Keywords make the difference
June 18th, 2008 Filed Under Earn Online, Free resources, Resources
Recently I decided to key in the keywords Wireless Residual Income.
Why????
Only because Wireless Residual Income is the program that I am currently marketing.
When I keyed in Wireless Residual Income in the google seach engine I found that I was listed in the number #3 spot where I had posted a post on Digital Point Forums, asking for more information on this new wireless residual program that is expected to open on July 18th.
Learning this information I realized just how important little post that you make using the appropiate keywords are. All because of this little post on Digital Points Forum, I began to have several hundred readers, reading my post just from the keywords WIRELESS RESIDUAL INCOME.
If you are interested in finding out more about wireless residual income, please do not sign under me, but you may sign under one of those that I have recruited at the following addresses.
http://www.mywirelessnews.com/sandita48
http://ourdreambiz.mywirelessnews.com
http://www.mywirelessnews.com/coollinks
Then visit our forum and get your FREE Banner so that we can build you a downline.
http://workathome.madmooseforum.com
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HOW TO USE CUSTOMER RESPONSE CARD
May 11th, 2008 Filed Under "How to", Free resources, Ideas, Resources, Tips
We all do it. If we get good service or order a product we like _ we order
from the company again. However, if there is something we don’t like or are
dissatisfied with the service in any way, shape or form, we never bring it
to the attention of the company. We simply don’t use their services again
and think that solves the problem.
Let me share with you something that happened here locally to me. A new
pizza shop moved into the neighborhood and I decided to try them out. When
I placed my order I informed them that they had been highly recommended and
this was my first order. When I picked up the pizza and brought it home it
was HORRIBLE! I couldn’t believe I actually paid $14 for the thing. It wasn’t
even worth $2 in my opinion.
Naturally, I had made up my mind never to order from this particular pizza
shop again _ but a few days later the owner called me to ask my opinion on
what I thought of the pizza. (He had got my phone number off the check I paid
my order with.)
Feeling a little embarrassed and reluctant to tell him how horrible it was,
I said, “It was okay but not something I would order again.” The owner became
very interested and asked me to give him more specifics. I explained that the
sauce was too tangy and there was not enough cheese or pepperoni on the pizza
_ even though I ordered double of both items. He asked me to give his pizza
one more try, but this time it would be free of charge. I accepted.
And guess what? The quality was greatly improved and I am now a steady
customer. You can use the same situation for your mail order business.
Only you can’t afford to call everyone that orders from you. That is where
the “Customer Response Card” is vital to your growing business. You hardly
ever see them in mail order because people don’t think they really work.
That’s because they have never put them to use. That’s where you can be
different and innovative _ and profitable _ all at the same time.
“Customer Response Cards” can easily be typeset by any competent
typesetter. They should ask such questions of the customer, as:
How do you rate our service? Was the quality of our product or
service excellent, good, fair or poor? What would you suggest for
us to do in order to improve our services? Would you order from us
again? Any additional comments?
Lines should be left for the customers’ name, address and telephone number.
In addition, the “Customer Response Card” should be pre-addressed with your
address and preferably pre-stamped for their convenience.
If you decide to use “Customer Response Cards” they will serve a very
important function in your daily business. First of all, when customers
receive them they will know you are concerned about them and their order.
They will feel important that you have asked for their opinion and will feel
free to make helpful suggestions, complain or brag about your company.
However, you must keep in mind that a complaint is NOT a reflection on you
personally. A complaint should be an indication that there is some unfinished
business to take care of. Almost 90% of the time, if you listen and try to
understand a customer complaint _ the customer is more than satisfied.
Then, if you offer to make up for the difference or offer them free services
or a money-saving coupon on their next order, they will be much more than
satisfied. Not only have you kept a customer but built a trust with them at
the same time.
Solve complaints from “Customer Response Cards” as quickly as possible.
Customers may make a complaint on a postcard more readily than calling you
or writing you a letter. This helps draw your attention to problems before
they get out of hand _ problems you might not even know existed!
And never forget to thank your customers for providing you with their
opinion. You could send them back a discount coupon to use on items you sell
on their next order or simply send them a “Thank You” card. Remember that a
customer’s opinion is worth its weight in gold. There are professional m
arketing firms that are paid $1,000’s of dollars per year by companies to
find out what people really think of their products. A “Customer Response
Card” is a very low-cost way of determining trends and interests that your
customer market has. If you keep on top of things, you will never have to
hire these high-paid professionals. You’ll know more than they do!
http://www.newwork-at-home.com
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WHAT YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER TELLS ABOUT YOU
April 25th, 2008 Filed Under Free resources, Resources
Your social security number is a unique identification. You are the only
person who has that number. But did you ever wonder what the numbers in
your social security number mean? This report will tell you exactly what
those numbers tell about you, and how to effectively use social security
numbers as a means of identifying your customers.
