With the kind of high education standards which are getting better each day, it is not uncommon that a grad student, or even a home maker "invents" something. Inventing something could be defined as coming up with a novel product or idea which has yet to be developed elsewhere. This could be a tangible product/ software or an intangible service, idea, solution or procedure.

A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a government to an inventor for a limited time period in exchange for public disclosure of their invention.

Getting new inventions evaluated to assess their worth is the next tough step after invention.

You may want to consider the services of an invention marketing firm. These firms specialize in:

Assessing inventions
Applying for patents
Assist in acquiring the patents

It is important that the firm you choose looks at your invention patents and gives an unbiased evaluation.

Once you have determined that you have a viable and marketable invention, you may want to consider hiring a competent patent attorney to have a professional search done. This kind of search gives an idea that the invention hasn't already been thought of, wasting your valuable time and money.

Important Questions to Ask the Invention Marketing Firm

According to http://www.bpmlegal.com, you should ask the following questions:

How many inventors have they represented in the last 5-10 years?
How many of these inventions made it to licensing?
How many inventions were presented to them in the last 5-10 years?
How many of these new inventions did they select to market?

IE: Investigate and Educate

It is important to understand the peculiarities of invention marketing and patents. Some things to consider are:

Legal requirements

The shortlisted firms should have a comprehensive understanding of patent and copy right laws in the local as well as international arena.
Understanding of Australian patent laws and legal requirements of business is also important.

Publications & International associations

Publications and memberships of international bodies add credibility. These associations often do not grant membership unless the candidate has proven success in the field.

History of practice

It is a good idea to talk to past clients of a shortlisted firm. Additionally all inventions make headlines, therefore a quick scrutiny of past newspapers and journals may reveal the results of past invention patents, management approach and level of success in each.

Internal policies and procedures: You may want to check the shortlisted firm's approach on

Licensing agreements
Copyright agreement
Timeframe of expected results before changing strategy

To learn more about Australian patents you can visit www.ipaustralia.gov.au/