Independent Inventors...
Research Sources
Links to web sites for inventors to do research on their inventions.
Useful Research Directories & Databases
To locate businesses to license or manufacture your product, or to find out how large a market exists for your invention, check out the following resources:
ASM: Annual Survey of Manufacturers
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Annual Publication. Also Call No. C 56.221: Library Location: Government and Business Department. Locate national sales figures by product type. Provides indication of how large a potential market is for your product.
Associations Unlimited
- Gale Research (Infotrac). A good resource to determine the industry and market size, as well as trade show location and dates. Contains information for approximately 460,000 international and U.S. national, regional, state, and local nonprofit membership organizations in all fields, including IRS data on U.S. 501(c) nonprofit organizations. This is also found in the Encyclopedia of Associations Gale Publishing.
Business & Company Resource Center
- Gale (Infotrac), brings together in a single database: company profiles, company brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies, and periodicals. This database provides detailed company and industry news and information.
Business Source Premiere
- (EbscoHost). Provides full text for nearly 3,600 scholarly business journals, including many business publications. Coverage includes researching product market potential such as Chain Store Age, Drug Store News, Discount Merchandiser, and some industry specific yearbooks.
American Bar Association
- IPL Section
American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA)
The Canadian Industrial Innovation Centre
- An organization dedicated to assisting Canadian inventors and innovative companies with services such as invention evaluation, technology due diligence, market research and education programs.
Copyright Office
- Information on copyright registration, law and protection by the Library of Congress.
Electronic Retailing Association
Federal Trade Commission
- Check this out before you get involved with any invention marketing company!
GREENandSAVE Home Resource
- Information on energy saving and environmentally friendly products and Home Remodeling that is now a $240 Billion annual industry.
Infomercial Monitoring Service Inc.
Inventors Digest
- Articles, advice, and resources for inventors.
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention & Innovation; at Smithsonian Institute
- Addresses the history of inventing; center produces invention programs & events.
Minnesota Inventors Congress
- Non-profit organization that provides support for inventors.
MIT Technology Licensing Office
- MIT source for patenting, licensing, trademarking and copyrighting of intellectual property developed at MIT.
National Council of Intellectual Property Law Associations
National Science Foundation
- Promotes the progress of science through grants and contracts, scientific and engineering research, and education programs at all levels.
National Technology Transfer Center
- Access to federal technology information, knowledge management and digital learning services, technology assessment, technology marketing, assistance in finding strategic partners, and electronic-business development services.
Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries
- To locate the one nearest you, call 1-800-838-8808.
S.C.O.R.E. - Service Corps of Retired Executives
- Located throughout the U.S. A volunteer organization that provides assistance to those who are starting businesses or bringing new products to market. Check your phone book for the office near you.
Small Business Development Centers
- Located throughout the USA. A governmental department which provides services to inventors and small business owners. Check your phone book for the office near you.
Small Business Survival Committee
Thomas Register of Manufacturers
United Inventors Association of the USA
- This is a perfect site to start with lots of great links.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Washington State University Innovation Assessment Center
- A Service of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and the EDA University Center at Washington State University. IAC provides inventors with valuable information and analysis to help them determine the commercial viability of their new product or service innovation. Their package of services ($795) includes Market Research, a Feasibility Analysis, a Key Word patent Search and Personalized Business Consulting.
By KIDS For KIDS Company
- The company recognizes the ingenuity and creativity that kids possess. They also know that kids have great ideas and often no place to take them. They provide the support needed for kids to create great ideas and inventions for other kids to use. They will even help bring the best ideas into the marketplace! True to their name, all products are invented BY and FOR kids.
Inventure Place & National Inventors Hall of Fame
- Biographical data, links to invention sites; African American inventors info; info about invention competitions and awards.
Toy inventing workshops.
MIT's Invention Dimension
- Highlights different American inventors; offers extensive listing of invention links, especially for children.
ReferenceUSA
- InfoUSA Service. Detailed information on nearly 12 million U.S. companies, organizations, and agencies, and 120 million U.S. households. Search the business database by company name, company officer names, sales volume, SIC codes, number of employees, product lines, and more. Search the residential database by name, geographical area, or phone number.
ThomasNet
- The online Thomas Register, lists over 168,000 companies by category under 48,000 product headings. Great starting point to locate the company or product for which you are searching. Provides addresses, phone numbers, asset ratings, and more. Includes images from company catalogs, web addresses, drawings, and more to help with your prior-art searching.
U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Int’l Trade Admin., U.S. Government Printing Office, Also Call No. C 61.48: Library Location: Government and Business Department. Useful for industry market research and provides essential background information.