Your social security number is made up of 3 parts called the AREA (XXX),
GROUP (XX), and SERIAL(XXXX). I’ll explain these parts separately. First,
the AREA (XXX) has one of two meanings, depending on when you got your
number. If you received your social security card before 1972, the area
number shows what state you APPLIED for your card in. If you received your
social security card after 1972, the area number shows the state you RESIDED
in at the time you applied. Here is a list of the number combinations and
their corresponding states.
000 NONE 387-399 WI 528-529 UT
001-003 NH 400-407 KY 530-NV
004-007 ME 408-415 TN 531-539 WA
008-009 VT 416-424 AL 540-544 OR
010-034 MA 425-428 MS 545-573 CA
035-039 RI 429-432 AR 574-AK
040-049 CT 433-439 LA 575-576 HI
050-134 NY 440-448 OK 577-579 DC
135-158 NJ 449-467 TX
580 VI (Virgin Islands) 159-211 PA
468-477 MN 581-584 PR (Puerto Rico)
212-220 MD 478-485 IA 585-NM
221-222 DE 486-500 MO
586PI (Pacific Islands - Guam)
223-231VA 501-502 ND
232-236 WV 503-504 SD
237-246 NC 505-508 NE 587-588 MS
247-251 SC 509-515 KS 589-595 FL
252-260 GA 516-517 MT
596-599 PR (Puerto Rico)
261-267 FL 518-519 ID 600-601 AZ
268-302 OH 520 WY 602-626 CA
303-317 IN 521-524 CO
318-361 IL 525NM
900-999 Were used when state aid to the aged, blind, and disable was
converted to federal programs administered by the Social Security
Association, not valid social security numbers
You will see that some states have more than one group of numbers. This is
because their original group of numbers became exhausted.
The GROUP (XX) has no meaning other than to determine whether or not a
number has been assigned. This is important to know, if you want to use
social security numbers as identification for your customers. Here’s how
you should use this information.
Every month, the Social Security Association publishes a list of the highest
group assigned for each AREA. The order of assignment is odd numbers under
10, even numbers over 9, even numbers under 9 (except for 00, which is not
used), and odd numbers over 10. So, for example, if the highest GROUP
assigned for AREA 999 is 72, then a customer who gives you the social
security number 999-04-1234 is a fraud, because even GROUPS under 9 have
not yet been assigned.
The SERIAL (XXXX) portion has no meaning and is not assigned in strict
numerical order. 0000 is never used. If you know what to look for, social
security numbers are an important tool for screening customers.
the Social Security Association publishes a list of the highest
group assigned for each
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HOW TO SECURE A MERCHANT ACCOUNT TO ACCEPT VISA & MASTERCARD
April 25th, 2008 Filed Under "How to", Business Credit, Business Options, Free resources, Resources
You can seriously increase your orders by accepting credit cards as payment.
It’s easy and convenient for the customer, and that makes it more likely for
them to order. The only problem is that it’s hard for a business,
especially a small mail order business, to gain the ability to accept credit
cards.
Banks are very reluctant to authorize credit card acceptance, mainly
because they have been burned too many times by fraudulent businesses. So,
many businesses go on, accepting only checks or money orders for payment,
and miss out on the added sales they would get through credit cards. There
is a way, though, for businesses that can’t get bank authorization to accept
credit cards.
The easiest way to get a merchant account is to work with an Independent
Sales Organization (ISO), which acts as a middleman between small businesses
and banks. They will charge an additional fee for each transaction, so you
will be paying a bit more than the standard percentage charged for credit
card transactions. There will also be an application fee. Here are the
typical charges to expect, as of this writing.
Application fees: Usually, these range from $95 to $400 and may or may not
be refundable.
Point of sale terminal purchase or lease: The terminal you
use to process the charge and check for fraudulent numbers is usually
available from a bank for around $300. You will only be able to get this
price, though, if a bank authorizes you. If working through an ISO, prices
will range from $400 to even as high as $1500! You can usually lease the
terminal, though, at an average of $45/month. The best thing to do, though,
is to find an ISO that will provide computer software that can be used in
place of a terminal. This will usually cost only around $150.
Concerning service fees: Banks charge between 2% and 5% for processing a
credit card purchase. ISO’s charge higher, usually 3% to 7%. They also
usually charge a per transaction fee of 20 to 25 cents, and a monthly
statement fee of $5 to $10.
Why all these fees? ISO’s only want to work with legitimate businesses
and ones that will stay with them for a long period of time. If a business
can afford these fees, they are considered less of a risk. Thus, the
important thing to do is to shop around for an ISO. Get as much
information as you can about each ISO you are considering, and READ it
thoroughly. Look for hidden charges and unreasonable requirements.
Here is a list of some of the ISO’s you may want to consider. This is
not an endorsement of any or all of them, these are just the most prominent
ones.
