Clark is a huge fan of inventors and people who have a great idea they want to market. On the flip side, he despises criminals who take advantage of these inventors with phony marketing schemes. Most of them tell ask for a small fee to find out about the popularity of the product. They come back and tell the inventor that the product got a great response in testing and will make tons of money if marketed. That’s when they tell these inventors they have to pay much more money to get the product marketed. Then they take off with $6,000 to $15,000 of your money. One group – Davison Associates – was recently busted for stealing $26 million from would-be inventors. That is just one group of many committing this crime. This phony scam has been going on since Clark has been in radio and you need to be careful.

Clark often hears from inventors after they’ve gotten scammed by phony marketing and invention groups. Those late night invention offers you hear on television are not to be trusted. Many of these offer kits and charge you money for that. Then, they start working you. The first request is for between $500 and $800 to do “market analysis.” Then, a salesperson will call four to six weeks later so it appears they’ve been working on the idea. But, they say, they need to do more market analysis, and that is going to require more money. The second step of the con takes place at this point. Then, after they get your money, they disappear. It’s a two or three step process and people get taken all the time. It’s hard to find legitimate companies in this area, but one company that Clark has looked into is called “Bigideagroup.net,” and it looks okay. If you go with this outfit, you don’t get a lot of the cut. But the company seems to follow through with its claims. In the meantime, protect yourself!

Clark has talked in the past about phony invention groups. There was even a law passed in 1999 - the American Inventors’ Protection Act – to safeguard consumers against these fraudulent companies. But apparently, they are back. The Patent & Trademark Office has issued a warning about these groups, and you can find it at uspto.gov. The scams usually work in three steps. At first, they send you a free information kit. Then, they hit you up for $500 to $700 to do some “preliminary research” into the viability of your idea. After a few weeks, they send you another thicker package, saying your idea is a hit and they need more money to start a marketing campaign. This time, they hit you up for $5,000 to $10,000. Don’t allow yourself to be taken. So, how do you find legitimate groups? For general information, howstuffworks.com is a good starting point. Another one is inventored.org, which is an informational site for inventors. Another easy one is asktheinvenstors.org. The site tries to sell you things, as well, but you don’t have to buy. Then there is the International Federation for Inventors Association. They even have information specifically for women because women tend to experience some discrimination from men in the inventing world. It’s at invention-ifia.ch. So, stay out of harm’s way. When you see those ads on late night TV, steer clear.