How to Spot a Patent Scam: A Guide for Inventors

What are Invention Promoters and Invention Promotion Firms?

Invention promotion companies or invention promoters, commonly referred to as patent scam artists, are organizations or sometimes individuals who claim to help inventors patent, market, or sell their ideas but instead exploits them for profit. These scammers often advertise aggressively, offering to “turn your idea into cash” or “help you sell your invention worldwide.” In reality, they charge high upfront fees just to deliver worthless reports, fake marketing campaigns, or patent filings that don’t actually protect your idea.

How Invention and Patent Scams Typically Work

Patent scammers follow a predictable pattern to target inventors and entrepreneurs. Although they can be very good at disguising it, the methodology can be broken down into a simple sequence. A typical patent scam likely unfolds in the following succession:

1. The Hook: You see a promising ad on TV or online inviting you to “submit your idea” for a free evaluation of your innovation and its market.
2. The Flattery: A representative contacts you quickly, praising your invention and raving about how consumers or businesses will want your innovation once they find out about it.
3. The Sale: The representative will then present an expensive package that promises the handling of marketing, licensing, and/or “patent assistance.
4. The Illusion of Progress: Once their invoice is paid, you are likely to receive slick brochures, fake interest letters, or meaningless market reports; None of which actually indicate any business deals, discussions, or anything tangible is actually taking place.
5. The Vanish: Eventually the inventor will become suspicious in which the company will either cease all communications or send vague and unsubstantial updates until you give up.

At this point, the funds spent on the scam are long gone and the odds of the invention being exposed to the public are high, which can compromise your chance to secure a patent.

What are USPTO Scams?

The Better Business Bureau (BBB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) have all have published articles warning inventors and entrepreneurs against patent scams and the fraudulent organizations running them. Some patent scammers go as far as to impersonate the USPTO in an attempt to appear official enough to gain your trust and have you let your guard down. Scammers may attack any stage of the patent application process, as it can get lengthy and complex. There are various impersonating USPTO scams depending on what stage of the patent process an inventor is in.

Common USPTO Scams

Patent scam artists are meticulous in their pursuit of patent holders, as they obtain information displayed publicly in the USPTO’s patent database and include it in their solicitations to appear credible. The use of cautionary or urgent vernacular such as “patent cancellation notice” or “important information regarding your patent” is done so intentionally to place concern and unease into the patent owner’s mind. These emotions may cause the owner to act swiftly to address the correspondence by simply paying an invoice or providing confidential information without pausing to verify its credibility.

Important Note: All official communications from the USPTO regarding a U.S. patent or patent application sent via mail will be sent from the “United States Patent and Trademark Office” in Alexandria, Virginia 22313. If you are receiving an official email correspondence from the USPTO, it will be sent from the domain “@uspto.gov.” If contacted regarding your patent by a sender that does not match this information, it is most likely a patent scam solicitation.

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Once a patent is filed with the USPTO, it is placed into their patent database as patent pending. Most applicants are aware that the patent application process takes a while, therefore are eager to hear anything from the USPTO. Scammers are aware of this anxious state applicants are left in after filing and prey on it. They will contact the applicant and claim that their patent application was not filed correctly and/or was missing required documents, therefore required a fee to be paid immediately in order to be able to correct said mistakes. Patent scammers may even threaten abandonment of the patent application if the applicant does not act urgently and pay upon receiving the notice.

Once a patent is issued, there are maintenance requirements and fees due over the term of the patent in order to maintain its validity. Another common patent scam involves this maintenance and its correlating fees. Companies who are unaffiliated with the USPTO will impersonate them by sending seemingly authentic correspondences to patent owners regarding due maintenance fees. These communications may appear in the form of an invoice with higher than usual fee specified, requiring prompt payment to avoid the patent becoming abandoned

Important Note: All U.S. patent (and trademark registration) maintenance fees must be paid directly to the USPTO either online, by fax, or through mail. The USPTO would never send patent owners or applicants an invoice through email correspondence. You can find specific information about making a payment to the USPTO here.

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Why Inventors Fall for These Scams

Inventors are typically passionate people. So when someone else appears to believe in your idea as much as you do, it’s easy to get swept up by enthusiasm and hope. Scam artists exploit that optimism and vulnerability. Being aware of these psychological tricks is your first defense against intellectual property scams.

Desire for Quick Success

Scammers use emotionally charged sales tactics when promising shortcuts that appear too good to be true (likely because they don’t actually exist). These tactics prey on the passion inventors typically exude when discussing their innovation. After all, inventors are aiming to obtain a patent in hopes of making a profit by either selling or licensing the patent itself, or selling the innovation commercially themselves. The idea of profit rolling in quickly may seem much more realistic than it is due to the inventor’s bias towards their invention.

Lack of Patent Knowledge

The patent application process is complex and can get highly convoluted, especially for patent applicants/owners who choose to navigate the process pro se. Scammers prey on this confusion and may provide the wrong information to the inventor to further complicate the process. Complications along the way may influence the inventor to provide more information in an attempt to offer clarification or even appoint the handling of the patent/patent application directly to the scammers, both of which is considered a win to companies.

Appears Legitimate

Many scam companies participating in patent scams impersonate legitimate companies or individuals that inventors are inclined to trust by default, such as the USPTO or Better Business Bureau (BBB). In accordance, they will utilize false testimonials, fake logos, and phony paid press releases to appear legitimate.  These companies will also use industry jargon on their site or in their correspondences with inventors to appear credible enough to seem as if they are knowledgeable about the industry and correlating market at hand.