Bancard, Inc., 1233 Sherman Drive, Longmont, CO 80501 (800) 666-7575
Data Capture Systems, 231 Quincy St., Rapid City SD 57701 (605) 341-6461
Electronic Bankcard Systems, 2554 Lincoln Blvd., Suite 1088, Marina Del Rey,
CA 90291 (213) 827-5772
Gold Coast Bankcard Center, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (305) 492-0303
Harbridge Merchant Services, 681 Andersen Dr., 4th Flr., Bldg. 6, Pittsburgh,
PA 15220 (412) 937-1272
Teleflora Creditline, 12233 West Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064
(800) 325-4849
US Merchant Services, 775 Park Avenue, Huntington, NY 11743 (516) 427-9700
A final word: All of these services will require you to fill out an
application. Be 100% truthful with everything on the application and
don’t let the representative talk you into putting anything false down.
The reason is, if the banks affiliated with the ISO you use were to find
out that any information on your application is false, you would probably
be immediately cancelled and your business name and address would go on a
“black list.”
This would prevent you from being able to accept credit cards
for an indefinite period of time. Don’t let this happen to you. Most of
the ISO’s out there are legitimate, but there are a few that may put down
spurious information, rather than lose the fees they’d receive. Be sure to
look everything over twice. If you do, you’ll probably find an ISO that
will work with you to expand your business through the acceptance of credit
cards.
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THE FREE CREDIT CARD TRAP
April 22nd, 2008 Filed Under "How to", Business Credit, Free resources, Resources
Credit Cards
They arrive in your mail - a conspicuous looking mail piece from some
“official looking” bank claiming that you have been Pre-Approved for a
Mastercard or VISA credit card.
Of course, you don’t have to have any credit. You can even have bad credit
or have just filed bankruptcy or even be rated as a “slow payer.” It doesn’t
matter because these companies want to give you a second chance!
These companies want to make it easy for you to obtain a credit card because
they only want your money!
How the thing works is that you must send $35 to receive an application that
provides you with a name and address listing of banks willing to give you a
VISA and/or Mastercard without any credit approval. That’s a stiff price to
pay for a sheet of paper, don’t you think? The instructions that come with
the application will let you know how the scheme works. You must open up a
bank account with the bank once that bank approves you. Big deal! They make
it appear that you have won some contest or something and people will feel
“good inside” that someone has approved them.
But that’s not all. The minimum amount you must deposit is $200 but you can
deposit as much as you want. In return, you get a Mastercard or VISA credit
card with a credit limit up to the amount you deposit. Wow! What a great
honor! This is no break! Think about it. If a stranger gave you $200 to hold
for him until Friday wouldn’t you feel safe in granting them a $200 loan?
I mean _ it’s their own money you’ve got. If they default, you’ve got the
full amount to pay off the loan. It takes a twisted mind to take $200 from
you, grant you $200 credit with your own money plus charge you astronomical
interest rates just to take the money from your hand and give it back to you.
That’s insane!
Of course _ to combat this insanity, the great and wonderful banks claim to
help fix your credit report. They say that if you maintain payments in a
correct fashion, this information will be reported to the credit bureau.
Yea, right! When Shell calls the credit bureau to check your credit for a
gas credit card, your report shows 47 defaulted loans and a bankruptcy.
However, there is one company that you make payments to on-time. Big deal.
Don’t you think the rest of your bad credit will still be the deciding factor
in Shell’s final decision. You bet you bottom dollar!
Look at this: the bank makes money from the interest of your deposit.
The bank also makes money by charging you 18% to 22% interest for the right
to use their Mastercard or VISA. Plus the bank is guaranteed their money
because if you don’t pay on time, they take the money out of the bank account
you opened with them along with any interest you have accumulated.
Why would anyone with $200 to deposit want a credit card with a $200 limit?
If you have $200 and want to buy an item for $200 _ go out and purchase it.
That way, you’ll own it lock, stock and barrel. No interest, no payments, no
hassle! Plus, you won’t owe your soul to the company store _ sort-of-speak.
Credit is a wonderful thing if you use it intelligently. I know people who
charge $100 at the beginning of the month and use that $100 to make $300.
It’s free money for 30 days. Then, when the bill comes, they immediately pay
the entire balance and come out smelling like a rose with $200 to the good.
Credit is also needed in certain circumstances for establishing clout. You
can’t call in a telephone order unless you can charge the purchase to your
credit card. This delays you getting items you want now.
In fact _ some companies will try and make you feel “low class” if you don’t
own a credit card. I am proud to say that I DON’T OWN one. When I’m in a
store and they say “Would you like to put this on your charge?” I promptly
say, “No, I pay for everything I buy!” They immediately shut up. And if they
would snap back with a rude answer, I’d leave the stuff sitting on the
counter, walk out of the store and get what I needed somewhere else. You
don’t have to take abuse just because you don’t choose to line the pockets
of the rich credit card companies! It’s insane!
