stuff away.

Deck-Down is built with a unique two-piece clipping design that is durable, easy to install on a deck and can safely keep outdoor belongs in place.

Richard, Curt and their crew successfully licensed Deck-Down and it made it’s debut at the 2012 Hardware Show in Las Vegas at the Manufacturers booth.

Watch a YouTube video showing how to use the Deck-Down.

Tagged as:
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Deck Accessories,
Furniture,
Grills,
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Las Vegas,
Outdoor Accessories,
Planters,
Pool Accessories,
Richard Bull,
Steel Table,
Storm Hits,
Table Group,
Umbrellas,
Weather Conditions,
Wind Storm,
Windy Weather,
Youtube Video

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/07/inventright-students-create-license-deck-down-invention/

I thought I’d write a short article about the Licensing Expo. Many readers of our email newsletter and Inventor Notes online magazine are interested in licensing their new product ideas to companies.

Under the above mentioned licensing senario, the manufacturer would make and sell your new product idea and pay the inventor a royalty for every unit of your new widget they sell.

So, if you are working on a sporting good product, the best place to go would be to a sporting good trade show to find potential licensees . Or if you were working on a new idea for a dog toy, you would go to a pet trade show to hook up with potential licensees to sell your idea.

I’ve talk to many people who hear the word licensing in the “Licensing Expo” title and falsely assume that  this is where they should go to license any idea they have. Not so!

The Licensing Expo is really a really fun trade show to go to. You’ll see all sorts of familiar brands there. Every major movie studio, cartoon character and brands like Nascar, NFL and other brands we come across ever day can be found at the licensing expo. So what are representative from these brands doing at the show?

They want to licensing you their brand! If you are selling t-shirts for example or coffee mugs. You could go to the show, meet up with the representatives from Disney for example and work on getting the licensing rights to put mickey mouse on your t-shirts or coffee mugs. In exchange, you would pay the brand owner a royalty for the rights to put their brand on your products.

So if you have a brand you want to license or you have a business and want to put a brand on the products you are manufacturing, then the licensing expo is the place for you.

Tagged as:
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Coffee Mugs,
Disney,
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Expo,
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Licensees,
Many People,
Mickey Mouse,
Nascar,
New Product Ideas,
Nfl,
Pet Trade,
Product Idea,
Royalty,
Senario,
Trade Show,
Widget

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/15/what-is-the-licensing-expo/

Inventor Steven Klein created the Eco-Connect Bottle System: a clever alternative to repurposing disposable beverage bottles and giving them a second life as toys, furniture, insulation for homes and even building materials for temporary shelters to disaster victims.

Klein’s product technology features a simple connector that can be molded into the bottle base of any established brand without affecting its recognizable package design. The inventor’s vision is to give a new function to something that would otherwise be trash. Klein’s patent for the Eco-Connect Bottle System came through in 2010. His product is a great solution to keep plastic bottles out of landfills.

The inventor is seeking to license his technology to beverage companies for use with their existing bottles and to develop their own custom connector kits.

Tagged as:
Beverage Bottles,
Beverage Companies,
Building Materials,
Connector Kits,
Custom Connector,
Disaster Victims,
Furniture,
Great Solution,
Insulation,
Inventor,
Landfills,
Nbsp,
Patent,
Plastic Bottles,
Product Technology,
Recognizable Package,
S Vision,
Second Life,
Steven Klein,
Technology Companies,
Trash

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/08/the-eco-connect-bottle-system-could-help-to-keep-plastic-bottles-out-of-landfills/

When attempting to make first contact, most people would probably prefer to send an email than to call someone. I understand that. Email is easier. There’s less pressure to say what you want – and how you want to – in an instant. Maybe later, you’ve probably thought, I’ll follow up with a phone call. I prefer calling people, but I admit that it’s not always possible or advisable. But I want you to reread the emails you’ve been sending and ask yourself, ‘Am I conveying everything about myself and my story that I want to? Does the tone of my email reflect who I am and what I’m about?’ I’m not so sure that we do the best job that we could. It’s easy to jot off a few quick words, but a lot harder to relate your story to someone in words over the cold interface of a computer screen.