Appears Safe

Inventors tend to be and are taught to be naturally weary about discussing the details of their invention prior to the successful issuance of a patent. To deal with this resistance, patent scammers will often go the extra mile to claim your idea can be safely discussed with them. They may even offer a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to seemingly ensure confidentiality. However, their disclosure forms often have strategically worded or hidden clauses that grant them permission to discuss or use your innovation for their own purposes. You can find more information about how NDAs contribute to confidentiality on our Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) Defined post. You can also read about Invention Confidentiality.

Six Red Flags That Signal an Patent Scam

1. Unrealistic Promises

No one can guarantee commercial success. Every invention carries risk, and success depends on market demand, timing, and execution. Beware of statements from invention promoters that ensure smooth success, such as “we guarantee your invention will make money” or “we already have buyers waiting.”

Legitimate patent professionals will tell you the truth: successful patent issuance cannot be guaranteed. Fraudulent companies, often posing as patent practitioners, are known to promise eager inventors that their invention is patentable or claim to have the ability to expedite the patent application process, either through a method or a contact. When in reality, the USPTO is whom has the final say on whether an invention is patentable (and is therefore granted a patent) and the expedition of a patent application is only granted to specific eligible applicants. For more information on how to acceleration the patent application process, visit our post on Accelerating Patent Applications.

2. High Upfront Fees With No Clear Deliverables

Patent scammers will request excessive fees for the impractical assurances they solicit then demand these outrageous fees are paid in full prior to providing any service. They may claim the funds cover “market research,” “licensing opportunities,” or “patent acceleration” co lure unassuming inventors into fraudulent contracts, but rarely ever produce results.

3. Lack of Transparency About Who They Are

Patent scammers rely on the naivety of their victims to successfully con them. If the patent license of a patent service provider cannot be verified through the USPTO Practitioner Search database, they are not authorized to represent inventors before the USPTO. If the credentials of an invention promotion firm cannot be substantiated through the BBB, and they have a fraudulent reputation according to reports submitted to the FTC or complaints submitted to the USPTO’s Invention Promotion Complaints forum, it is more than likely the company is running invention scams.

4. Vague or Misleading Contracts

Still relying on the naivety of their victim, scammers use long, complicated contracts filled with fine print and strategic language to trick investors into believing they are safe in the collaboration. They purposely exclude standard clauses in order to avoid clearly stating deliverables, time frames, or refund terms. If a contract seems excessive while still vague, odds are the sender is hoping to lure you into scam.

5. Pressure Tactics

Scammers utilize scare tactics to rush inventors into making a legal or financial decision while under pressure. Urgent language, such as “limited-time offer” or “act fast — your invention could be stolen,” is strategically used to place potential victims in a state of anxiousness in hopes they make the wrong decision when in a unsettled position.

6. Formatting Issues or Misspellings

Official USPTO correspondences are formal documents that are properly formatted and free of grammatical errors. Legal professionals similarly tend to conduct business in a formal manner therefore a legit firm would also likely be free from formatting issues or grammatical mistakes in their electronic communications and on their website. If you notice any discrepancies in formatting, misspelled words, or the use of unprofessional language, you may want to cease all contact and relations.

How to Verify Legitimate Invention Promotion Help

There are various government websites that can help verify the credibility of an invention promotion firm. You can go onto the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) website and type in the name of an invention promotion company and the word “invention” into the search bar to check whether a company has been either investigated or fined by the FTC. You may also visit the USPTO online forum of Invention Promoter and Promotion Firm Complaints to view complaints submitted to the USPTO by inventors who have dealt with a fraudulent invention promotion. Another good place to check the reputation of an invention promotion firm is your local Chamber of Commerce.

What Legitimate Invention Promoters Actually Do

Real invention promotion firms provide development and/or marketing services to inventors, often offering to evaluate the patentability of inventions, file patent applications, build prototypes, license them to manufacturers, and otherwise market. It is relatively common knowledge that a majority of invention promotion firms are fraudulent, and that even authentic invention promotion firms are more often than not ineffective. To combat invention promotion scams, the U.S. passed a law that requires invention promoters to disclose their success rates to clients. Under the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, firms must provide a written statement detailing:

1. The number of inventions evaluated in the past five years;
2. The number that received positive or negative evaluations; and
3. The number of clients who received a net financial profit.

If a company refuses to provide this data or falsifies the disclosures, they are in violation of federal law and are almost always patent scammers.

What to Do If You Think You’ve Been Scammed

Ideally, a patent scam is caught prior to any damage occurring. However, if you suspect you’ve been victimized by an invention scam, there are some immediate actions you should take: (1) stop sending money; (2) report the incident to the FTC and USPTO; and (3) contact a registered patent professional to assess if and how your idea can still be protected.

If you are beginning to feel suspicious about an invention promoter or promotion firm, do not keep blindly sending over funds in hopes that something fruitful will eventually emerge. Cease all payments and begin to collect documents that can be considered evidence, such as emails, contracts, receipts, or invoices between yourself and the promoter or promotion firm. This documentation can be important if you choose to open a lawsuit against the patent scammers.

Reporting the incident to the FTC and the USPTO Invention Promotion Complaints forum not only can help protect yourself by potentially serving as evidence in the case of a lawsuit, but it also helps other inventors avoid becoming a victim to the same unfortunate circumstance. Your revenge can be helping make sure invention promoters and promotion firms do not get a single penny more from any more unsuspecting inventors.

Even if you’ve been scammed, it may not be too late to safeguard your invention properly.