Originally Posted 11/21/05
Apparently, ABC will be broadcasting an inventor contest reality show in 2006, and you can be one of its stars. The grand prize is a one million dollar advance against royalties. Open casting calls are December 1st in Denver.
I reviewed the website for the show and it is honest and well written. If you got a great multi-million dollar idea, you may want to consider trying out.
But I would be remiss if I didn’t give you a couple things to consider if you do not already have a patent application on file:
1. If you disclose your invention to the show, you will probably start a one year clock running in which you will have to file the patent application in the United States or lose your patent rights altogether. This, of course, assumes you have not made a public disclosure or offer for sale of the invention earlier.
2. Perhaps more significantly, if you make a disclosure of the invention, you will likely lose you right to file for a foreign patent in most major nations. Honestly, for most independent inventors this is not a big deal, but it definitely should be considered before proceeding.
3. The one way to overcome the potential disclosure and the negative effect on your foreign filing rights is to file a provisional patent application before December 1, 2005. As my clients are familiar, I am not a fan of provisionals but given the timing, there is no other alternative: utility applications take too long to prepare. And to be completely honest, I can’t guarantee a last minute provisional will be sufficient BUT it may be better than nothing if you have any thought that you may want to foreign file and you want to try out.
Anyhow, if you read this and attend the audition, please give us an update here.
