Quirky's Ben Kaufman Proves UIA Executive Director Mark Reyland Wrong !

Entrepreneur Magazine - August 2011

Quirky: The Solution to the Innovator's Dilemma

At the age of 24, Ben Kaufman already has a successful startup track record. With Quirky, he's tapped into the power of open innovation and created a place where anyone can become an inventor.

Ben Kaufman was on the subway in New York City in 2005 when he had his light-bulb moment. He saw a girl--a stranger--sporting a pair of headphones he designed at mophie, the iPod accessories company he founded the day he graduated from high school.

"I saw something I invented out in the world, and it was the best feeling," Kaufman says. "That's when I realized I needed to help more people experience that."
Four years later, Kaufman launched Quirky, an online consumer products company with a social development twist: products for the people, created and designed by the people...... "see more"....  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220045



The info below was posted by Reyland on the United Inventors Association Forum about Quirky and other Inventor Resource Companies. Looks like he was wrong again !

The inventing industry has many holes you can fall in on your journey. One such hole is the use of crowd sourcing sites. Those are sites that ask you to list your invention and allow others to comment or give you feedback.

Here are some things you should know about using these sites.

Other than the Terms & Conditions sections are often written in such a way that you forfit all, or a significant part of yoru rights to the owners of the site. There are 3 main reasons the UIA does not recommend you use them.

1. Posting your invention on a site like this is public disclosure and can cost you the opportunity to gain patent protection on your invention

2. Any person that makes any suggestion to your invention that you use, could later make a co-inventor claim against you

3. Many companies that license innovation refuse to work with a product that has been listed on these sites for both of the reasons listed above. Please do not list your inventions or ideas on these sites.

Quirky
Ahhha
MomQuestion
Genius Crowds

These are just the few that we know about – if you run across these kind of sites please let us know so we can let others know.

As always, the UIA recommends that you consult a practicing attorney in your state before enrolling in any site or listing your invention