I’ve been sending out even more emails than usual lately and have been giving this some thought. I often write people I don’t know for a meeting or a favor. When they respond negatively, I look at the email more closely. I never think, ‘Well – it’s time to move on!’ I always examine what I could say or do differently. I choose to think that they haven’t fully understood me or what I’m after – because I emailed them in the first place because I really do think we’re a good fit! Maybe they don’t have enough information. Maybe they don’t have the right information. You might not be giving people enough information to form an educated response to your inquiry or question. Don’t assume that they know more than they do. Find out why they’re saying no to get that yes. Maybe you can reposition yourself in such a way that they’re interested.

Don’t give up, but remember to always be polite. Persistent, but polite.

————————

Stephen Key is a successful award-winning inventor who has licensed over 20 products in the past 30 years. He is a board member of Accudial Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and has a new book “One Simple Idea: Turn your dreams into a licensing goldmine while letting others do the work,” from McGraw-Hill. Along with business partner Andrew Krauss, Stephen runs inventRight, a company dedicated to education. Teaching inventors and entrepreneurs the skills needed to successfully license their ideas.

One Simple Idea is available in book stores and online book retailers nationwide.  Visit www.inventright.com to learn more.

Tagged as:
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Interface,
Inventor,
Job,
Jot,
Lot,
People Information,
Pharmaceuticals Inc,
Phone Call,
Send An Email,
Send Email

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/08/take-time-to-craft-your-emails/

Inventors and InventRight students Richard Brull Curt McMillan along with their Steel Table Group create a product that allows you to secure deck accessories that would typically move in windy weather conditions.

The Deck-Down is a three-step slip and clip method that provides you with a solution to lock down grills, furniture, pool accessories, umbrellas, planters and whatever outdoor accessories you need to keep from moving or flying away when a wind storm hits and attempts to carry your stuff away.

Deck-Down is built with a unique two-piece clipping design that is durable, easy to install on a deck and can safely keep outdoor belongs in place.

Richard, Curt and their crew successfully licensed Deck-Down and it made it’s debut at the 2012 Hardware Show in Las Vegas at the Manufacturers booth.

Watch a YouTube video showing how to use the Deck-Down.

Tagged as:
Attempts,
Brull,
Debut,
Deck Accessories,
Furniture,
Grills,
Hardware Show,
Invention,
Inventor,
Inventors,
Las Vegas,
Outdoor Accessories,
Planters,
Pool Accessories,
Richard Bull,
Steel Table,
Storm Hits,
Table Group,
Umbrellas,
Weather Conditions,
Wind Storm,
Windy Weather,
Youtube Video

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/07/inventright-students-create-license-deck-down-invention/

I walked the hardware show for three full days and talked to countless manufacturers. The one question I asked them all was, “ Do you accept new product ideas from the outside”.

Being in the licensing business for over ten years, I knew companies were open to ideas, however I was not expecting quite so many companies to say yes. The hardware show vendors I talked to seemed to be very open to new ideas.

Only four percent of all the companies I talked to said they weren’t open to receiving ideas from the outside! That’s quite a change from the old days of  “Not Invented Here Syndrome” in which companies only wanted to develop new ideas from inside their companies.

Another cool thing I discovered at the show was that Rich Brull and Curt McMillian who are inventRight.com students of mine licensed their Deck-Down product. Deck-Down is a really cool deck tie down product. The company they licensed their invention to idea to was debuting it in at the hardware show for the very first time. When I interviewed them the second day of the show, they said peoples response to their product was very positive.

Rich and Curt are part of a small group inventors called that call themselves the Steel Table Group. They invent, develop and license products together. Their Deck-Down  product is a super useful and easy to use deck tie down invention that prevents your BBQ and just about any other items you would store on your deck from blowing away.

I wrote an article which includes a video showing how their product works. For more info on Rich and Curt’s invention debuting at the Hardware Show, visit this link.

There were many interesting new inventions at the show.  I couldn’t write about them all, so i picked a few interesting ones and wrote articles about them.

