Resources

On this page you will find a very long list of useful resources for Inventors.

Here’s a list of the resources you will find on this page .  . .

BOOKS ON PATENTS

FINDING COMPANIES – PHONE DIRECTORIES LISTED BY COUNTRY

GETTING YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR – BUSINESS NETWORKING

ENGINEERING ASSOCATIONS

ENTREPRENUER WEB SITES

FOREIGN PATENT OFFICES

FREE BUSINESS CONSULTING

GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS FOR INVENTORS

SELL SHEET HELP

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ASSOCIATIONS AND SCHOOLS

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW – USA

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW – OTHER COUNTRIES

INVENTORS ASSOCIATIONS

LIST OF MAJOR RETAILERS

LIST OF INDEPENDENT AND SMALL STORES

LIST OF MULTI-NATIONAL STORES

LIST OF NATIONAL CHAIN STORES USA

LIST OF DEEP DISCOUNT CHAINS

LIST OF DEFUNCT STORES

LIST OF ETHNIC CHAIN STORES

RETAINERS – HOUSEWARES & HOME FURNISHINGS

MANUFACTURER DIRECTORIES

PATENT RESEARCH

PROTOTYPES

PROVISIONAL PATENT SOFTWARE

SHOPPING SEARCH ENGINES

USPTO (UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE)

——————

BOOKS ON PATENTS
Here are some books on patents that I recommend.

Patent Pending in 24 Hours
by: Attorney Richard Stim , Attorney David Pressman
ISBN 9781413310726

A great book showing you step by step how to file your own provisional patent application (PPA), so you can put “Patent Pending” on your idea while you are approaching manufacturers..

Publishers Site
http://www.nolo.com/products/patent-pending-in-24-hours-PEND.html
Amazon
http://www.nolo.com/products/patent-pending-in-24-hours-PEND.html

Patent It Yourself
by: Attorney David Pressman
ISBN 9781413310580

A great book showing you how to file your own patent. We don’t recommend filing your own Patent, however we highly recommend reading this book so you can be more knowledgeable when working with your patent attorney.

Publishers Site
http://www.nolo.com/products/patent-it-yourself-PAT.html
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Patent-Yourself-Step—Step-Filing/dp/1413310583/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291604876&sr=1-1

Inventor’s Notebook: A Patent It Yourself Companion
Fred Grissom , David Pressman Attorney
ISBN 9781413306446

The best way to protect your invention is to keep good records. Let The Inventor’s Notebook track & and prompt you to take care of every important step in the process.

Publishers Site
http://www.nolo.com/products/the-inventors-notebook-INOT.html
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Inventors-Notebook-Patent-Yourself-Companion/dp/1413306446/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291605488&sr=1-1

MOTIVATIONAL BOOKS
Business and motivational books. Over the years, I’ve read quite a few good books that might help you out. Here are two motivational books I highly recommend—including my all-time favorite, The Magic of Thinking Big.

The Magic of Thinking Big
by David Schwartz
ISBN-10: 0671646788

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Thinking-Big-David-Schwartz/dp/0671646788/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291605838&sr=1-1

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience
ISBN-10: 0071636080

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Presentation-Secrets-Steve-Jobs-Insanely/dp/0071636080/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291607545&sr=1-1

FINDING COMPANIES – PHONE DIRECTORIES LISTED BY COUNTRY

Company phone numbers. We’ve found WhitePages.com to be the most useful and accurate tool for looking up the phone numbers of potential licensees (and other companies) in the United States. You’ll find a link to WhitePages.com and several other websites, as well as search techniques you can use to find company phone numbers, on our Resources page.

WhitePages.com

A lot of free features, some are paid. Great for looking up companies.
http://www.whitepages.com/

YellowPages.com
This is also a great site for looking up companies.
http://www.yellowpages.com

411.com
Another web site for looking up companies
http://www.411.com

INTERNATIONAL SITES

Many of these directories are for foreign countries, however they are in English and very user friendly for English speakers looking up people and companies!

Africa (there is a listing for almost every country in Africa here) http://www.numberway.com/phone-numbers/172/

Albania Yellow Pages Business Directory – in English http://www.albanianyellowpages.com/

Australia Australian White Pages – including business listings http://www.whitepages.com.au

Argentina Argentina’s telephone directory
http://www.paginasamarillas.com.ar/

Armenia Armenian Directory and Internet Yellow Pages – English http://www.armenian.com/

Austria

Austrian White & Yellow Pages – German and English

http://www.herold.at/telefonbuch

Belgium

Infobel.be – multi language directory for Belgium

http://www.infobel.com/belgium
Brazil

Brazilian telephone directory – in Portuguese only

http://www.telelistas.net/

Caribbean

The Caribbean Online Yellow Pages

http://www.caribbeanonlineyellowpages.com/

Chile

Páginas Blancas Interactivas – Spanish only

White and Yellow Pages

http://www.blancas.cl/

Costa Rica

TicosLand.com Costa Rican business directory
Spanish only

http://www.ticosland.com/

Cuba

Cuban white pages and yellow pages

No English

http://www.paginasblancas.cu/

Denmark

Denmark’s telephone directory

http://www.krak.dk/

Finland

Finland’s telephone directory

http://www.keltaisetsivut.fi/

France

France’s White and Yellow Pages

http://www.pagesjaunes.fr

Germany

Germany’s telephone directory

http://www.dastelefonbuch.de/

Greece

Greece’s telephone directory

English Available

http://www.xo.gr/

Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s telephone directory

In English

http://www.hkt.com/eng/CustomerSupport/Directories/1081DirectoryInquiries.html

Iceland

Iceland’s telephone directory

http://ja.is/simaskra

India

India’s telephone directory

In English

http://www.indiacom.com/

Inonesia

Indonesia’s telephone directory

In English

http://www.yellowpages.co.id/

Ireland

Ireland’s telephone directory

http://www.lookupuk.com/irephone.html

Israel

Israel’s telephone directory

http://www.b144.co.il/Default.aspx

Italy

Italy’s telephone directory

http://www.paginebianche.it/index.html

Japan

Japan’s telephone directory

In English

http://english.itp.ne.jp/

Mexico

http://blancas2.seccionamarilla.com.mx/
http://www.paginasamarillas.com
http://mx.yp.yahoo.com/
http://blancas1.seccionamarilla.com.mx/

The Netherlands

The Netherlands’s telephone directory

http://www.detelefoongids.nl/

Norway

Norway’s telephone directory

http://www.gulesider.no/

Pakistan

Pakistan’s telephone directory

In English

http://www.payvand.com/yp/pk/search.html

Poland

Poland’s telephone directory In English

http://www.pkt.pl/

Portugal

Portugal’s telephone directory

http://www.118.pt/

Russia

Russia’s telephone directory In English

http://www.infoservices.com/

Singapore

Singapore’s telephone directory

In English

http://www.yellowpages.com.sg/newiyp/

Spain

Spain’s telephone directory

http://www.numberway.com/phone-numbers/172/

Sweden

http://www.bizbook.se/

Switzerland

In English

http://tel.search.ch/index.html

Turkey

http://www.ttrehber.turktelekom.com.tr/trk-wp/IDA2

United Kingdom

www.192.com

GETTING YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR – BUSINESS NETWORKING

Contact names. Getting your foot in the door of a potential licensee or getting advice about something along the way will be much easier if you have the name of someone to contact. LinkedIn.com and Jigsaw.com are great websites to look up and communicate with specific contacts at companies. You can search both sites by company name and job title.

www.LinkedIn.com

www.Jigsaw.com

ENGINEERING ASSOCATIONS

When you’re developing your idea and need expert advice on a certain aspect of its design, these trade associations are a great place to find creative people with technical expertise.