If you’ve ever had a credit card and charged $200, you know you end up paying
back $400 or more (unless you pay the balance within 30 days.) Stop allowing
these so called banks to rip you off.
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WHY DO COMPANIES ASK FOR YOUR UPS ADDRESS?
April 14th, 2008 Filed Under Free resources, Resources, Tips
When we began providing printing services for our customers (in order to
provide full publishing services), little did we realize that so many people
would get so upset and negligent in providing us with a simple UPS address
to ship their order to them. Therefore, I hope this report helps.
UPS is short for United Parcel Service. They are a separate company from
the United Postal Service and for some reason or another _ cannot reach an
agreement to deliver mail to a post office box address. This makes it hard
for all of us in mail order, but there is a way around that: Provide a UPS
shipping address when you place a large order.
What is your UPS shipping address? Your STREET address or anything other
than a post office box. Everybody has a UPS shipping address. My mother
lives in a town of 300 people and all her mail goes to a post office box.
It’s required for every citizen in Dante, Virginia to have a post office
box and to use it as their address. However, her UPS shipping address is:
Third House on Rte 1420. Yes! Bizarre as it seems _ everyone has a
UPS shipping address. If you don’t know yours, simply call your local
United Parcel Service and find out what it is.
Why don’t mail order dealers just ship your printing or product orders by
Parcel Post or 3rd class through the post office? Several reasons _ and
good ones:
1. Most mail order dealers have a UPS account. This means the
UPS truck comes right to their door every day and picks up packages.
They don’t have to haul heavy packages in the car, drive to the
post office and stand in line to pay a clerk. Besides _ the cost is
only $5 per week for anybody to open up a UPS account and if you are
shipping packages several times per week _ the $5 cost is certainly
justified!
2. The customer saves a lot of money when a dealer ships their package
by UPS. Shipping 1,000 envelopes (13.7 lbs) would cost around $6.00
at the post office but only $2.60 by UPS.
3. The customer will get their order quicker. If a dealer mailed the same
package to you through the post office it could take from 2-3 WEEKS for
you to receive. UPS only takes 2-3 DAYS in most cases!
4. The customer’s order is automatically insured for up to $100 by UPS.
If the dealer mailed the same package through the post office, he or
she would have to pay an additional charge for insurance.
You should now be able to see “why” providing your printer or mail order
company with a UPS shipping address is as important to you as it is to them!
However, some people don’t want anything shipped directly to their home
because they might not be there or a family member might get the package
instead. UPS has a bad reputation for leaving packages inside a screen
door if no one is home _ opening up the opportunity for theft.
Therefore, you have 4 choices: (1) You can have the package delivered to
your employer’s address (or wherever you might be during the day); (2) to
a friend or neighbor’s address (who is home most of the time); (3) leave a
note on your door to NOT leave any UPS packages and pick them up yourself;
or, (4) pay an additional postage charge for the dealer to ship your order
to your post office box address.
The best rule of thumb for determining additional cost in sending to your
post office box address would be about 40% ADDED on to the total amount of
your order. Why 40%? Isn’t that too much for shipping charges? You must
remember: not only does the dealer (or printer) have to pay the additional
postage charges but they have to haul it to the post office themselves
during office hours, take time away from their daily business, stand in
line holding a heavy package and drive back home. For our printer, this
is a 18 mile round trip. (Not everybody visits the post office everyday,
even though they are in mail order.)
Just recently we received a rude comment from a customer who refused to
provide us with his UPS address and demanded we ship to his post office
box. He said: “I’m not in the UPS business and I’m not in the phone
business _ I’m in the mail order business!” (He didn’t want to place a
call to our office to talk to us about this so we didn’t have a chance to
educate him on how this situation is out of our control.)
However, the United Parcel Service IS part of the mail order business,
and calling people IS part of the mail order business too.
So the next time you place an order that you know will be sent back to
you in a box (like printing), take the time to make sure you provide the
company with your UPS shipping address OR send extra money!
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Business Building Entrepreneur
March 26th, 2008 Filed Under "How to", Business Credit, Business Options, Earn Online, Free resources, Ideas, Resources
Watch this latest videos on YouTube.com Entrepreneur
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WHAT MAKES AN ENTREPRENEUR TICK?
March 26th, 2008 Filed Under "How to", Business Options, Earn Online, Free resources, Ideas, Resources
Entrepreneur work at home
It is only natural that when you start a business, you are doing something
different than most people. Entrepreneurial people think differently!!!!
People will look at you like you’re crazy and you will stand out like a sore thumb _ but human nature will cause people to naturally ridicule what you are doing. Entrepreneurial people just think differently!!!!
People will tell you all types of things like:
“You’re not business material.” “You can’t make a living working for
yourself.” “You’ll fail because nobody can ever make any money that way.”
