About the Author

Dear Inventor:

A little over a decade ago, I was where many of you are now.  I had decided for the first time to patent and commercialize one of my inventions, and began to research how to go about it.  My research revealed that by far the most cost effective means to my objective was to learn to do it myself.

And so I set out.  The learning process was arduous and time-consuming. I made mistakes, but ultimately succeeded, and in the process developed robust and effective low-cost strategies to evaluate, patent, and license my inventions.  (Being an expert in MS Word, when I later began to work with professional attourneys through my licensees, I was surprised to learn that many of the efficiency-enhancing nuts-and-bolts techniques I had devised for drafting a patent application were unknown to them.)

Years later, realized that it would be of great assistance to my collaborators and others (and would certainly at least help them avoid repeating my mistakes) if I organized the information and techniques into a consolidated resource, and The Essential Inventor's Guide was born.

I hold the conviction that the only legitimate means to wealth is to create something of value (I hear that some in the banking and real estate industries disagree).  Every personal gain should be directly tied to the benefit of others.  That ethic has served me well as an engineer, inventor, and writer.  I would not make The Essential Inventor’s Guide available to you if I were not convinced that it is the best resource to evaluate, patent, and license an invention available today...and I am committed to keeping it that way.

If, as you use The Essential Inventor's Guide, it occurs to you that anything could be better in any way, please send us your thoughts.

R. K.