AERONAUTICAL

American Institute of Engineers
http://www.members-aie.org

AIAA
http://www.aiaa.org

University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI)
http://www.utsi.edu

Singapore Institute of Aerospace Eng. (SIAE)
http://www.siae.org.sg

British National Space Centre
http://www.uh.nmt.ac.uk/bnsc

European Space Agency
http://www.esrin.esa.it/

Royal Aeronautical Society (UK)
http://www.raes.org.uk/

AUTOMOTIVE

Institute of Transportation Engineers www.ite.org

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
www-ec.njit.edu/sae

Bio-medical

American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
http://www.aium.org

Institute of Biological Engineering
http://www.ibeweb.org

American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
http://www.aium.org/

Sociedad Española Medicina Nuclear
http://www.semn.es/

British Institute of Radiology
www.bir.org.uk/index.html

American Society of Radiologic Technologists
http://www.asrt.org/

Canadian Society of Echocardiography: EchoWeb
http://www.echoweb.org/

Inter. Society for Magnetic Resonance in Med.
http://www.ismrm.org/

Ohio Society of Radiologic Technologists
http://www.osrt.org/

Radiological Society of North America
http://www.rsna.org/

Society for Computer Applications in Radiology
http://www.scar.rad.washington.edu/

Society of Cardiovascular & Interv. Radiology
http://www.scvir.org/

Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
http://www.scmr.org/

Society of Nuclear Medicine
http://www.snm.org/

Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
www.rinshoken.or.jp/

CHEMICAL

American Institute of Chemical Engineers
www1.che.ufl.edu

Chinese Institute of Chemical Engineers
http://www.che.nthu.edu.tw

The Filtration Society
http://www.aeat.co.uk/pes/filts/

Institute for Mech. Process Eng. and Mechanics
http://www.ciw.uni-karlsruhe.de/mvm/

American Filtration & Separation Society
http://www.afssociety.org/

The Inst. of Chemical Engineers (IChemE)
http://www.icheme.org

American Chemical Society
http://www.acs.org/

Society of Petroleum Engineers
http://www.mysimon.com

CTTM – Le Mans Centre for Tech. Transfer
www.cttm-lemans.com

Civil Engineering

The Institution of Civil Engineers
http://www.ice.org.uk

The Chartered Inst. of Building Serv. Eng.
http://www.cibse.org

Structural Engineering Institute
http://www.seinstitute.org

American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE
http://www.asce.org/

Canadian Society for Civil Engineers
http://www.csce.ca/

Japan Institute of Construction Engineering
http://www.jice.or.jp/

Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE)
www.iaarc.org/frame/publish/

COMBUSTION

International Gas Turbine Institute
www.asme.org/igti

ELECTRICAL

The IEEE
http://www.ieee.org

British Electrotechnical Approvals Board
http://www.beab.co.uk

Institution of Railway Signal Engineers (IRSE)
http://www.irse.org

IEEE HONG KONG SECTION
http://www.ieee.org.hk

International Energy Agency, IEA
www.iea-coal.org.uk

International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA
http://www.iaea.or.at

Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, JAERI
http://www.jaeri.go.ja/index.html

IEEE Signal Processing Society
http://www.ieee.org/society/sp

International Solar Energy Society
http://www.ises.org

Moscow Power Engineering Institute
http://www.mpei.ac.ru

KFKI Atomic Energy Research Inst, (Hungary)
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/ctng/http

The Electric Power Research Institute
http://www.epri.com

Atomic Energy Society of Japan
http://www.soc.nacsis.ac.jp/aesj/

Australian Institute of Energy
http://www.fastlink.com.au/subscrib/

Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas (Mexico)
http://www.iie.org.mx

Institute of Power Engineers – Toronto Branch
http://www.ipe.org

Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE)
http://www.iee.org.uk

IEEE Canada
http://www.ieee.ca

IEEE – Melbourne, Florida Section
http://www.ewh.ieee.org/r3/melbourne

Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan
http://www.iee.or.jp/english/index.html

The Chartered Inst. of Building Serv. Eng.
http://www.cibse.org

IEE Scotland North
http://www.eng.abdn.ac.uk/~iee/

Japan Soc. of Elect.-Mach. Eng. (JSEME)
http://www.jseme.yamagata-u.ac.jp/

Inter. Radiation Protection Assoc., IRPA
http://www.tue.nl/sbd/irpa/irpahome.htm

Applied Computational Electromagnetics Soc.,
http://www.emclab.umr.edu/aces.html

Italian Electrotechnical Commission, CEI
http://www.ceiuni.it

Inst. of Electronics and Elect. Inc. Engineers
http://www.ieeie.org.uk/ieeie

European Committee for Electrotechnical Stand.
http://www.cenelec.be

Istituto Elettrotecnico Nazionale Galileo Ferraris
http://www.ien.it

Associación Española de Norm. y Certificación
http://www.aenor.es

Federation of Electric Power Companies
http://www.fepc.or.jp

IEEE Bulgaria
www.ieee.bg

EXPLOSIVE

Institute of Explosives Engineers
http://www.iexpe.org

GEOTECNICAL

Geo-Institute
http://www.geoinstitute.org/

Earthquake Engineering Research Institute
http://www.eeri.org/

American Geological Institute, AGI
http://www.agiweb.org/

Amer. Academy of Enviro. Engineers, AAEE
http://www.enviro-engrs.org/

Enviro. and Engineering Geophysical Society
http://www.eegs.org/

Australian Institute of Geoscientists
http://www.aig.asn.au/

Amer. Assoc. of Petroleum Geologists, AAPG
http://www.aapg.org/

Australian Geological Survey Organisation
http://www.agso.gov.au/

Geochemical Society
www.geochemsoc.org/

Geological Society of America
http://www.geosociety.org/

Geological Society of Australia
http://www.gsa.org.au/

INDUSTRIAL

The Institute of Industrial Engineers
http://www.iienet.org

Institute of Industrial Eng. (Hong Kong) Ltd
http://www.iiehk.org

Institute of Industrial Eng. – Peninsula Chapter
http://www.iiech37.com

American Society of Safety Engineers
http://www.best.com/~assegsic/

Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering
http://www.iao.fhg.de

Institute of Industrial Engineers -Fort Worth
http://www.uta.edu/iiefw

Agency of Ind. Sci. and Tech., MITI (Japan)
http://www.aist.go.jp

MARINE

Institute of Marine Engineers
http://www.imare.org.uk

Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers
http://www.sname.org

American Society of Naval Engineers
http://www.jhuapl.edu/ASNE/

MANUFACTURING

Society for Manufacturing Engineers, SME
http://www.sme.org

SEMKO (Sweden)
http://www.semko.se

MECHANICAL

IMechE
http://www.imeche.org.uk

Institute of Diagnostic Engineers
http://www.diagnosticengineers.org

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
http://www.asme.org

The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
http://www.jsme.or.jp

Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
http://www.jsme.or.jp

The Welding Institute
http://www.twi.co.uk/members/prof.html

MINING

The Amer. Ins. of Mining, Metal., and Petro. Eng.
http://www.aimeny.org

South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
http://www.saimm.co.za