Entrepreneurship is not just about having a lot of ideas or business sense.
It is also about having a lot of guts. It takes guts to be an entrepreneur. You have to build self-confidence in yourself. You have to only be concerned with pleasing yourself and your Creator (God) _ not mankind. Then, when (and
if) you should fail with this particular venture, you’ll just dust yourself
off and start again. It doesn’t matter if people “think” you’re nuts!
They aren’t paying your rent and running your life. Don’t be concerned with
what people “think” you should be. Just please yourself and do what you feel
is right. People are too busy competing with society and “keeping up with the
Jones’s” that they do things they are not comfortable with just to appease
them and look “normal” (whatever that is.)
And if you have to _ start out small in building your self-confidence. I
used to be so self-conscious that I would never eat at a restaurant alone
because I thought people would believe I was lonely and had no friends.
Unbelievable, but true. But, everyday I worked on walking into a restaurant,
taking a magazine to read and eating alone. I would glance around, and to my
amazement, no one ever looked at me. No one cared that I was eating alone.
Then _ it dawned on me; “Who cares what these people think? I’ll never see
them again.” Besides, there were a lot of other people eating alone also and
I could absorb myself in the magazine I had took to read. Now, I can eat in
restaurants and not give any thought to the people around me.
But back to business _ when most people do fail in business they try to
“save face” by telling everyone they are “just in a slump” and everything
will be back to normal soon. Besides, they don’t want people to say: “I told
you so” and destroy any pride they are still hanging onto. Unfortunately,
this only delays the problem and creates even more false hope for the people
in your life as well as yourself.
The best thing to do for anybody in this catastrophe is to swallow their
pride and admit they screwed up. Just face it head on! Admit that you were
so proud of your accomplishments that your mind became diluted with “visions
of sugar plums and fantasyland.”
If your small business is beyond repair, go out and find a job and begin
working on your next small business in the near future. Keep your family fed
and your financial obligations met but look forward to the day when you WILL
succeed with your new business venture.
And why should you try again? Simply because you won’t make the same mistakes
you made this time. If you built something successful before (but failed),
you are certain to build the next business stronger and wiser. Even if you
fail the second time, it won’t be because of mistakes you made the first
time. You’ll learn more and more _ and eventually be successful. It’s
inevitable!
Remember: Don’t be defeated by the views of others. Entrepreneur just think differently.
http://www.newwork-at-home.com
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HOW “INFO-LOADING” CAN INCREASE YOUR AD’S
March 22nd, 2008 Filed Under "How to", Earn Online, Free resources, Ideas, Resources, Tips
Direct Response Ads
There are many schools of thought on how to write a successful
direct-response ad, letter or brochure. Some say you need to be subtle,
some say be harsh, some say be round-about, some say be direct. There is
one technique, though, that is coming to the forefront as one of the most
successful to employ.
Info-Loading is the style of overloading an advertsement with information
about your product or service. The theory is, you give the customer more
information than they’d ever want on your product/service, and they’ll feel
more confident about you and what you offer. Also, the customer that
actually reads through it all is the one who’s interested enough to buy
what you offer. The good news is, it works!
Here’s how to do it. Say you’re planning a quarter-page display ad in a
magazine. Instead of leaving a lot of white space, so it looks open, and
instead of putting pictures in to catch the eye, fill the whole space with
text! Load it with as much information as you can fit in, without making
it unreadable. To prevent it from looking like a grey blur when the reader’s
eyes scan through the page, put a bold, black box around the ad, a bold
headline, and emphasize important words and phrases with bold print.
You can do the same thing with a mailing. Put together a four-page sales
letter loaded with copy, then add a brochure/flyer that re-emphasizes the
important points in even greater detail.
A few cautions with this technique. First, make sure you actually have
something to say! We are so conditioned to being economical with our
words in advertising that it’ll be hard to info-load without feeling
repetitious. Instead of rambling on about features, tell customers every
single benefit they’ll get from your product/service. BENEFIT is the
important word.
Give Info-Loading a try. Depending on your audience and what you’re
trying to sell, you may find that info-loading can load more sales into
your bank account!
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AVOIDING PATENT, TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT PROBLEMS
March 8th, 2008 Filed Under "How to", Resources, Tips
INTRODUCTION
Patents, copyrights and trademarks, as well as know-how or trade
secrets, are often collectively referred to as intellectual
property. Many firms have such property without even being aware
of it or of the need to take measures to protect it.
Many people’s notions of intellectual property are unrealistic.
Some believe, for example, that having a patent on a product will
enable one to succeed in the marketplace. Consequently, they may
spend thousands of dollars to obtain the exclusive rights to
market something that no one wants or can afford to buy. Others
may conclude that intellectual property protection is not worth
the expense and bother.
People who may not be interested in protecting their own rights
still must take precautions to avoid infringing on the rights of
others. This calls for more than the avoidance of copying.
