2012 PGA Merchandise Show Preview

The annual PGA Merchandise Show will be held on January 25 - 28, 2012 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL.

The show has a long and entrepreneurial history, dating back to 1954, where industry professionals gathered in parking lots to showcase their new equipment. This year, there will be over 1000 vendors representing a myriad of divisions within the golf industry. Ranging from start-up companies, Axis 2 Angle™ Golf, to industry titans, such as Titleist, there is a compendium of exhibitors both new and familiar for attendees to experience.

The show kicks off with the 10^th annual Demo Day on Wednesday, January 25. Just like the name suggests, the Demo Day offers participants a chance to test new equipment from top Golf companies like Ping, Calloway, and Taylor Made. The Demo Day will take place at Orlando’s Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge. Attendees can do more than test out the new putters, drivers, irons, balls, shafts, and grips. Clubfitting, scoring clinics and instructional aides are also available for testing. However, the morning session is limited to PGA professionals and media only and the afternoon session is open for PGA professionals, media members and industry professionals.

Among the many highlights of the merchandise show is the unveiling of new products such as equipment, apparel, teaching aids, travel accessories, and club management. The show has already revealed three new featured products in this year’s show. The first is the 2012 BB Putter Series by Bettinardi Golf. Bettinardi Golf has been producing One-Piece milled putters since 1991 and has been used by the likes of Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, and Jesper Parnevik.

Standard Golf Company will feature their new line of customized flags. Each flag is embedded with maximum UV resistant material, which protects against the color fading of the flag. The consumer has two choices of fabrics, a white heavy-weave polyester textile, which feels like cotton and a nylon-like tight-weave polyester textile flag. To order, simply email your artwork to the email address provided on their website.

Lastly, The SkyCaddie® will also be featured at merchandise show. The SkyCaddie® is a series of wireless rangefinders helping golfers map distances and view layouts of different holes and the course as a whole. The SkyCaddie® not only maps yardages to the hole, but also to layup points, hazards, and various targets on the green for different shot selection purposes.

In addition to the many products and companies highlighted at the show, there are many learning and networking opportunities available for attendees. According to the FAQ page on the show’s website, there will be at least 70 educational seminars presented by notable figures from both the PGA and AGM (Association of Golf Merchandisers). Other attractions that worth checking out are the interactive exhibits, fashion gallery, special events such as concerts, various presentations, celebrity appearances, career fair, the new product center, and the chance for extensive professional networking.

For attendee registration and further detailed information about the show, visit the PGA Merchandise show website or you can follow the show on Facebook and Twitter.

Ben Hagen

Team Tesla

Common Pitfalls of the Invention Process

Before we even jump into the list, Team Tesla needs to preface this post. We completely understand that inventing and creating a new product from scratch can be a time-consuming and exhausting endeavor. We also recognize how deeply personal producing a new invention is and how emotionally (and sometimes financially) invested you naturally become in the process. That being said, this list is meant as a gentle reminder and informative piece to help bring to light certain aspects of your invention you may not have thought of, or possibly certain issues you have trouble even admitting to yourself. Our aim is to help point out possible flaws for the betterment of everyone's creative pursuits. In addition to that. . .

Let's just get this out of the way right now. Some of these suggestions may seem obvious to us, they may seem obvious to you, but they aren't obvious to everyone. We receive an astounding array of invention ideas that come through the Tesla Team laboratory (la-bore-a-tory), and through the high volume a pattern of pitfalls and mistakes has emerged.

Seek a Broad Audience (or more honest criticism)

It's a common phrase that we hear a lot around here, or some variation of it. "All my friends think it's great." "My neighbors said they would buy it." And possibly the most cringe-worthy, "my mom said it was a great idea." Before you get unduly riled up and start a round of fisticuffs, we are not calling your sweet mother a liar. However, successfully marketing a new invention and negotiating a licensing deal is strictly business. Large amounts of money are invested and many people's careers can be affected by the failure or success of a new product. Your invention is going to be placed under serious scrutiny before anyone is willing to invest in it to any significant degree. Because of this, initial opinions and constructive criticism for your product need to be wide-ranging and as objective as possible. The more input you get the better. This doesn't necessitate said input's incorporation into your product, but a range of perspectives is always beneficial. People have a tendency to surround themselves with like-minded people, creating at times an insulated environment both intellectually and creatively. Soliciting advice and opinions from friends and family is a fine start, and truly their support is important to your efforts. But it cannot be the end, because no one is going to be more critical than the person dropping thousands of dollars to make your idea a reality.