IMM: The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy
http://www.imm.org.uk

REFRIDGERATION

Inst. of Refrig. Heat. and Air Con. Eng.
http://www.irhace.org.nz

Inst. of Refrig., Heating and Air-Conditioning
www.hvacmall.com/listing/irhace.htm

SOFTWARE

IEEE Computer Society
http://www.computer.org

European Software Institute
http://www.esi.es/About_esi/

Information Processing Society of Japan
http://www.ipsj.or.jp

Center for Software Development
http://www.center.org/csd/home.html

Industrial Computing Society, ICS
http://www.ics.org

Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique, INRIA
http://www.inria.fr/welcome-eng.html

Computing Research Association
http://cra.org/

Institute for New Gener. Comp. Tech. (Japan)
http://www.icot.or.jp

Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores (Portugal)
http://www.inesc.pt

GMD – Forschungszentrum Informationstechnik
http://www.gmd.de

Federación Española de Sociedades de Informática , FESI http://www.dit.upm.es/~cdk/fesi.html

International Programmers Guild, IPG
http://www.ipgnet.com

National Computer Board, NCB (Singapore)
http://www.ncb.gov.sg

Computer and Automation Research Inst. (Hungary)
http://www.sztaki.hu

European Association for Computer Graphics, Eurographics Association
http://www.cwi.nl/Eurographics

Association for Computer Machinery (ACM)
http://www.acm.org

Software Engineering Institute
http://www.sei.cmu.edu

Open Software Foundation
http://www.osf.or.jp

Japan UNIX Society
http://www.jus.or.jp

SOUND

Audio Engineering Society
http://www.aes.org

STEAM/ENVIRONMENTAL

American Academy of Environmental Engineers
http://www.enviro-engrs.org/

STRUCTURAL

The Institution of Structural Engineers
http://www.istructe.org.uk

American Institute of Steel Construction
http://www.aisc.org

The American Iron and Steel Institute
http://www.steel.org

Structural Engineers International
http://www.seaint.org

Swedish Institute of Steel Construction
http://www.sbi.se/index.htm

ENTREPRENUER WEB SITES
Here are a few websites that are useful to product developers and entrepreneurs.

FOREIGN PATENT OFFICES

Foreign patent offices. Most industrialized countries have a patent office. Here’s a complete list of patent offices around the world.
DIRECTORY OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (PATENT AND TRADEMARK) OFFICES AROUND THE WORLD

World Intellectual Property Organization
http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/urls.jsp
United States Patent And Trademark Office
www.uspto.gov

FREE BUSINESS CONSULTING
The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a great place to get free general business advice. In our experience, they don’t have licensing experts to consult with; however, they do provide some great advice in other areas of business.

http://www.sba.gov/

SBA Answer Desk

1-800-U-ASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722)
Send e-mails to: answerdesk@sba.gov
TTY: (704) 344-6640

SCORE (Society Core of Retired Executives) is another organization that offers free business counseling. Former retired executives volunteer their time to offer business advice.

If you are clear on what kind of help you are looking for, both organizations can help; if you’re not clear, you probably won’t get much out of these organizations. Some of the SBA and SCORE counselors can be very helpful, but you will need to ask for the specific type of help you are looking for to get to the right person. Otherwise, you’ll just get a brochure and the canned advice everyone else gets.

http://www.score.org/index.html

GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS FOR INVENTORS

The National Technology Transfer Center links U.S. businesses with federal labs and universities that have the technologies, facilities, and researchers that they need to maximize product development opportunities. The U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) invests in clean-energy technologies that strengthen the economy, protect the environment, and reduce dependence on foreign oil.

National Technology Transfer Center
http://www.nttc.edu/

The U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
http://www.eere.energy.gov/

SELL SHEET HELP
If you’ve ready my book “One Simple Idea”, you know that often you don’t need to make a prototype. Many ideas can be licensed using a one-page sell sheet or a sell-sheet video—both of which are an economical and effective alternative to an expensive looks-like/works-like prototype. Here’s a list of several vendors who can make or help you make your sell sheets and sell-sheet videos.

Type Visions
http://www.typevisions.com/

Design My Idea
http://designmyidea.com/

Elance.com
This is a great site where you can find independent contractors around the world. Many are willing to work for affordable rates and are quite competent. Just make sure to look at their reviews from past clients.
http://www.elance.com
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ASSOCIATIONS AND SCHOOLS
If you are a product scout, these associations and schools are great places to find creative people with ideas and product design skills.

ACIDO Association of Chartered Industrial Designers of Ontario http://www.acidontario.org/

ACM SIGGRAPH Online The organization for computer graphics, info on their conferences and workshops, large calendar of events http://www.siggraph.org/

ADHOC Group The ADHOC Group is an interdisciplinary association of designers committed to the exhibition of new work. With the San Francisco Bay Area as our locus, we promote and exhibit innovative work by emerging and experimental designers. http://www.adhoc-group.net/

American Institute of Graphic Arts AIGA, the professional association for communication design, is committed to furthering excellence in communication design as a broadly defined discipline, strategic tool for business and cultural force. AIGA is the place design professionals turn to first to exchange ideas and information, participate in critical analysis and research and advance education and ethical practice. http://www.aiga.org/

Association of Professional Design Firms Dedicated to elevating the performance & business practices of design consulting firms. http://www.apdf.org/public/index.asp

Association of Professional Model makers Association of professional model makers from around the world. Covers every discipline in professional model making from Product, Architectural, automotive and special effects. Web site has a chat group, and a conference is held every year. https://www.modelmakers.org/default.lasso

Association of Women Industrial Designers http://www.awidweb.com/

Australian Graphic Design Association The Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) is the national association for professional graphic designers. It was founded in 1988 to facilitate the advancement of the graphic design profession in Australia. BCIDBritish Columbia Industrial Design Association. (BCID) A design association for industrial designers of British Columbia Canada. http://www.bcid.com/

British European Design Group Site of a non-profit making organization promoting British design and design services worldwide. http://www.bedg.org/

Centre du Design Rhone Alpes The Centre for Design Rhone Alpes CDRA is a French regional association, which has its charge to advocate the industrial design towards the firms. The Centre also assists firms in their invitation to tender for their design projects (design directory, design specifications…) ICSID member, the CDRA is also the coordinator for Design France, the French network of design centers. http://www.cdra.asso.fr/

Chicago Furniture Designers Association Chicago Furniture Designers educate our community by teaching about design. http://www.cfdainfo.org/

Corporate Design Foundation Corporate Design Foundation is dedicated to improving the quality of life and effectiveness of organizations through design. The Foundation conducts research in all areas of design and creates educational resources such as @Issue, case studies, course development and conferences. http://www.cdf.org/

Design France Design France is the French network for the design centers. Its aim it to coordinate its members’ actions, and organizes international meetings for design associations http://www.designfrance.tm.fr/

Design Management Institute An institute dedicated to promoting the importance of design to business success. Conferences, Journal, newsletter, etc. http://www.dmi.org/