Copying is unavoidable; it is a way of life and one way in which
we learn. But, one can easily infringe on the rights of others
without deliberately imitating specific features of goods or
services.
This publication addresses the steps newcomers to a market should
take to avoid infringement and when they should take them.
PATENTS
Most people have heard variations on a remark attributed to Ralph
Waldo Emerson: If a man can make a better mousetrap than his
neighbor, though he builds his house in the woods the world will
beat a path to his door. To keep the discussion concrete, let’s
imagine a present day inventor of a new mousetrap who not only
invents a better mousetrap but is also successful in marketing
it. The higher the inventor’s profit margin, the more others will
want to copy his invention. Let’s assume that the inventor
selects Figaro as the brand name and actively promotes the
product. However, he does not legally protect his invention, but
relies on the consumers’ loyalty, goodwill and brand
identification to ensure future sales.
Taking measures to develop loyalty and goodwill may be sufficient
until a larger and better known competitor turns up. For example,
what if economies of scale and lack of development costs mean
that the competitor can sell the same mousetrap for 20 percent
less? Goodwill may not be enough to ensure customer loyalty at a
higher price. A patent would be much more helpful, because it
would prevent the competitor from selling the new trap until well
after the original firm had a chance to get on its feet. This
situation illustrates that it is the smaller firm that often has
the most to gain from protecting intellectual property.
As bad as the situation is without patent protection, it could be
worse. Let’s assume that customers are so taken by the Figaro
promotion that they are willing to pay the 25 percent premium the
firm charges in order to stay in business. Imagine what would
happen if the company had to stop using that name or had to face
an expensive lawsuit. Imagine what would happen if it turns out
that someone else actually has a current patent on one or more
features of the better mousetrap. By failing to consider the
intellectual property of others, the new firm would not only be
forced to stop selling under the name Figaro, but might be forced
to stop selling the mousetrap altogether.
AVOIDING PATENT INFRINGEMENT
Utility patents - what people usually mean when they use the term
patents - provide 17 years of exclusive rights for inventions that
deal with the way things work. Design patents afford 14 years of
protection for significant improvement in the appearance of
useful items, such as car bodies or furniture. Both of these
patents do more than prevent copying; they forbid the making,
using or selling of an invention similar to or the same as the
protected invention, even though the second invention was
independently created. (Plant patents, which will not be covered
in this discussion, may not give the same protection.)
Copying may actually be a way to avoid infringement. The inventor
of the mousetrap might have avoided potential problems by using
technology that was described in a printed publication, publicly
used or on sale. Products that are on sale and give no notice of
patent coverage are relatively free from the risk of
infringement.
Any person trying to market fairly new technology that doesn’t
appear to be patented should keep in mind that an inventor has
one year from public sale or disclosure within which to file a
patent application. In addition, because patents often take two or
more years to obtain, there is still a chance that a patent could
be issued at a later time. Although there is no liability for
infringement prior to issuance of a patent, a competitor would
have to cease making, using or selling the technology once the
patent was issued, thus risking the loss of both start-up costs
and inventory.
Of course, if our inventor was determined to make a better
mousetrap, there would be no interest in copying something else in
the market. Still, before spending too much time and money on
research, the inventor should ensure that others do not have
exclusive rights in the area being explored. The inventor
certainly should not assume that, because a product is not on the
market, it is unpatented. As many independent inventors have
learned to their chagrin, it is usually easier to patent something
than to market it profitably.
A PATENT SEARCH
The inventor should hire a patent attorney or agent to conduct an
infringement search. A patent agent is a technically trained
person who has passed a special examination given by the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office; a patent lawyer is one permitted to
draft contracts and provide other general legal services. Patent
searches can be expensive if one must consult foreign records; it
is much less costly to determine whether technology is currently
patented in the United States. Yet, as we will see, there is value
in going somewhat beyond that point.
A search might reveal that (1) someone else had a patent that has
since expired, i.e., the information patented is now in the public
domain; (2) no current or expired patents cover the area of
proposed research or (3) someone else has a current patent
covering all or part of the proposed design. Let’s consider these
potential results in order.
THE INVENTION IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
If the mousetrap (or an obvious variation) was disclosed in an
expired patent, the inventor is free to manufacture and market it
without concern for the patent laws. Also, even if the inventor
didn’t find exactly what he or she originally had in mind, a host
of good and freely used ideas that are even better might have
been discovered. These alone could be worth several times the
price of the search in saving research and development time.
ONE OR MORE ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSED MOUSETRAP APPEAR TO BE NEW
If, after a thorough search, our inventor’s proposed improvements
to the mousetrap seem not only to be novel but also to offer
significant advantages over the prior design, the inventor may
seek a patent and/or begin selling the mousetrap without further
ado. If, however, the inventor begins selling without first filing
a patent application, he immediately forfeits possible protection
in many other countries and also forfeits any possibility of
patent rights in the United States after one year.