Don't Make It Personal (Very specific problems)

This is good advice for any inventor who is seriously considering or pursuing a licensing deal, either through an intermediary or on their own. Investing so much time and effort into a product naturally develops a bond with that piece of intellectual property, so criticisms aimed at your product need to be separated from your own ego. This isn't what we are referring to here, however. As so many people have said in so many ways (I like to attribute it to Daffy Duck), necessity is the mother of invention. The problem arises in the universality of the necessity. Case in point: my refrigerator in my apartment is too close to my kitchen counter. There is barely enough space for me to fit between the two to get to my bathroom. True story. Solution: I invent an automatically self-greasing belt to allow me to slip past. True, this belt may have other applications that can be used, but the essential problem with the product is that it is in response to a personal problem that is either isolated to my own experience or environment, or applies to an insignificantly small population of renters. To be sure, there is something to be said for being an advocate for your own product and expanding the opportunities for its use. It's an essential part of successfully marketing yourself and your product, however, it is important to keep a perspective on the practical scope of your invention's usefulness and how applicable it really is to your target audience.

Don't Overthink It (complicated solutions for simple problems)

This and the previous piece of advice are somewhat related, in that they both have to do with becoming insulated inside your own creativity and thought processes. Honestly, this can also be one of the harder mistakes to avoid, simply because it often has to do with whether or not your solution to a problem is even necessary. It's entirely a judgment call, and not everyone will agree. Again, it's important to believe in your product, but it's also important to step back and honestly attempt to determine if your solution is far more complicated than any previous product, or if your product is superfluous next to traditional methods. I'm loathe to try and come up with an illustrative example lest I offend someone working on my made up product, but let's try anyway. Let's say I make a product that is a gripper which holds silverware while you wash it, and it also has a mirror so no one can startle you while you wash dishes. I have a provisional patent and a working prototype. The question now becomes, is anyone going to buy it? What portion of the consumer population needs a hand surrogate to hold silverware even though to use the gripper you need a fully functioning hand? Now that example is a little ridiculous (I am so sorry if you have one of these on your workbench), and going back through consumer products history shows quite a number of things which on their face just look pointless and stupid. And yet they were successful. It really is a subjective determination and everyone makes mistakes, but it remains an important aspect of product development to keep in mind. How necessary is it, or better yet, how necessary will the target consumer see it?

Fantasy Invention/Wish list

To some people this last entry may seem pretty obvious, to others ridiculous, but believe me, there are others that need to hear this. You need to actually have an invention to bring that invention to market. Let me elaborate. Not all inventions need a working, polished prototype. Design changes especially can and will happen during the course of product development. Issues will arise with efficiency, functionality, aesthetics, etc., but in the end something needs to be presented that you have developed to a degree that you know can be made and will work, and even how it will work. That last point especially is important. Which brings me back to the title of this entry. I use the terms "fantasy" and "wish list" for a very good reason. The kernel of a notion for something that would be revolutionary if it existed, is not in and of itself an invention. The most egregious offenders tend to be in the realm of advanced technology, and again, I'll attempt to use an exaggerated example. I have a fantastic idea, for a human teleportation machine, and it should be small enough to fit into your pocket so that you can carry it with you when you do want to walk around. The device will unfold into a little pad which will have preset destinations on it that are customizable, like a speed dial. It will also have a warning signal in case you are going to teleport to where someone else is already standing. There will also be an emergency setting that will detect fire or bad weather conditions that will then teleport you to a nearby hospital in case you need medical attention. Alright, I'm going to stop there. I've just listed a number of secondary features to a fantastical device, without once addressing the unimaginably complex issue of human teleportation. I suppose we can call this invention in the broadest sense of the term, but legally and financially speaking, I cannot claim credit for inventing the teleporter. If that were the case, there is a host of science fiction authors with the rights to almost every piece of technology we use today. Yes, it would be amazing if we had virtual reality simulation machines that projected video games to such a real extent that they were indistinguishable from real life, but how do you propose we do that? What would the software look like? How much processing power would that take? To sum it up, your invention needs to be more than a vague idea for something that you wish existed.

Inventing a successful commercial or technological product is a long, difficult and arduous journey, and we admire anyone willing to see it through. These entries are just a few of the challenges that inventors face, but we hope this discussion helps to point out how important it is to keep an open mind about your invention, to be willing to take a step back and look hard at your product, and above all to be realistic and push yourself to make a truly great invention.