Design Research Society http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists-a-e/design¬research

Design Resource Institute Located in Seattle, WA, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting ecologically sustainable design in products and buildings. http://www.designresource.org/

Designer’s Association of Singapore mailto:daspore@singnet.com.sg

Designers Institute of New Zealand Official site of DINZ – worth a look. http://www.dinz.org.nz/

ETMK (Society of Turkish Industrial Designers) http://www.etmk.org/

Graphic Artists Guild Lobbies for the right of Graphic artists, photographers, illustrators, and more. One of the best Organizations you can join for the money to ensure the future of our industry and its wages. http://www.gag.org/

Graphic Designers of Canada http://www.gdc.net/

IDSA National Web Site Industrial Designers Society of America. http://www.idsa.org/

Industrial Design Centre Bombay, India The Industrial Design Centre Bombay is actively involved in product design & graphic design http://www.idc.iitb.ac.in/

Industrial Designers Society Thailand Thailand industrial designers society homepage. http://www.ids.or.th/

Institute of Destination Architects and Designers Association of destination Design, Research, Development Professionals and Theme park designers/set designers/Resort Architects http://www.idad.org/

INTADIndustrial Technology and Design Teachers http://www.intad.asn.au/

International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) ICSID is a world body of national and international professional, promotional and educational institutions working to advance the profession of industrial design at the global level. ICSID, based in Helsinki, Finland, currently has 150 member societies in 53 countries worldwide. http://www.icsid.org/

International Design Network Foundation The International Design Resource Awards (IDRA) is an annual international design competition to encourage the use of post-consumer recycled, and reprocessed and sustainably harvested materials in new product designs and buildings. It also sends a box of samples of recycled/renewable sheet materials to entrants, and provides other leads to green materials. http://www.designnet.org/

JIDPO Japan Industrial Design Promotion Oraganization (JIDPO) was founded in 1969 as a non-profit organization authorized by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Its purpose is to promote industrial design in both consumer goods and capital goods, and thus contribute to create a better quality of life of the people. Website is in Japanese and English. http://www.jidpo.or.jp/

Korea Institute of Industrial Design Promotion KIDP will host the ICOGRADA 2000 and ICSID 2001 Korea. http://www.kidp.or.kr/

O2 Global Network O2 Global Network is an international volunteer network of ecological designers, rooted in a range of local O2 groups, O2 liaisons and large number of individuals. http://www.o2.org/

QFD Institute A nonprofit educational and research organization that promotes the dissemination and advancement of Quality Function Deployment, a quality focused method for designing products and services that generate increased customer satisfaction and value. http://www.qfdi.org/

SEGDOnline The SEGD (Society for Environmental Graphic Design) web site, SEGDOnline, is now live at the site is intended to be useful for anyone involved in EGD and I hope you will visit us. It features a gallery of the annual Design Awards Program winners, a Guest Chat room, a regularly updated Job Bank and a Marketplace section with information on products and Services. As well as finding out the latest information on the annual conference and expo, you can also register for both events online. In the Membership section, current members can renew and new members can join directly from the site. http://www.segd.org/

SingaporeDesigner.Com Endorsed by the Designers Association Singapore, Trade Development Board of Singapore and many associations and schools in Singapore – SingaporeDesigner.Com, is the ultimate destination for all about the Design Scene in Singapore http://www.singaporedesigner.com/

Taiwan- Cetra Design Center The design promotion center which is under the semi-official trade organization, CETRA, in Taiwan, showcases the award winning product design in Taiwan. http://www.cetra.org.tw/gd/egd.htm

The British Design Initiative The British Design Initiative provides Advisory and Recommendation Services, a Design News Service, PR, promotional, research and marketing services. http://www.britishdesign.co.uk/

Exchange (DX) is Canada‚s national not-for-profit design research, education and exhibition centre. It delivers design-led programs, which include exhibitions, competitions, lectures, courses, publications and advisory services. http://www.dx.org/

Design Zentrum Germany‚s largest and most renowned design-institution and home to the international red dot design competition awards http://www.design-germany.de/

The Ergonomics Society http://www.ergonomics.org.uk/

U.K. Design Council http://www.design-council.org.uk/

UK Chartered Society of Designer http://www.csd.org.uk/

IP (INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RESOURCES)
Intellectual property. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets are all considered intellectual property. From the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website to the Library of Congress website, get the critical links you need to learn more about and to protect your intellectual property.

Intellectual Property Law – US

The ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law is the largest intellectual property organization in the world and the oldest substantive Section of the ABA. Since 1894, we have advanced the development and improvement of intellectual property laws and their fair and just administration.

The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) is a 16,000 member, national bar association constituted primarily of intellectual property lawyers in private & corporate practice, in government service, and in the academic community.

Welcome to the Intellectual Property Law Server. The Server has been online since March 1997 and serves approximately 15 million pages a year. The Server provides information about intellectual property law including patent, trademark and copyright. Resources include comprehensive links, general information, space for professionals to publish articles and forums for discussing related issues.

The USPTO leads efforts to develop and strengthen both domestic and international property protection and advises the Secretary of Commerce, the President of the United States, and the Administration on patent, trademark, copyright, and copyright protection.

USTR’s Office of Intellectual Property and Innovation (IPN) uses a wide range of bilateral and multilateral trade tools to promote strong intellectual property laws and effective enforcement worldwide, reflecting the importance of intellectual property and innovation to the future growth of the U.S. economy.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is the Federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. In doing this, the USPTO fulfills the mandate of Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution that the Executive branch “promote the progress of science and the useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their respective discoveries.” The USPTO registers trademarks based on the Commerce Clause of the Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3). Under this system of protection, American industry has flourished.

The Department of Justice and other agencies are continually working to improve protections for intellectual property rights and the enforcement of intellectual property laws. You can find information on DOJ initiatives, summits, and speeches in this section. This section also contains information on U.S. interagency efforts, such as NIPLECC, as well as international efforts to protect intellectual property rights.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW – INTERNATIONAL

A uniform system of protection of intellectual property rights, ranging from industrial property to copyright and related rights, constitutes the foundation for creativeness and innovation within the European Union. Respect of the basic principles of the internal market (the free movement of goods and services and free competition) is based on standardization of intellectual property at European level. Protection of intellectual property is covered by many international conventions, most of which are implemented by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

As an international development organization and think tank, IIPI is dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of the use of intellectual property as a tool for economic growth, particularly in developing countries.

The group’s mission is to provide an advisory group function; assist INTERPOL to develop strategies to combat transnational organized IP crime; and, encourage National Central Bureaus (NCBs) and national law enforcement authorities in INTERPOL member countries to dedicate more resources to IP crime enforcement.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is dedicated to developing a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.

Information on intellectual property in the WTO, news and official records of the activities of the TRIPS Council, and details of the WTO’s work with other international organizations in the field

INVENTION CONTESTS
If you want to submit your idea to a contest, here’s a few links to invention contests for adults as well as a few for kids. Please note that invention contests are something fun to do on the side, but you should never use contests as your sole means of licensing ideas—and you should limit what you say about your idea publicly.