ASPECTS OF THE PROPOSED DESIGN ARE COVERED BY A CURRENT PATENT
If an unexpired patent is found to cover any part of the proposed
mousetrap design, the inventor knows that he is not free to use it
without a license. Infringing on a current patent exposes one to
a suit for damages as well as an injunction against future use.
Even an injunction might mean substantial costs, including the
loss of current inventory, and a patent covering even a small
feature of the new mousetrap might give rise to the need to
retool. Although deliberate infringement is more serious,
ignorance of others’ patents is no defense.
TRADEMARKS
Trademarks (or brand names) indicate commercial source.
Trademarks may be words, logos or other symbols indicating that
goods come from a particular company. They may even be sounds,
three-dimensional symbols (such as the well-known McDonald’s
golden arches) or colors. There are also service marks, which
indicate the source of services, and other kinds of marks that
will not be considered here.
As with patents, one can infringe on another’s marks without
copying them or even being in direct competition with their
owner. All that is necessary is to use the same or a similar mark
under circumstances in which consumers may be confused as to the
source or sponsorship of the goods or services.
A TRADEMARK SEARCH
A trademark search is the only way to find out whether Figaro or
something confusingly similar is being used by others as a mark
for a mousetrap (or perhaps such things as rodenticides) in the
proposed market area. It is also necessary to determine whether
the mark has been registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, which could give the registrant rights well beyond the
market areas currently occupied.
There are two reasons why a search may not be sufficient. First,
in the United States, it is unnecessary for a firm to do more than
use a good mark to have trademark rights in its market area.
Consequently, a search may not locate all such prior users. Second,
people may be able to prevent the use of a potential mark without
having used it as a mark themselves; for example, when a trademark
can be associated with others in such a way that consumers might
presume that some kind of relationship might exist. This is where
the mark Figaro would run into trouble.
As you may recall, Figaro is the name of the cat in the Disney
film Pinocchio. Although the Walt Disney Company does not have
a monopoly on the use of the name, it might nevertheless be able
to prevent it from being used on a mousetrap. If that seems too
farfetched, consider the company’s concern if “Mickey” had somehow
been part of the mousetrap name!
COPYRIGHTS
A copyright provides an owner with the exclusive rights to
reproduce a certain work for a specified period, subject to some
basic limits. The term of a copyright is the lifetime of the
author plus 50 years in the case of identifiable, living authors.
Copyrights arise automatically and are inexpensive to register.
Searching for a prior copyright is probably unnecessary.
Copyright infringement can be avoided by establishing that a work
was independently created. Therefore, records showing independent
creation are helpful to avoid liability. Even with such records,
establishing independent creation may be difficult if the
original work was widely disseminated or otherwise available to
the alleged infringer. In one such case, the court held that,
although copying may have been unconscious, the original was
nevertheless infringed.
One of the limits to copyright protection is that ideas (compared
to expressions) and technology (computer software aside) are
generally not protected. This means that our inventor is free, at
least as far as copyright laws are concerned, to use any
information that can be found in books on mousetrap designs and
to make and sell working copies of anything shown or described.
Copyright gives the owner only the right to prevent reproduction
of the text or drawings themselves.
What if the inventor wants to use some of that text, for example,
in an advertisement? There is a remote possibility that such use
might be protected under the “fair use” defense, but it would be
very unwise to proceed without getting permission from the
copyright holder or seeking expert advice.
TRADE SECRETS
Trade secrets overlap the subject matter of copyrights and
patents. As long as efforts have been made to preserve secrecy, a
suit may be brought to redress the misappropriation (or wrongful
taking) of almost any kind of information of competitive value.
Misappropriation includes industrial espionage and breaches of
confidential relationships (for example, by former employees), but
it does not include reverse engineering. Thus, a trade secret suit
will not succeed if an aspect of a product’s design or
construction was obtained by examining an item purchased in the
marketplace. Nor will a suit be useful against those who
independently discover a secret process or recompile commercially
valuable information.
The risk of being accused of misappropriating a trade secret is
never very high, particularly if one seeks competent legal advice
before using unlicensed information that has not been obtained
through reverse engineering.
THE NEED FOR EXPERIENCED COUNSEL
Any attorney admitted to practice in any state in the country is
technically qualified to register trademarks with the U.S. Patent
and Trademark Office or copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office
in Washington D.C. Unlike the situation with patents, no special
examination is given to determine whether the attorney is
familiar with the copyright or trademark law or registration
procedures, for example. Clients are advised to seek an attorney
who specializes in such matters.
SUMMARY
Whether or not our mousetrap inventor takes measures to preserve
the intellectual property, he or she certainly should avoid
infringing on the rights of others. Although this is not
difficult in the case of copyrights and trade secrets, patents and
trademarks are another matter altogether.
