NEVADA INVENTORS ASSOCIATION
"Education, Assistance, and
Networking for the Inventor"
The
Nevada Inventor
Newsletter of the Nevada Inventors' Association, Inc.
Post Office Box 11008, Reno, NV 89510-1008 http://www.nevadainventors.org
August, 2000
Local Inventors Featured at the State Fair
by John Martinson, Fair Committee Chairman
See cold steel twisted into weird shapes by human power! Be amazed by electronic measurements
faster than a blinking eye, in fact, see actual measurements of a blinking eye. Learn about exercise devices for
little used muscles. Play with educational games and toys. There is something interesting for everyone. Sorry no
cotton candy and hot dogs. (You will have to find them elsewhere on the fairgrounds.) It's all going on this month
at the Nevada Inventor's Association booth at the Nevada State Fair, August 23, through August 27.
The booth will feature the work of Nevada's most prolific inventor, the late Jerry Lemelson. A member of the Nevada
Inventor's Association, Lemelson is number three in the number of patents granted in the history of the U.S. Patent
Office. Among his most well known inventions was the Universal Product Code, the UPC, or "zebra stripe"
we use every day at the checkout stand.
Any Nevada inventor who has been granted a patent is invited to bring the invention to the State Fair and demonstrate
it at the booth. The booth will be located in the southwest corner of the Exhibit Hall.
If you are inventive, come to the Inventor's Association booth at the State Fair and "talk shop" with
other inventors. If you're intrigued by inventions, scientific and ingenious, visit the booth and see Nevada creativity
at work.
Editor's Note Do you have a problem or question regarding your invention
, its patent, and marketing? In a new monthly column, Randy Sloan. NIA President, will try to answer one question
of interest to our readers. Email your questions to mcdstewart@earthlink.net - subjects: The President's Forum.
You may also bring a typed copy to the meeting for inclusion in the next edition of the newsletter. Editor reserves
the right to edit stories for grammar and length.
NIA Begins Membership Drive
Curious about the marketability of an idea tickling inside your brain? Do you have a prototype of an invention
and need information to conduct your patent search? Want to meet creative, curious and enthusiastic people? Come
to the NIA meetings and check this group out.
The Nevada Inventor's Association is a service organization. One of its primary efforts is to advise inventors
on the approaches they can take (with only an investment of time, instead of dollars) in pursuit of a patent. This
advice includes information on how to conduct a preliminary patent search before retaining a patent attorney. Unfortunately,
our members regularly hear "horror stories" are their monthly meetings from inventors who fell for an
attractive advertisement on late night TV. Advertisers who prey on the inventor frequently pitch, "Do you
have an idea for a new invention? We can get you a patent and find a company to develop your idea into a salable
item!" Too often, thousands of dollars later, the inventor has an all but worthless design patent and an empty
wallet.
The NIA meets every 4th Saturday at the Washoe Medical Center, room 101, from 9am to noon.
The meeting is a protected place and you will be asked to sign-in and pledge not to reveal or use the original
ideas and products discussed. Annual membership is $35.00 and includes a subscription to the monthly newsletter.
Message from the United Inventor's Association USA: August is National Inventor's Month
Dear Friend:
August is YOUR month! It's dedicated to the great spirit of inventiveness that lives in everyone but is applied
by only a few who are brave enough to tap that spirit and change the world.
In 1998 three organizations, Inventor's Digest, The United Inventor's Association USA and The Academy of Applied
Science joined forces to create the first Nation Inventor's Month. We are celebrating this month in a very grass
roots way.
1. We've loaded www.inventorsdigest.com with great information including an invention for every day of August (we'll
keep this going for the other 344 days too!)
2. We've created specially designed display materials for libraries which were requested by more than 400 libraries
across the nation.
3. We're taking to the airways again to spread the positive message about inventions AND inventors.
Happy National Inventor's Month and thanks for all you are doing and will do to change the world!
Sincerely,
Joanne Hayes - Rines Vice President
Member Tip:
The Washoe County Library has an excellent series of VHS tapes depicting the lives of famous inventors. Shane Avansino
especially recommends the 3 part Edison edition and was delighted in the bits information on products we use everyday.
Did you know it took Gillette 14 years to sell his shaver?
Resource Directory
The following companies are aggressively seeking inventions that are patented or patent pending.
Office Products: Office Pro, Inc.
Attention: Mark Kozhin,
104-70 Queens Blvd, Suite 300,
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 997-6600.
Plumbing, HVAC:
The Rectorseal Corporation.
Attention: Laura Fishman,
P.O. Box 14669, 2830 Produce Row,
Houston, TX 77221-4699
(800) 231-3345.
Jerry Lemelson's Life; One of Creativity Dedication and Purpose
The NIA honors former member, Jerome Lemelson, the most prolific Inventor of our time with a photograph and biography
display at the State Fair booth. Lemelson, who lived in Incline Village until his death in October 1997, began
his career as an inventor as a young man by licensing and marketing toys and novelty items. His lifetime of inventions
with more than 500 parents, spanned the wide gamut of his interests from a Velcro dart board game to what is now
the Sony walkman and the bar code scanner. He invented and applied for the patent on his "machine vision device"
(the bar code scanner) in 1956. By the time it was finally approved in 1989 the technology had been developed around
the world and installed everywhere from supermarkets to assembly lines. He was often far ahead of his time. The
Patent office rejected his first application for a patent on the camcorder in 1977 "because the examiner said
it was ridiculous to think that video recorders could be miniaturized to the size required for portability."
With the wealth earned from the bar code scanner patent Lemelson was able to endow the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and establish the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Institute.
In addition to monetary support through these foundations, the independent inventor had a staunch ally and tireless
champion in the fight to protect patent rights from infringements. Don Costar, a personal friend and founding member
of the NIA, writes in a tribute published at the time of Lemelson's death,
"It's a little scary, almost a religious experience, to know we had a
real American hero living among us. Like the heroes of an earlier time he was willing to face down the thieves
and corporate criminals (dragons) so the little guys of the world could feel safer....What an honorable and selfless
thing he did: putting America's welfare ahead of his own health and personal needs."
Lemelson is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and their sons and grandchildren. Dorothy continues her husband's Support
of the independent inventor. Recently, she granted a generous, personal donation of $5,000 to the NIA.
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Created on September 24-2000.
Updated on November 29 2005