This site seems to be doing a good job at this time of keeping an up to date list of Invention contests.
http://inventorspot.com/content/inventor_spot/contest

INVENTION FRAUD
Be very careful about doing business with companies that ask for large upfront fees to license your invention. Make sure to also check out anyone you are thinking about doing business with. For a complete list of resources and advice on not getting ripped off, visit these sites.

USPTO (United States Patent And Trademark Office)
http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/scam_prevention/index.jsp

InventorFraud.com
http://inventorfraud.com/

InventorEd.com
http://www.inventored.com/

INVENTORS ASSOCIATIONS
Here’s a comprehensive list of inventors associations, groups, and clubs around the United States and abroad. These associations are great resources for educational purposes, for getting help with your ideas, and for connecting with other independent product developers.

Up to date list of  Inventor’s Associations
http://www.inventorsalliance.org/index.cgi?show&f=resources

LIST OF MAJOR RETAILERS
One of the best ways to find potential licensees is to go shopping. The companies whose products are already on store shelves at your local retailer or already being sold through catalogs and online shopping sites are often candidates for many ideas. Here’s an up-to-date list of major retailers.

Department Stores In The United States

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Department Store.

Independent & Small Scale Department Stores

  • V. Butler’s Store (Aitkin, MN)
  • Christensen’s (Eatonville, WA)
  • David M. Brian (Walnut Creek and Greenbrae, CA) owned by McCaulou’s
  • Dueber’s (Tyler, Arlington, Cokato, Wheaton & Glencoe, MN)
  • Fischers (Watertown, WI)
  • Fords Federated Store (Hamilton, MT)
  • Goff’s (Blaine, WA)
  • Jos. A. Kuhn (Champaign, IL)
  • LaVogue Department Store (Hoquiam, WA)
  • Lochners (Zumbrota, MN)
  • Murphy’s (Stillwater, OK)
  • McCaulou’s Department Store (Lafayette, CA)Locations throughout the San Francisco East Bay in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
  • Norby’s (Detroit Lakes, MN)
  • Tomah Cash Mercantile] (Tomah, WI)
  • Wayne’s Hub Department Store (Slayton, MN)
  • Yellowstone Mercantile (Sidney, MT)

Big Box or Superstores World Wide

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Big Box retailer.

Multi-national

Australia

Canada

Hong Kong

PARKnSHOP Superstore

India

Indonesia

Malaysia

Philippines

  • Shopwise
  • SM Hypermarket

Singapore

Thailand

  • Auchan (Branches in Thailand now changed and acquired by BigC)
  • BigC (a part of Groupe Casino and Central Retail Corporation)
  • Carrefour
  • Central Superstore (Branches now changed to BigC)
  • Makro
  • Tesco Lotus (Groceries) (a part of Tesco UK) group, includes
    • Tesco Lotus Discount Store (Branches now changed to Tesco Lotus Supercenter)
    • Tesco Lotus Supercenter
    • Tesco Lotus Khumkha (Tesco Lotus Value)

United Kingdom

  • Currys (Electronics, White Goods)
  • Halfords (Auto Parts and Accessories)
  • Matalan (clothing)
  • Argos (General Household Merchandise, Toys)
  • DFS (Furniture)
  • MFI Retail (Fitted Kitchens, Furniture)
  • B&Q (Hardware, Home Improvement Materials)
  • Tesco Extra (General Household Merchandise,Clothing,Furniture & Electronics)

United States

Vietnam

All Sporting Good Retailers – USA

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Sporting Good Retailer.

A

B

C

D

E

G

H

J

L

M

O

P

R

S

T

V

Convenience Store Retailers – Worldwide

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Convenience Store.

North America

  • 1st Stop at Phillips 66 gas stations.
  • 7-Eleven
  • ampm at ARCO gas stations.
  • Albertsons Express gas stations/convenience stores
  • Allsup’s
  • AmeriStop Food Mart
  • A-Plus at Sunoco gas stations.
  • Bill’s Superette
  • BreakTime formerly at Conoco gas stations.
  • Cenex/NuWay
  • Circle K
  • CoGo’s
  • Convenient Food Marts
  • Corner Store at Valero and Diamond Shamrock gas stations.
  • CVS/Pharmacy
  • Express Mart
  • Express Lane
  • ExtraMile at Chevron Gas Stations
  • E-Z Mart
  • Farm Stores The nation’s largest drive-thru grocery, with more than 100 double drive-thru only stores in Florida.
  • Fas Mart
  • Fastrac Markets
  • Food Mart at Shell and Texaco gas stations.
  • Friendly Neighbor Convenience Store
  • GetGo, a division of Giant Eagle
  • Git n Go
  • Go-Mart, convenience store chain with locations in West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.
  • Go-At-C Mart
  • Golden Gallon
  • Han-dee Hugo’s
  • Holiday Stationstores
  • Loaf ‘N Jug, a division of Kroger
  • Marisol’s Convenience Store
  • On the Run at Exxon & Mobil stations in the US; Esso and Mobil stations internationally.

Canada

Mexico

  • Oxxo
  • Extra

Northeastern United States

Midwestern United States

  • Budget Mart, owned by Avanti Petroleum, operates in many small towns in Minnesota. ‘Hot Stuff Pizza’ is one well advertised brand at their stores.
  • Casey’s General Stores, based in Ankeny, Iowa and concentrated in the midwestern US, primarily in Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri
  • Food ‘n Fuel, owned by Avanti Petroleum, operates in many small towns in Minnesota.
  • Go For It Gas, operates in the Twin Cities (Minnesota) as a discount gas/convenience store retailer
  • Happy Days, owned by Avanti Petroleum, operates in Minnesota.
  • Kuik-E-Mart, operates in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its name is based on the fictional store from The Simpsons.
  • Kum & Go, based in Iowa and operates in the midwestern US
  • Kwik Shop, a division of Kroger
  • Kwik Star, the name used by Kwik Trip, Inc. in Iowa
  • Kwik Trip, the name used by Kwik Trip, Inc. in Wisconsin and Minnesota
  • Oasis Market, owned by Avanti Petroleum, had numerous Twin Cities (Minnesota) locations, many of which have been rebranded since.
  • Open Pantry, the name used by Open Pantry Food Marts Of Wisconsin Inc. With the cutting edge style and locations in Wisconsin and Illinois
  • PDQ Food Stores
  • Speedway SuperAmerica owned by Marathon Oil
  • SuperAmerica, aka ‘SA’, is an Enon, Ohio based chain owned by Speedway SuperAmerica LLC that operates in the midwestern United States near the Great Lakes. (Minnesota stores are simply labeled as SuperAmerica.)
  • Total Mart, owned by Avanti Petroleum, operates in Minnesota.

Southern United States

Southwestern United States

Western United States

  • ABC Stores
  • Bradley Food Marts often paired with Sinclair gas stations in Colorado.
  • Famima!! (FamilyMart)
  • Farm Crest Milk Stores part of 1st Stop convenience stores in Colorado.
  • Plaid Pantry Located exclusively in the North West
  • Sav-O-Mat, paired with some Sinclair gas stations in Colorado and New Mexico.
  • Town Pump, operating in Montana
  • Western Convenience Stores, operates gas stations in Colorado.
  • Circle-K

Europe

Africa and Middle East

  • Emarat – UAE
  • Emarat Misr – Egypt

East Asia

Japan

China

Singapore

South Korea

Taiwan

  • Everyday
  • Hi-Life
  • 7-Eleven
  • FamilyMart
  • Nikomart
  • OK
  • SJExpress
  • TSC Million

Retailers – Drug Stores

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Drug Store.