Unquestionably, it costs precious start-up capital to have patent
and trademark searches performed; however, proceeding in a new
venture without doing so is equivalent to erecting a building or
signing a long-term lease without checking the real estate title.
Searches will not make the product appeal to the public, but they
will ensure enjoyment of any hard-won market success. A patent
search is comparatively cheap insurance against the possible need
to retool or to absorb inventory losses. Moreover, a close look
before adopting a trademark is cheaper in the long run than the
cost of advertising and new promotions designed to advise
customers to seek the mousetrap under a new name.
APPENDIX A: FURTHER INFORMATION ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Patent and Trademark Office, Washington, DC 20231, or the United
States Trademark Association, 6 E. 45th Street, New York, NY 10017.
Both publish free or inexpensive booklets.
A booklet for independent inventors, “So You Have An Idea”, is
available from the Innovation Clinic, 2 White Street, Concord, NH
03301. To order it send $2.00 and a self-addressed mailing label.
The Innovation Clinic also has a set of HyperCard stacks
(for Macintosh computers) covering several topics of interest to
inventors and small business owners. These are available for
$5.00 and a self-addressed mailing label.
Write to the Copyright Office, Washington, DC 20559, indicating the
subject matter in which you are particularly interested, for
example, music or arts.
“Patents Trademarks and Copyrights”, Lawrence E. Evans, Jr., 1986,
Gunn, Lee and Jackson, Eleven Greenway Plaza, Suite 1616, Houston, TX
77046.
You may want to consult one or more of the many inventors’
handbooks available at public libraries. One example is “How to
Profit From Your Ideas”, Flemming Bank, 1985 ($12.95). Bank and
Associates, P.O. Box 20365, Portland, OR 97220. This is a
step-by-step guide that shows how you can make money by turning
your creative ideas into marketable products.
APPENDIX B: INFORMATION RESOURCES
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
The SBA offers an extensive selection of information on most
business management topics, from how to start a business to
exporting your products.
This information is listed in “The Small Business Directory”. For a
free copy contact your nearest SBA office.
SBA has offices throughout the country. Consult the U.S.
Government section in your telephone directory for the office
nearest you. SBA offers a number of programs and services,
including training and educational programs, counseling services,
financial programs and contract assistance. Ask about
- Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a national
organization sponsored by SBA of over 13,000 volunteer business
executives who provide free counseling, workshops and seminars to
prospective and existing small business people.
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), sponsored by the SBA
in partnership with state and local governments, the educational
community and the private sector. They provide assistance,
counseling and training to prospective and existing business
people.
- Small Business Institutes (SBIs), organized through SBA on more
than 500 college campuses nationwide. The institutes provide
counseling by students and faculty to small business clients.
For more information about SBA business development programs and
services call the SBA Small Business Answer Desk at 1-800-8-ASK-SBA
(827-5722).
Other U.S. Government Resources
Many publications on business management and other related topics
are available from the Government Printing Office (GPO). GPO
bookstores are located in 24 major cities and are listed in the
Yellow Pages under the “bookstore” heading. You can request a
“Subject Bibliography” by writing to Government Printing Office,
Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC 20402-9328.
Many federal agencies offer publications of interest to small
businesses. There is a nominal fee for some, but most are free.
Below is a selected list of government agencies that provide
publications and other services targeted to small businesses. To
get their publications, contact the regional offices listed in
the telephone directory or write to the addresses below:
- Consumer Information Center (CIC), P.O. Box 100 Pueblo, CO 81002
The CIC offers a consumer information catalog of federal
publications.
- Library of Congress Copyright Office, Register of Copyrights,
Washington, DC 20559
- Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), Washington, DC 20231
Public Service Center: (703) 557-INFO
- U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), Office of Business Liaison,
14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 5898C, Washington,
DC 20230 DOC’s Business Assistance Center provides listings of
business opportunities available in the federal government. This
service also will refer businesses to different programs and
services in the DOC and other federal agencies.
Nongovernment Organizations
- Software Publishers Association, 1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Suite 901, Washington, DC 20036
- United States Trademark Association, 6 E. 45th Street, New York,
NY 10017
For More Information
A librarian can help you locate the specific information you need
in reference books. Most libraries have a variety of directories,
indexes and encyclopedias that cover many business topics. They
also have other resources, such as
- Trade association information - Ask the librarian to show you a
directory of trade associations. Associations provide a valuable
network of resources to their members through publications and
services such as newsletters, conferences and seminars.
- Books - Many guidebooks, textbooks and manuals on small business
are published annually. To find the names of books not in your
local library check “Books In Print”, a directory of books
currently available from publishers.
- Magazine and newspaper articles - Business and professional
magazines provide information that is more current than that
found in books and textbooks. There are a number of indexes to
help you find specific articles in periodicals.
In addition to books and magazines, many libraries offer free
workshops, lend skill-building tapes and have catalogues and
brochures describing continuing education opportunities.
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