Darin Faber

Team Tesla

2012 CES Preview

The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is kicking off next month at the Las Vegas Convention Center beginning January 10th through January 13th. The International CES is owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), a trade association boasting over 2,000 member companies that works to promote industry growth in areas ranging from market research to technical training, industry promotion and business development.

Highlights

Microsoft draws down

Microsoft announced that this year's CES will be the last show that the company will contribute to in a significant capacity. Microsoft will be delivering a keynote address this year for the fourteenth and last time, also withdrawing their commitment to a large booth beyond 2012, although they will still maintain a small presence in future shows. Speculations have been flying regarding the reason, including Microsoft demanding a lock on future keynote addresses and withdrawing from the show in retaliation for being denied. However, Microsoft maintains that CES's schedule doesn't mesh well with Microsoft's product release schedule, which typically lands in the third quarter of the year. Microsoft's lackluster showing at this past year's CES consisted mostly of products either outside of mainstream electronics or products that were already on the market, supporting their reason for withdrawing from the show as a lack of return on the significant investment.

CES premieres app developer event

This year the 2012 CES will feature the first presentation of the Developer University, a venue dedicated to developers to showcase their apps, APIs, platforms and SDKs to colleagues and potential investors. The Developer University will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 12 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The event consists of consecutive 30 minute program presentations followed by a networking event for industry attendees. CES registration and an RSVP is required to attend this event.

Darin Faber

Team Tesla

ITC Ruling Against Motorola

December 2011 - The International Trade Commission has issued an initial ruling in the patent dispute lodged against Motorola by Microsoft in October of 2010.

Microsoft has claimed that various Motorola products infringe on no less than nine patents currently held by Microsoft. In their initial ruling, the ITC has isolated one of the nine patents cited in Microsoft's complaint, determining that Motorola infringed on four separate claims of U.S. Patent no. 6,370,566, which consists of designs and systems that generate group scheduling and meeting requests on mobile devices.

Microsoft's Corporate Vice President and General Counsel David Howard issued a statement saying, "We are pleased with the ITC's initial determination finding Motorola violated four claims of a Microsoft patent. As Samsung, HTC, Acer and other companies have recognized, respecting others' intellectual property through licensing is the right path forward."

Recently the ITC issued an import ban on HTC products that it found to have infringed on patents currently held by Apple, and may choose to institute a similar ban on Motorola. Despite this, Motorola's General Counsel Scott Offer has stated, "We view it as a huge win" because Microsoft is "down to one patent."

Among the Motorola products potentially affected by this ruling are the Motorola Droid, Atrix and Xoom, and the total number as reported by Microsoft itself stands at eighteen altogether. The ITC is expected to issue a final ruling after more review by the end of April, 2012.

Darin Faber

Team Tesla

Buzzwords Inventors Should Stop Using

Inventors, like many others in the IP and product development industries, use buzzwords or clichéd phrases when presenting their product to a company or consumers. As a result of using buzzwords, some have become stale from their overuse or are just used incorrectly. Listed below are five words and phrases that inventors want to avoid using when describing their invention:

Revolutionary – Inventors want to avoid using this word, in any form, at all costs. Few inventions can be considered revolutionary, especially in present time. The cotton gin, printing press, personal computer, assembly line. These inventions were revolutionary, because they transformed the each of their industries conducted their business. It is difficult to say whether a product or invention is truly revolutionary at its current time. It is with time that an invention’s impact can be shown and gain the desired ‘revolutionary’ moniker.

EZ – It is a catchy slogan to simplify ‘easy’ into ‘EZ’. However, when presenting your product to a company for a licensing agreement, it is more beneficial to emphasize the qualities of your product than relying on a catchy slogan.

Million or Billion Dollar Industry – While it may be accurate when inventors say that an industry generates millions or billions of dollars in revenue per year, it is a gross generalization. Inventors should refrain from claiming that an industry produces a specific number of dollars, without citing a market research study. If an inventor just throws out a number to gain interest in his or her invention, it comes off as hyperbole, rather than a sound investment in a growing market.

Everyone will want one – This is a gross overstatement and a palatable generalization that every single consumer in a market will buy a product. There are multiple products in each industry that can accomplish the same solution. The goal of the product developer should be to identify the weaknesses in the current market and create a product that efficiently outperforms its competition. That doesn’t mean that every consumer will buy that single product due to brand loyalty, homemade devices, packaging, name recognition, performance, etc.