CVS Corp.

Longs Drug Stores Corp

Rite Aid Corp.

Walgreens

Major Electronic Retailing – Home Shopping Networks – USA

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Electronic Retailer.

QVC

Home Shopping Network (HSN)

ShopNBC

Shop At Home Network, LLC

Jewlery Television

Retailers – Grocery Stores – United States

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Grocery Store.

National chains

Regional and local chains

  • The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P)
  • Acme Fresh Market operating in the Akron, Ohio area
  • Adams Super Food Stores (New England)
  • Andronico’s (California)
  • Associated Supermarkets (New York City area)
  • Balducci’s (New York City, Washington, D.C., and their suburbs)
  • Bashas’ (Arizona)
  • Big Y Foods (New England)
  • BI-LO (southeastern United States)
  • Breaux Mart Supermarkets (New Orleans, Louisana area)
  • Brookshire’s (Texas & Louisiana) – also runs Super1 Foods in East Texas; Shreveport, Louisiana; Monroe, Louisiana; and West Monroe, Louisiana
  • Brookshire Brothers (Texas) – brother of aforementioned Brookshire’s
  • Broulims (Idaho)
  • Brown & Cole (Washington)
    • Cost Cutter (New Jersey)
    • Food Depot – also in North Carolina, Georgia as part of SuperValu
    • Food Pavilion
    • Red Apple
    • Save-On-Foods
  • Bruno’s Supermarkets (southeast)
  • Buehler’s (Ohio)
  • Buehler’s Buy-Low (Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky)
  • Butera (Illinois)
  • Busch’s (southeast and Central Michigan)
  • C-Town (northeastern United States)
  • Cannata’s Family Market (southern Louisiana)
  • Coborn’s (Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin)
  • Copps Food Center (Wisconsin)
  • Crest Foods (Oklahoma City area)
  • D’Agostino’s (New York)
  • D&W Food Centers (Michigan)
  • Dahl’s Foods (Des Moines, Iowa, area)
  • David’s (rural north Texas)
  • Dehoff’s Key Markets (Bay Area, California)
  • DeMoulas’ Market Basket (New England: Massachusetts/New Hampshire)
  • Dierbergs (Greater St. Louis, Missouri)
  • Econofoods (Twin Cities, Western Wisconsin)
  • El Super (Los Angeles and Pheonix)
  • Fareway (Iowa)
  • FasChek (Charleston, West Virginia area)
  • Felpausch (Michigan)
  • Fiesta Mart (Houston, Dallas, Austin & Waco, Texas) Hispanic and International foods.
  • Food Basket (California)
  • Food City (Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee)
  • FoodFair (southeastern Ohio, Eastern Kentucky, and western West Virginia)
  • Food Giant
  • Foodland (including Sack&Save) (Hawaii)
  • FoodLand Supermarkets (West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Pennsylvania)
  • Foodtown (Northeast, mainly New Jersey) (a similarly named store, “Food Town“, operates in the Houston, Texas area)
  • The Fresh Market (North Carolina based – southeast, Midwest, Pennsylvania)
  • Gelson’s Super Market (southern California)
  • Gerland’s Food Fair (Houston, Texas)
  • Giant Eagle (eastern United States)
  • Glen’s (northern Michigan)
  • Grand Union (Hudson Valley New York, rural Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania) – a.k.a. GU Family Markets
  • Greer’s Food Tiger (south Alabama)
  • Gristedes (most in the Borough of Manhattan, New York City)
  • Grocer’s Pride (Houston, Mississippi)
  • Haggen Food & Pharmacy (Washington, Oregon)
    • Top Food & Drug
  • Handy Andy (San Antonio, New Braunfels, Seguin, Schertz)
  • H-E-B (Texas, Mexico) Also operates H-E-B Plus and Central Market.
  • Harding’s Friendly Markets (southwestern Michigan)
  • Harris Teeter (southeast)
  • Harp’s Market (Arkansas, Kansas, regional southern states) competes against Wal-mart in small towns, larger stores include sporting goods.
  • Heinen’s Fine Foods (Greater Cleveland)
  • Homeland (Kansas, Oklahoma, and formerly Texas)
  • Holiday Quality Foods (Northern California)
  • Hugo’s (North Dakota, Minnesota)
  • Hy-Vee Food Stores (Hundreds of stores in 7 Midwest and Central states)
  • Ingles (South)
  • Jimbo’s… Naturally! (San Diego County, California)
  • Jons (Los Angeles inner-city)
  • Karns Quality Foods (metropolitan Harrisburg area, Pennsylvania)
  • Key Food (metro New York City)
  • Key Markets – also see Dehoff’s Key Markets – (Bay Area, California)
  • King Kullen (Long Island, and Staten Island, New York)
  • Kings (New Jersey and New York)
  • Kowalski’s (Minnesota)
  • Kuhns (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
  • La Fiesta (San Antonio, Texas)
  • Landis Supermarkets (Southeastern Pennsylvania)
  • Lena’s (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
  • Lowes Foods (North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia)
  • Lund’s (Minnesota)
  • Macey’s Market (northern Utah)
  • Magruder’s (Washington, DC region)
  • Market Basket (SE Texas, SW Louisiana)
  • Mars (Greater Baltimore area)
  • Marsh (Indiana, Ohio including O’Malia’s and Lo-Bill chains)
  • Matherne’s Supermarkets (Baton Rouge, Louisiana area)
  • Martin’s Super Markets (Indiana)
  • Martin’s Super Food Stores (New York)
  • Mayfair Markets (Hollywood, California)
  • Meijer (Midwest)
  • Met Foods (New York City and Northern NJ)
  • Miner’s Incorporated (Upper Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan)
    • SuperOne Foods
  • Minyard’s (Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex – operates also under the names “Carnival”, an ethnic-oriented line, and “Sack and Save”, a discount line. http://www.minyards.com
  • Nash Finch Company (Upper Midwest)
  • Nugget Markets (northern California)
  • Omni Foods (Massachusetts and New Hampshire)
  • Penn Traffic (Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire)
  • Petosa’s Family Grocery (Edmonds, Washington)
    • P&C Foods
    • Bi-Lo Foods (Pittsburgh area)
    • Riverside Markets
    • Quality Markets
  • PinoyGrocery.com (Katy, TX)
  • Price Chopper (northeastern United States, mostly New York State)
  • Price Cutter (Southern Missouri, Northern Arkansas) – Also operates stores under the “Ramey’s” and “Smitty’s” flag. The Smitty’s stores use the same logo as the defunct chain from Arizona.
  • Publix (southeastern United States)
  • Quality Markets (New York and Pennsylvania)
  • Raley’s (western U.S., own Nob Hill and Bel Air)
  • Reasors (eastern Oklahoma)
  • Red Apple (Oregon and Washington)
  • Redner’s Warehouse Markets (eastern Pennsylvania, very few in Maryland and New York)
  • Remke Markets (Cincinnati, Ohio metro area)
  • Robèrt’s Fresh Market (New Orleans, Louisiana metro area)
  • Roth’s (Northern Oregon)
  • Roundy’s
  • Rosauers Supermarkets (Eastern Washington, Western Montana, Northern OR, & Western ID)
    • Huckleberry’s Natural Market (Spokane, Washington)
    • Super 1 Foods
  • Rouse’s Supermarket (Louisiana)
  • Royal Ahold
  • Rice Supermarkets Also Rice Epicurean Markets (Houston)
  • Preston-Safeway|Safeway (aka Preston-Safeway, unrelated to Safeway Inc.; Central Indiana)
  • Save Mart Supermarkets (California’s Central Valley and Bay Area)
    • FoodMaxx
    • S-Mart Foods
  • Schnucks (Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Iowa)
  • Logli (Northern Illinois, Wisconsin)
  • Ultra Foods – discount division (Indiana and Chicago suburbs)

