NEVADA INVENTORS ASSOCIATION

"Education, Assistance, and

Networking for the Inventor"

To go to the main Page , Articles

or Newsletter link.

---

The Nevada Inventor

Meeting Schedule

April 2001 Volume XIII Number 4

April Meeting Saturday, April 28 9am to noon, Mack Auditorium,Washoe Medical Center

featured Speaker: Dave Capper, Marketing Director for Hasbro Toys Topic:

The World inside toy development and marketing.

May Meeting: Saturday, May 26 9 am to noon Meeting room 101, WMC

---

Move over Gipetto!

Out of the Way Willy Wonka!

Dave Capper, Inventor and marketing expert in Toy Industry to speak at April 28 NIA Meeting.

• Currently developing products for the Tiger Toys division of Hasbro, leader in the toy electronic products with magahits like “Furby”

• Co-inventor of HitClips, recently debuted through McDonald’s restaurants. When the new HitCLips hit the market last August, Dave Capper was celebrating! A brainchild of Capper and partner, Andy Filo, HitClips recently debuted in McDonald’s restaurants across the country. Each HitClips holds about 60 seconds of music and they can be played through a mini version of a protab le CD player.

This is just one of the newest ideas to come from Capper, who has been inventing toys for over 20 years. At our April meeting, Capper will share with to the Nevada Inventors real life examples of products, prototypes, marketing phenomena, commercials, public relations and more. He will talk about what works, what doesn’t and why. He will discuss how products are evaluated and who to see on the inside to increase your chances for success.

Capper graduated from San Diego State in 1980 with a B.S. in Marketing. He worked at Mattel from 1980 through 1986 on Preschool, Hot Wheels and Boys Toys. He was responsible for overseeing He-Man and Masters of the Universe, the largest boys toy line in the world during this period.

He left Mattel to work with a friend on a rubber band ball known as “The Koosh Ball”. He helped build the company and its brands into one of the largest in its category with hits such as the Vortex, a far flying tail-finned soft football.

Capper co-invented and started a company around a new technology known as “Sound Bites” The company was purchased by Hasbro and the product line was launched with a new line of lollipops that became the number one selling US Candy in 1998. Lately, Capper has been busy with HitClips, a revolutionary line encompassing a new music chip technology. Licensed to Tiger Toys ,a division of Hasbro, the line was recently launched through a McDonalds campaign featuring Brittany Spears and In Sync.

This should prove to be a very popular meeting and so to accommodate the expected crowd it will be held in the Mack Auditorium of Washoe Medical Center. Come, enjoy, and learn. “Play has always been the mainspring of culture” Italo Calvino “What toy is ranked as the world’s most interactive toy in the 1999 Guiness Book of World Records? a. (Sound Bites) - print upside down.

---

Message from your Web Master, Vince Chemist...

Good News, Our own members page (access by password and your name etc.) has been added to our NIA website, www.nevadainventors.org

To reach your member's page and directory click 'Members page' button near bottom of NIA home page.

Enter the correct information from your newsletter mailing label.

Your password can be found on the top line of the mailing label above your name. ,If your label says '$50 DUE Jan 2001' you must pay your dues to get your password.

If any one has information to change or to add;please email me the information from the members page. your Web Master, Vince Chemist, Apr 11- 2001

---

UIA Bulletin Board

CALIFORNIA TV STATION LOOKING FOR YOU! PBS Affiliate KIXE - Channel 9 in Redding, California, is looking for inventors in Northern California that they can feature during National Inventors' Month - August. They want people who can explain the process of new product development -- patenting, prototyping, market research. If you have a story to tell and information to share, write to kitty_conner@kixe.pbs.org

PRESIDENT BUSH wants to keep stealing your money. The federal budget proposed by Bush "still withholds at least many tens of millions of dollars of fee income" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to the Intellectual Property Owners Association. That's fees paid by inventors for patents . . . your money siphoned off from the USPTO to the general fund. Send a letter of protest to your Congressman and Senators.

Have an opinion on the U.S. patent system? If so, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office wants to know what you think about . . . our First to Invent system . . . business method patents . . . our one year grace period . . . if it's necessary to put the inventor's name on a patent or just the assignee . . . and 13 other issues. The "Request for Comments on the International Effort to Harmonize the Substantive Requirements of Patent Laws" was published in the Federal Register on March 19, 2001. You can download the request from http://www.uspto.govweb/offices/com/sol/notices/intpatlaws.pdf

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT COMMENTS: April 30, 2001.

---

Frequently asked Questions about Patents Answered by Randy Sloan, NIA President

Q. Are there any organizations in my area which can tell me how and where I may be able to obtain assistance in developing and marketing my invention?

A. Yes, Ask such organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Association at UNR and perhaps, the Tech Alliance Group for the Truckee Meadows.

Q. Are there any state government agencies that can help me in developing and marketing of my invention?

A. Yes. In nearly every state there are state planning and development agencies or departments of commerce and industry which seek new product and new process ideas to assist manufacturers and communities in the state. If you do not know the names or addresses of your state organizations your can obtain this information by writing the governor of your state.

---

NIA member is game player and game inventor NIA member, John Martinson has invented a challenging game of world geography.. Unlike the millions of tiny pieces involved in RISK, the game of world domination, Cosmopolis involves a unique deck of cards, a beautiful world map highlighting cities instead of political boundaries and sparkling jewel pieces in a variety of colors. Martison’s use of a special deck of cards allows many different variations of the game to be played ages of players can be challenged and playing time can be varied as needed.

The idea for Cosmopolis came to Martinson when he saw an enormous map of the Pan Am routes highlighting destination cities instead of political boarders. He first played the game using a large inflatable globe but the globe blocked players view of each other when set upon a table. The vinyl map was created and jewel pieces used as markers making Cosmopolis a game of visual delight. But is it FUN? (To tell the truth we haven’t had an evening together this week without homework or soccer to check it out but we will try it over Spring Break and you can ask me at the meeting. - Margaret Stewart)

---

10 Commandments of Toy Invention adapted from “Designing Toys and games” by Andrew Berton, www.patentcafe.com

1. Please give us something original with a strong point of difference - but not too different.

2. Study what’s hot today and what’s on the clearance aisle. Where does your idea belong?

3. Is your new toy or game fun fun fun?

4. Visual Appeal is important and will usually be determined by the marketing company.

5. Remember the toy’s user sex/age level.

6. Consumer product Safety Commission’s strict guidelines make for interesting reading.

7. Anything unusual such as complex electronic circuitry may discourage acceptance of your product idea.

8. Products perceived to be expensive and technologically advanced rarely enjoy longevity in the marketplace. Think YOYO.

9. A snappy name will help sell a concept. Think Frisbee.

10. Does your new product include room for expansion. Learn from Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Skiing Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Rock Star Barbie, Ditch Digger Barbie and Grandma Barbie.

Websites to check out this month

www.Patent Cafe.Com - offers unparalleled access to news interactive legal resources, advice, free and for fee services and good reading.

www.Time.com “Sex, Toys, and Video games "by Rebecca Winters

www.Totally Absurd - explores the funnier side of our inventive spirit by featuring actual USA patented products.

www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.11/osterhout_pt html -”Adventures in the Toy Trade” “Ralph Osterhout knock himself out to make bots for tots and brats, pies and troublemakers.”

Your are visitor to this page.

"Education, Assistance, and Networking for the Inventor"

To go to the main Page or goto Newsletters