Everyone who has seen it, loves it – Sample Size. Sample size. Sample size. When discussing who has used and reviewed a new product, inventors need to be careful on who uses and how many people. The smaller the sample size, the more room for error in the feedback received. One other thing to keep in mind is that if the only feedback an inventor receives is from their family and/or friends, their reviews may not be the best gauge as to the licensability of the product. Those reviews come with a favorable bias.

Inventors and product developers are understandably excited about their product. They often try to sell a product seeker on the invention using phrases and clichéd buzzwords that deter interest from their product, most of the time unknowingly. To receive the best response when showcasing an invention, the product developer needs only to describe the invention and show, specifically, how it is a better product than those on the market.

Ben Hagen

Team Tesla

Product Review: The Bender Ball

Today we are reviewing the Bender Ball™ and Bender Method ™ by Leslee Bender, distributed by Savvier, LLC. This abdominal exercise program retails for around $19.99, although I was able to find it online for around $13, and at its cheapest $6. This program was developed by Leslee Bender, a trainer certified by both the American College of Sports Medicine as well as the National Academy of Sports Medicine with 25 years of experience. Overall I found the program to be effective and the core principles to be sound, however, I was underwhelmed by a number of ways in which the product is presented. Let's dig in.

The Bender Ball™ and Bender Method™

Inside your newly acquired Bender system you will find a deflated Bender Ball™, an instructional pamphlet, a small package containing two plugs and two inflation straws, and three instructional DVD's. I also found a small plastic ribbon not connected to anything and with no discernible use, and I suspect that this might be the real secret to getting toned, sexy abs. I'll keep you posted, but in the meantime, back to the ball!

Now, if you have no idea what a balloon is or are completely in the dark as to this new-fangled concept of "inflation", you'll appreciate that both the first DVD and the instruction pamphlet tells you how to inflate your new Bender Ball™. I realize consumer products need to cover all their bases, but in addition to issues which we'll discuss later, it seems like unnecessary padding in an already short instructional DVD. Thankfully that's all the equipment you need, so let's get to the videos.

Instructional DVDs: Core Training, Selective Core Training, and Strong Healthy Back

As I've said, this first video instructs you on how to inflate your Bender Ball™, as well as introduce you to Leslee Bender and some of the basic principles behind her program. Probably the most important are the program's focus on extension and flexion. I originally doubted whether or not flexion was a word, and had my suspicions that it was lifted from a game of Dungeons&Dragons™, but it actually does refer to the act of reducing the angle of a joint. Fine, but we're keeping an eye on you Leslee.

Flexion: Authors Interpretation

Most of the first DVD consists of basic abdominal exercises with the added twist of utilizing the Bender Ball™, either positioned under your lower back or between your legs as a stabilizer and resistance for your inner thighs. The second DVD begins to focus on various abdominal areas individually, providing a wider range of movements to strengthen specific areas. The third DVD is presented as a lower back workout, and as a great way to help you with all your important daily activities, like carrying children and groceries. Really? That's it?

"Thanks Bender Ball™!"

It also borrows some movements and exercises from the previous video. While it is true that repetition is a necessary part of any good exercise program, it causes the perceived value of the entire package to take a hit. The three DVDs are 18 minutes, 16 minutes and 30 minutes respectively. However, the overlap between the second and third cuts your effective purchased content down to around 54 minutes instead of 64 minutes. Throw in the inspirational chatter, intros, jokes and the unnecessary section on inflation and you've probably cut off another 10-15 minutes. That's only 40 minutes of quality exercise instruction spread out over three DVD's for the price of $20. There are additional instructional videos, but they are sold separately. "But. . .but what about the fabulous Bender Ball™?", you say, "That's what makes this program so special." Well, yes and no.

The core of the product is certainly the execution of abdominal exercises in conjunction with the Bender Ball™. But let's face it, the Bender Ball is a rubber ball, you could buy one for a dollar at Walmart, and it doesn't have to be an eye-numbingly noxious shade of green.