Retailers’ cooperatives

Deep Discount and Limited Assortment chains

Defunct chains

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

  • ABCO (Arizona) – a.k.a. Alpha Beta
  • Almacs (Rhode Island)
  • AppleTree Markets (Houston, Dallas & Austin, Texas) – former Safeway stores in Texas; former Safeway employees bought out the assets of Safeway and formed AppleTree.
  • Bayless Markets (Arizona)
  • Bells (western New York) – once Loblaw’s; some former stores are now Quality Markets
  • Big Bear (California, Ohio, New York, West Virginia)
  • Big D (supermarket) (Rhode Island)
  • Bohack (New York City) – based in Brooklyn but also found on Long Island. Went out of Business in the late 1970s, early 1980s
  • Carter’s Foods (Michigan) – employee-owned chain declared bankruptcy in 2006; some stores sold to IGA
  • Chatham Supermarkets (Michigan)
  • Clemens Family Markets (Pennsylvania) – sold stores in 2006 to Ahold which were folded into the Giant-Carlisle chain; other stores were sold to Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company to be operated as Super Fresh
  • Consumers Food & Drug Southern Missouri. Stores Went defunct in the late 90s. Last store was in Joplin, Missouri, became Allen’s Discount Foods in 2000 and finally went bankrupt in 2001 and closed the fall of that year.
  • Costco Fresh
  • Daitch’s Shopwell (Metro New York City) – became Food Emporium, later sold to Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
  • Eagle Food Centers (headquartered in Milan, Illinois) – 2 Eagle Country Market stores were purchased by Downtown Eagle Corporation who continues to operate the stores
  • Farm Fresh Supermarket – chain of 18 supermarkets located throughout Maryland; sold in 1995 by Jack Millman of Pikesville, MD for over $28 million
  • Farmer Jack Chain of 66 supermarkets that were based in southeastern Michigan and owned by parent company,Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. Closed and sold off to several buyers including Kroger in July 2007
  • Food-A-Rama – started from a corner grocery store in downtown Baltimore City growing into a 48-store supermarket chain in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia, and Delaware. Was sold in 1985 to Super Rite foods of Harrisburg, PA [2]
  • Food Fair closed in the 1990s; Pantry Pride was part of Food Fair
  • Furr’s Grocery – operated in the SouthWest, was related to Furr’s Cafeteria
  • Giant Food Mart (Michigan) – closed 1992; related to Giantway Department Stores
  • Great ASmerican (upsate New York) – last store is called Slater’s Great American
  • Great Scott! (Michigan)
  • Henke – Pillot Foods (Houston, Texas) – became Kroger in 1960s
  • Hills Supermarkets (headquartered in Brentwood, NY) – division of Pueblo Supermarkets, closed in late 1970s to early 1980s
  • Jitney-Jungle – declared bankruptcy after acquiring the Delchamps chain, many locations were sold to Winn-Dixie
  • Kessel Food Market (Michigan) – acquired by Kroger
  • Kmart Foods (national)
  • Kohl’s Food Stores (Wisconsin)
  • Larry’s Markets (Settle, Washington region) – went bankrupt in 2006, Redmond Town Center location kept by Associated Grocers [3].
  • M&M Supermarkets (Savannah, Georgia) – acquired and merged into Kroger in early 1990s
  • MacMarr Stores (national)
  • Mini Max (Houston & Austin, Texas)
  • National Supermarkets (St. Louis, Missouri, New Orleans, Louisiana) – sold to Schnucks Markets by Loblaws of Canada in June 1995; Schnucks turned around and sold the New Orleans division to Schwegmann Giant Super Markets [4]
  • Olsen’s Market (Lynnwood, Washington) – bought by QFC
  • Omni Superstore – (Chicago, Illinois – former discount division of Dominick’s, sold to Safeway and store converted to Dominick’s or closed)
  • Packer Foods (Metro Detroit, Michigan)
  • Pantry Pride – last store built in 1991 before the chain closed, part of Food Fair
  • Penn-Fruit (metro Philadelphia)
  • Red Food (southeastern United States; now merged into BI-LO)
  • Royal Supermarket (Detroit, Michigan- division of Chatham Stores)
  • Sav-A-Center (Baton Rouge and New Orleans) Division of A&P; Sold in 2007
  • Schwegmanns Bros Super Food Stores (metro New Orleans) – later became Schwegmann Giant Super Markets
  • Smitty’s (Arizona)
  • Thorofare (western Pennsylvania)
  • The Stock Market (King County, Washington) – stores bought by QFC
  • Tidyman’s (Spokane, WA) Stores closed 2006
  • ‘Super Duper’ (western New York, Ohio) – nearly defunct; many former stores are now Jubilee
  • Weingarten’s (Houston, Texas)
  • Whitefront (California)
  • Wrigley (Detroit, Michigan – a division of Packer Foods)

Ethnic chains

Asian

See also: Asian supermarket

  • 99 Ranch Market – the largest Asian American supermarket chain on the West Coast
  • Ai Hoa Supermarket – formerly a large Chinese-Vietnamese American chain in southern California, now operates one store in Chinatown, Los Angeles
  • Asian Food Center (New Jersey)
  • Assi Plaza (New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, California, Texas)- Full line Asian supermarket chain
  • Diho Supermarket (Houston, Texas) – Chinese American
  • Great Wall Supermarket – Chinese-American supermarket chain
  • Han Ah Reum (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Illinois) – Korean-American supermarket chain
  • Hong Kong Supermarket – Chinese-American supermarket chain
  • Island Pacific Supermarket California, Nevada – Filipino American chain
  • Kam Man Food (New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts) – small Asian American supermarket chain
  • Lotte Plaza (Maryland, Virginia) – Full line Asian supermarket chain
  • Marukai – Japanese American supermarket
  • Mitsuwa (New Jersey, Illinois, California) – Japanese American supermarket and shopping center
  • Uwajimaya (Seattle, Washington)

Hispanic/Latino

  • Avanza Supermarket – Hispanic supermarket chain in Denver, owned by Nash Finch
  • Big Saver Foods – Hispanic chain of 16 stores in Los Angeles area
  • Carnival – Hispanic chain in the Dallas area operated by Minyard Food Stores.
  • El Pueblo – Largest Latino supermarket in New Jersey. Located in Newark.
  • Fiesta Supermarket – Mexican-American, primarily in Texas
  • Northgate Gonzalez Supermarket – around Los Angeles area
  • Publix Sabor – Hispanic, operated by Publix.
  • Sedano’s – Hispanic chain in south Florida.
  • Superior Super Warehouse – Hispanic Warehouse supermarket 28 stores in southern California
  • Supermercados Gigante – Mexico-based supermarket chain with locations in the US.
  • Supermercado El Rancho – Hispanic supermarket chain in Dallas area. Less than 8 stores.
  • Supersaver Foods – Hispanic-geared chain operated by Albertsons
  • Mi Tienda – Hispanic supermarket division of HEB Stores. Only location in Houston, TX
  • Tapatio Markets- Hispanic supermarket chain in Los Angeles

Specialty/Natural foods

Chains in Insular areas

Guam

  • Payless Supermarkets

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Retailers – Housewares & Home Furnishings

Each link will send you to Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) for up to date and incredibly detailed information on each Housewares & Home Furnising Retailer. A few companys didn’t have a page on Wikipedia, so we linked directly to their web site insead.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.