Inventor Dix Frampton Closes Deal With Walmart - Read the article and watch the video of the Pomegranate Deseeder

Inventor Jennifer Briggs Creates The Drain Chaingle – Read the article and watch the video

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Cool Deck,
Cool Thing,
Frampton,
Hardware Review,
Hardware Show,
Invention,
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Inventors,
Jennifer Briggs,
Las Vegas,
Mcmillian,
Nbsp,
New Inventions,
New Product Ideas,
Pomegranate,
Small Group,
Spent Three,
Steel Table,
Table Group,
Tie Down,
Walmart,
Xxxx

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/07/hardware-show-2012-review/

Utah based inventor Jennifer Briggs, mother of five, is solving a common issue with bathroom showers and tubs drains: hair clogs. Briggs created the Drain Chaingle, a metal chain that allows you to unclog drains without removing their covers. The chain is built with adhesive rubber attachments, which attract hair caught in the drain.

Briggs came up with the idea for her invention when a piece of dental floss fell into one of drains at her home. When she proceeded to rescue the dental floss from the drain, a ball of hair emerged with it. After this unexpected drain unclogging experience, Briggs started working with other materials, such as her earrings to create an efficient device able to clean up her bathroom drains. Further tests with different materials resulted in the final version of the Drain Chaingle, a really clever product retailing for just under $5.

The Drain Chaingle was featured this week at the 2012 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Watch a YouTube video showing how the Drain Chaingle works.

Tagged as:
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Bathroom Showers,
Bathroom Sinks,
Clogs,
Dental Floss,
Different Materials,
Drains,
Earrings,
Invention,
Inventor,
Jennifer Briggs,
Las Vegas,
National Hardware Show,
Showers And Tubs,
Vegas Nevada,
Youtube Video

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/03/inventor-jennifer-briggs-creates-the-drain-chaingle/

I love pomegranates, however like many people I find them too be to much work and a big mess to eat. The Pomegranate Deseeder was featured this week at the 2012 National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. I was walking the show when I met inventor Dix Frampton  and he explained how his product worked.

Inventor Dix Frampton created the Pomegranate Deseeder: an innovative tool that allows you to deseed two pomegranates in less than 60 seconds with no mess.

Frampton’s invention is a plastic device designed to sit on a plate and to work as a cradle for the pomegranate. You need to cut the fruit in half and score edge four or five times before placing it on this deseeder. After that just use a spoon to firmly thump fruit sides and top.

Frampton’s sales have already reached 250,000 units. His product is available online, priced at $3.00 plus shipping at seedout.com and at other online retailers with different price tags. The inventor recently closed a deal with Walmart to have his Pomegranate Deseeder strategically placed in the produce department right next the pomegranates. The marketing approach is expected to bring a significant sales growth to this increasingly popular kitchen tool. After all, you probably wouldn’t have any ideas what this thing was if it was anywhere else in the store.

Watch a YouTube video showing how the Pomegranate Deseeder works.

Tagged as:
Frampton,
Invention,
Inventor,
Kitchen Tool,
Las Vegas,
Love,
Marketing,
Met,
National Hardware Show,
Online Retailers,
Pomegranate,
Pomegranates,
Produce Department,
S Sales,
Score,
Shelves,
Significant Sales,
Spoon,
Vegas Nevada,
Walmart,
Youtube Video

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/04/inventor-dix-frampton-closes-deal-with-walmart/

Our friend Dario was selected as one of ten among almost 600 designs as a finalist in the Dwell Live/Work Design Contest, sponsored by Design Within Reach. Help him win the contest. In our opinion his design is by far the most elegant. Click here to visit the page and click the green VOTE button. Help your fellow inventors get their ideas on store shelves! Hurry, voting ends May 21st.

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Work Design

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/04/help-dario-win-the-livework-design-contest/

Amazon Studios is looking for the next great movie or TV series script. If you have a great idea for a movie or TV series you can pitch your idea and see if you can get it produced. Amazon Stuidos is awarding TV Show Writers $55,000 and Movie Writers up to $600,000 if you have a hit. Check out Amazon Stuidos website for more details.

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Amazon,
Hollywood,
Series Script,
Tv Series,
Tv Show

Article source: http://inventornotes.com/2012/05/04/are-you-ready-for-hollywood-amazon-stuidos-is-looking-for-you/