Future fitness instructor

The real value that your money is paying for is the guided ab exercises by a trained fitness instructor. Leslee Bender's program incorporates a kind of isotonic exercise, meaning the ball acts as a supportive fulcrum which allows a constant amount of tension to remain in your abdominal muscles. Unlike sit-ups or crunches, which involve going from no resistance to full resistance in the span of a repetition(which can be difficult for beginners), the Bender system maintains consistent tension. It also encourages correct form and puts the focus of your exertions where they belong, mainly on your abs, rather than pulling on your neck or swinging your legs. As with other exercise balls, core tension is created just through the act of remaining balanced on the ball, but unlike larger exercise balls, the Bender Ball™ allows for a decent range of difficulty scaling depending on your fitness level. It also maintains the core tension benefit without the ungainly size of larger balls and the possible embarrassing fall from the larger balls as well. In addition, by providing a smaller fulcrum positioned at the lower back, you are able to increase the amount of extension further than you would with large exercise balls. In this respect, the inclusion of the Bender Ball™ and its demonstrated uses works well. The packaging states it works 408% better, which is non-sensical. Why 408%? Why not just 400%? Who is going to notice that extra 8%? How would any normal consumer be able to test this? You know what, let's just move on.

The fact that I would prefer to use the Bender Ball™ over a regular large exercise ball is what makes some of the video content so frustrating. Throughout the DVD's, I would say conservatively 50% of the time the Bender Ball™ is used, it's pretty unnecessary. This adds to that aforementioned fact that the bender ball is no modern engineering marvel, but rather an inflated piece of plastic available. . .well anywhere. All too often the Bender Ball is either resting next to the people in the video or just being held while they are exercising. As if the real program here is an elaborate subjugation agenda by a race of sentient balls. I wouldn't harp on this quite so much if the phrase "Bender Ball" wasn't so prominently advertised as the purpose of buying this product. It's a shame it isn't utilized more, as it does stand as an improvement over other equipment-based abdominal workouts. Let's review:

Pros:

1. Customizable difficulty levels

2. Simple hardware, just a ball you blow up with a straw and your mouth

3. The exercises, while applying consistent resistance to abdominal muscles such that you can definitely feel it working, are almost zero-impact and low intensity. They can be done by a wide range of fitness levels. This program definitely showcases Leslee's background in pilates, slower low impact movements for strength and exercise at a lower intensity.

4. Balancing on the ball and having it provide a fulcrum and support for your back reduces many of the injury causing errors that can occur during regular ab exercises. It becomes unnecessary to pull yourself up by your neck, curve your back, or use your legs/arms for swinging momentum like so many of us do when we start to get tired.

Cons:

1. The advertised Bender Ball™ is mostly unnecessary, as you could take your 2 year old niece's toy away and use that, but it comes with the DVD's, which is what you are actually paying for.

2. The total run time for all the DVD's adds about to approximately 64 minutes, with additional DVD's being sold separately. I'm not entirely sure why the DVD's are broken up into 3 separate discs, considering the longest one is no more than 30 minutes, and as we have said, actual exercise content is even less than that.

3. While being billed as a main component of the program, the Bender Ball™ spends too much time on the sidelines or in unnecessary positions.

All in all, the driving concept behind the Bender Method™ is solid, and has been developed by a professional trainer. The exercises are effective, and I believe the addition of the smaller ball is an improvement. It is just disappointing that the content seems so minimal and piece-meal across so many videos. The program could be beneficial to those on the lower end of fitness or who would like a less intense, lower impact ab program.

Darin Faber

Team Tesla

US Patent and Trademark Supplemental Appropriations Act

President Barack Obama signed the United States Patent and Trademark Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010 into law on August 10, 2010. This legislation was signed into law a mere 14 days after it was introduced to Congress. It was sponsored by Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV1).

The Act gives an additional $129 million to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to spend in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The USPTO projects that it will collect nearly $200 million more than its FY 2010 appropriation of $1.887 billion.

This additional funding will allow the USPTO and its director, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office David Kappos, to continue to improve the efficiency of both the USPTO and the patenting process.

The president said on July 12, when he requested Congress to provide the USPTO with these funds “the money would support efforts to reduce backlogs in processing patent applications-by spurring innovation and reforming the US Patent and Trademark to make them more effective.”

According to the USPTO website, the total average time for patent pendency is 35 months and the total average time for trademark pendency is 13.5 months. This additional funding will greatly help the efforts of the USPTO in becoming more efficient while being thorough.

About Lambert & Lambert:

Lambert & Lambert is a contingency-fee based invention marketing and patent licensing firm that specializes in consumer products. Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, Lambert & Lambert provides services to inventors, product developers and small companies throughout the world and currently has products selling in numerous retailers.

Contact:

Tim Sherman, director of customer service
Lambert & Lambert, Inc.
Tel: 651-552-0080
www.lambertinvent.com