FOR INVENTORS

Well, I guess more litigation related to the American Inventor show was inevitable. Thanks to reader who made us aware of this (we have not yet verified its accuracy or veracity):
TEQUESTA, FL, April 26, 2006 – A formal complaint has been issued to ABC television network stating the judges of the show “The American Inventor” have wrongfully selected one of the participants for the final 12, allowing the contestant to misrepresent himself as the originator of a concept called the Tonerbelt that has already been developed and has been on store shelves since 1995, including Target and QVC, under the name of Powerbelt®. read more »

Episode 7 has a format similar to last week's episode (episode 6). Mary Lou is this week's judge and there are three new inventors from the top 12.

This is ABC's Press Release:
MARY LOU QUINLAN GUIDES THREE INVENTORS TO USE THEIR $50,000 TOWARDS FINALIZING THEIR PRODUCT, ON ABC'S "AMERICAN INVENTOR"

"Episode 107" - This week on "American Inventor" we will focus on three semi-finalists to see how they use the $50,000 they've been given to finalize their invention. Mary Lou Boo HooQuinlan, one of our expert judges, will mentor
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We asked Carl, our terrific guest blogger from Inventive Rants to write about some of the critical elements to success in inventing. Today, he chose to write on the importance of exploring new markets for your invention as this week's special posting for American Inventor Spot readers.

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It may seem obvious to most, but inventors tend to have blinders on when it comes to markets. I was guilty of this error, and I now know how to avoid this mistake in the future.

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QUESTION: What's to keep others from stealing the inventions we see on the show? Or more precisely, how much exactly must a similar idea differ for a mega-company to get their own patent on it?
DOUG: Sadly, many of the inventors don’t have an invention that is protectable. Hopefully those that do have filed a utility patent.

QUESTION: Why doesn't the show screen inventors before they come before the judges so they don't waste your time with products that already exist?

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Come ask Doug Hall. He'll be here on Sunday night at 9:30pm EST. For details, check out Thinkoutsidethecircle's blog at Doug Hall Live

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THE FULL RECAP.

ONLY 12 REMAIN - tonight

ED EVANTELISTA IS THE MAIN JUDGE. He decides the fate of…

MARK Martinez - Sackmaster 2000 (now the Sacmaster)
SHERYL McDonald - The Un-brella (now the In-brella)
ERIC Thompson - Receiver's Training Pole (now the Catch)

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We at AmericanInventorSpot are proud to tell you that Doug Hall has volunteered to host a live blog, this Sunday night from 9:30 until 10:30 or longer, depending on interest. He will be responding to YOUR questions.

He's going to be honest, straight forward, and is willing to do a no holds barred commentary. He will answer whatever he can, without breaking any of the obvious contracts he has signed being a judge on the show. So... don't expect him to give away the ending. read more »

More of round 1 auditions. Some we've never seen before. Anyone out there? read more »

Guest blogger William Colbath continues his series on Prototyping with the following article:

Hi all!

How bout the American Inventor show? They are down to the final twelve and firmly into my territory PROTOTYPING! For me it couldn't be more exciting. This may not seem to exciting to some ofyou, but to the contestants it could mean the difference between winning or not!
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Thanks to Chris from Spider Stick - Invention Gallery for this posting:

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The 12 contestants are divided up between the judges.

American Inventor: The Top Twelve - Details Released April 19, 2006

On Thursday, April 13, the top 12 semifinalists were revealed and were given $50,000 each to further develop their products. In the upcoming weeks, we will focus on one of our expert judges to see how they mentor their three semifinalists and guide them through the process of working with product designers, packaging companies, marketing executives and product testing.
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Some of our visitors are perplexed about the fact that a couple of the “inventions” showcased on American Inventor show in the Top 12 Finalist already exist. The already existing products break down into two categories: (1) the actual inventor on American Idol is already selling the item and (2) another person is already selling a product very similar to the one on American Inventor.

I didn’t understand how this was happening either so I tried to find out how existing products could end up in the Final 12. read more »

One of our viewers Janice asked me if I would post this article for her. I thought it was a very interesting read and so I decided to share it with you.
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When I think about what truly distinguished America from other countries, I think about the fact that we have been a country profoundly blessed by innovation. read more »

I've been looking around the web curious to see what people are thinking about the show. I was wondering if our viewers had similar opinions to other everyday viewers out in the blogosphere. Here are some of the better comments I have seen that I thought you may enjoy reading:
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Whatever you think of them, these guys made it. They each receive $50,000 to help them take their invention to the next level. Let's see if they've got what it takes.

Check out Boom or Bust Vote for your favorites. Let the judges know, with votes, with comments, with a little reality about their reality tv show.

Take a look at American Inventor Final 12 Bios for all the details. read more »

ABC's press release:

ED EVANGELISTA GUIDES THREE INVENTORS TO USE THEIR $50,000 TOWARDS FINALIZING THEIR PRODUCT, ON ABC'S "AMERICAN INVENTOR"
"Episode 106" - This week on "American Inventor" we will focus on three semi-finalists to see how they use the $50,000 they've been given to finalize their invention. Ed Evangelista, one of our expert judges, will mentor three inventors and guide them through the process of working with product designers, packaging companies, marketing executives and product testing. read more »

American Inventor ratings this week: it came came 2nd at the 9:00pm to 10 pm spot and 3rd at the 8:00pm to 9 pm spot.

Unfortunately, the show had dramtically fewer viewers and a significant drop in viewership from the premier episode. Is the decline in trend going to continue?

Take a look at Adweek if you want to see the details. read more »

We asked Carl, our terrific guest blogger from Inventive Rants to address the issue of marketing once you have a patented invention as a special posting for American Inventor Spot readers. Here it is:

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An invention can come to you in minutes, yet it has no value until someone decides to part with their hard earned money to buy it. Marketing is 99% of invention success. read more »

In this episode, the judges are going to narrow down the 24 contestants down to 12. I’m expecting a lot of tears because the judges say the next presentation is about speaking from the heart. They need to show why the inventors need the $50,000 to move forward.

Here's the final 24: read more »

The show is two hours tonight. The 50 inventors that moved forward from the first round are narrowed down to 24 in the first hour and then to 12 in the second hour. If my count is correct, we’ve seen 32 of the 50 (although there are some that we don’t know very much about).

Here’s a recap of the first hour (50 to 24): read more »

Please note the earlier start time for American Inventor - 8pm (7pm central). The episode is going to be two hours long.

THE FIELD OF INVENTORS IS NARROWED DOWN TO A FINAL 12 WHO WILL RECEIVE $50,000 TO TAKE THEIR PRODUCT TO THE NEXT LEVEL, ON ABC'S “AMERICAN INVENTOR” read more »