Bombay Company Inc.

Design Within Reach Inc.

Haverty Furniture Companies Inc.

Jennifer Convertibles Inc.

Kirkland’s Inc.

Linens’n Things Inc.

Pier 1 Imports Inc.

Restoration Hardware Inc.

Williams-Sonoma Inc.

Bassett Furniture Industries Inc.

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

Furniture Brands International Inc.

Hooker Furniture Corp.

La-Z-Boy Inc.

Select Comfort Corp.

Stanley Furniture Co. Inc.

Tuesday Morning Corporation

MANUFACTURER DIRECTORIES
If you need to research how to manufacture your idea or to get quotes on the cost of manufacturing your idea (both of which I recommend you do before you start submitting your idea to potential licensees). Here’s a list of free manufacturing directories that will help you out tremendously.

www.mfg.com

http://www.thomasnet.com/

http://www.alibaba.com/

Patent attorneys. The USPTO’s website lists every patent attorney and agent licensed to practice in the United States.

https://oedci.uspto.gov/OEDCI/

PATENT RESEARCH
For most people, downloading individual patents using Google Patents to research “prior art” will be sufficient. Use Google Patents to download patents completely free.

www.google.com/patents

http://www.uspto.gov/patents/process/search/index.jsp

However, if you are doing some serious patent research and need to download several patents, you might consider using patent downloading software. On our Here’s  a list of both Mac and PC software you can purchase to manage this process for you.

PC

http://patenthunter.com/

http://download.cnet.com/Patent-Grabber/3000-2130_4-63595.html?tag=mncol;4

MAC
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7704/patent-grabber

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/17275/pronto-patent

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/22880/patentdownloader

PROTOTYPES
People who make prototypes go by a few different names, including model maker, industrial designer, rapid prototyping specialist, 3-D print maker, CAD designer, machinist, and computer animator (“virtual” prototypes). Which one is right for you depends on the type of prototype you need (if you need one at all). For more information on what each type of prototyping specialist does and on how to find people with these skills, visit our Resources page.

PROVISIONAL PATENT SOFTWARE
Yes, there is actually a computer program that walks you through the process of filing your own provisional patent application (PPA). I personally use such software and have found that it really helps speed up the process of filing a PPA.

www.patentwizard.com

Setting up your business. A company name, business structure, dedicated phone number, and e-mail are all important things to think about. Visit our Resources page to find out where and how to get what you need.

SHOPPING SEARCH ENGINES

Shopping search engines. Shopping search engines are a great way to do research. They are a little different than regular search engines in that the search results are based on products available for sale on the Internet. You should use a shopping search engine every time you come up with a new idea. It is easy and will likely provide some valuable information. Google Product Search is one of our favorites.

Google Product Search
www.google.com/shopping

BizRate
http://www.bizrate.com/

BizRate allows you to search for products from hundreds of online vendors. Features include merchant ratings, reviews, tax and shipping information, as well as a list of your own most searches and recently viewed products. Also powers some of the results provided by Lycos Shopping.

DealTime
http://www.dealtime.com

One of the major comparison shopping search engines on the web that integrates product reviews from Epinions,

Kelkoo
http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/

Major comparison shopping search engine for the United Kingdom and other European countries. According to the company, 16 out of the top 20 e-commerce sites in the UK are currently advertising through Kelkoo.

MSN Shopping
http://shopping.msn.com/

MSN Shopping, formerly known as eShop, offers Buyer’s Guides with tips and tools, editor suggestions, and other features beyond the price comparisons offered by other shopping search sites.

mySimon
http://www.mysimon.com/

One of oldest comparison shopping sites on the Web, featuring the ability to search for products from thousands of merchants or browse by product category.

NexTag
http://www.nextag.com/

Comparison shopping search engine with “TruePrices” feature that shows prices including tax and shipping charges, as well as user ratings.

PriceGrabber.com
http://www.pricegrabber.com/

Comparison shopping search engine with ability to see member ratings of products. Available in English or Spanish, including specialized product searches for retailers in Mexico and Brazil.

Yahoo Shopping
http://shopping.yahoo.com/

Yahoo Shopping connects you with thousands of merchants — traditional retail stores, name-brand catalog companies, small boutiques, and specialty vendors. Listings come from merchants hosted in Yahoo Store and through partnerships with others, in addition to online merchants throughout the web.
Buyer’s Index
http://www.buyersindex.com/

Buyer’s Index lists information from thousands of mail order companies, web shopping sites, classified ad sites and other venues. Shows links to merchant ratings from BizRate

Dulance
http://www.dulance.com/

Shopping search engine that pulls back likely product pages from across the web, rather than relying on merchant feeds. It sends your query out to one of four major search engines (Google, AllTheWeb, Inktomi or Teoma) but then should only list pages where you can actually buy a product you are interested in. Product reviews, magazine articles, discussions and opinions are filtered out.

ePublicEye.com
http://www.epubliceye.com

Collects customer satisfaction reports from shoppers that purchase from online merchants. You can also comparison shop with rated merchants using the service.

PriceScan
http://www.pricescan.com/

Comparison shop in different categories such as books, electronics and sporting goods. Promotes itself as “unbiased” because it does not accept money from vendors to be listed, which is commonplace in the shopping search engine space.

Specialty Choices

AddAll
http://www.addall.com/

Comparison shop for books across 40 online book stores from one place.

CatalogCity.com
http://www.catalogcity.com/

Catalog City allows you to Order free mail order catalogs or shop online.

Google Catalogs
http://catalogs.google.com/

Search through listings from thousands of mail order catalogs that have been digitized by Google.

Specialoffers.com
http://www.specialoffers.com/

Find special offers, freebies and free trials available online.

TRADE SHOW DIRECTORIES
You’ll find links to three killer trade-show directories on our Resources page. These directories are certain to include at least one trade show for a product, product category, or industry that fits with your idea.

http://www.tsnn.com/

USPTO (UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE)
The USPTO is the governing agency responsible for establishing patent law in the United States and issues all patents in this country. The agency has many people ready to assist you; they even have an Inventors Help line to answer your questions. Here you’ll find all the direct links and phone numbers to the most important resources the USPTO has to offer—from fee schedules to patent searching, and beyond.

www.uspto.gov

Inventor Assistance Center At The USPTO
http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/iac/index.jsp

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