Is Invention Resource International a reliable company or a fraud?

Lots of reviews online about this company. Read the article by Phoenix Channel 3 television on their website. The company charged $11,420 upfront to the inventor with their promise that he would make apx. $12 Million. He had invented a cool fishing tackle box. The inventor got nothing. He hired an attorney. The attorney is having trouble tracking down the IRI guys.

Invention Resource International

I’ll start by stating this company does only half of what they say they will do and charge twice what it is worth (at the time, about $9K). I suspect all of these “invention” companies operate in the same manner.

Having said that, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned. First, there’s nothing you can think of hasn’t already been thought of (didn’t John Lennon say that?). That’s hard to hear but you need to get over yourself, quickly. You may think your idea is original, but believe me, there are undoubtedly aspects or portions of your idea, invention or concept that have been already been patented (see Trolls below). If you’re extremely lucky, you’ll be among the 1% to 2% who actually gets something patented. Do you like those odds?

The entire cannibalistic patent enterprise is basically concentrated into three income streams: Corporate clients, trolls and rubes: With the majority of income derived from corporate clients and trolls. Patent trolls produce no useful products themselves but earn millions of dollars by threatening patent lawsuits against productive companies. They typically hide behind a P.O. Box and/or a small leased office. The patent troll will patent ideas or devices that have such a broad spectrum of uses that they are virtually non-marketable (think food processor-can opener-juicer combined into one appliance). That’s an over simplification, but that’s an example. Corporate clients have the resources to take them on – but rubes typically cannot.

Forget provisional patents. They’re just a placeholder. No in-depth searches are performed by patent office examiners until your formal patent application is filed. Your earnest efforts and intentions will be rejected time and time again; all the while you’re accumulating billable hours from your patent attorney’s formal patent filings and patent office fees. The examiners’ rejections will ultimately be for “obviousness.” You may think if it were “obvious” why hasn’t anyone produced your invention? This is why. You’re better off spending a couple of dollars a week on lottery tickets. At least if you do not win you’re only out $2.00 and you haven’t blown through your inheritance or retirement savings. Don’t be a rube.

Invention Resource International is a SCAM. They lied to me about my invention, my family invested thousands of dollars on my concept and then I found out months later it had already been created years ago. After months of trying to get a hold of someone they finally promised me a refund of $5000. They sent me a contract to sign for the refund and then they still refused to reimburse the money. They refused to pay even after the Attorney General contacted them and flagged that in their file along with several other complaints. They prey on your ambition, promise big and when they can't deliver they may do the same thing to you. BE WARNED. Don't believe a thing they say.