[{"source":"FTC USA Business Blog Posts","description":"How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth lfair September 13, 2017 | 11:15AM How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth By Lesley Fair It sounds like there was some “inventing” going on at Florida-based invention promotion firm World Patent Marketing, but a Preliminary Injunction in a case brought by the FTC suggests it wasn’t the kind that unsuspecting consumers bargained for when they forked over millions of dollars based on the defendants’ misleading promises about patenting and promoting their products. For FTC watchers, the opinion is a page-turner from start to finish. We’ll focus on just a few of the claims the company “invented.” The defendants’ initial business model involved online ads that induced people to submit their product ideas. Salespeople responded, telling interested consumers that World Patent Marketing’s “review team” was researching the proposal because “the company is so selective with the ideas they choose to work with.” After a bit of a wait, salespeople called the would-be entrepreneur back to say: We had our final meeting with the Review Team regarding your idea. And basically from all the research that’s been done on [your idea], the research tells us there’s definitely potential to patent your idea. Because of that, I have the green light from the company to let you know that WPM wants to be a part of your new product idea and help you to protect it and bring it to the commercial marketplace. So, first of all congratulations! . . . The company loved your idea! They think it has a lot of potential. Especially the Sr. Product Director, who is in charge of which ideas are considered for the upcoming trade show. He sees some good opportunities ahead. But as the U.S. District Court concluded, those salespeople were reading the pitch from a script. In fact, “there is no evidence that WPM ever had a review team or rejected a large number of ideas.” What about the company’s “Global Invention Royalty Analysis” containing a marketability study created by a “Harvard University & MIT Research Team”? Despite the defendants’ claim that the “University” had given “the green light to continue,” the Court concluded that the defendants didn’t have a relationship with Harvard, MIT, or any other college. The defendants’ malarkey induced many consumers to pay between $9,000 and $65,000 for a “10 Point Patent Protection & Publicity Commitment.” (The pricier packages promised a “global patent.”) When consumers asked for updates, the defendants strung them along. Behind the scenes, the picture was less rosy because even when the company’s contract patent agents submitted applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the PTO typically rejected them as deficient. In addition to patent services, the defendants claimed to offer product development and marketing know-how, touting that “some of the world’s most respected brands trust World Patent Marketing,” including, for example, Target. The FTC isn’t the only one to say that was balderdash. A representative for Target testified that the defendants had no relationship whatsoever with the national retailer. The Court also cited misrepresentations regarding purported “success stories,” licensing and manufacturing agreements, and an “Invention Team Advisory Board” with big-name members who didn’t actually advise the company or review invention proposals. One anecdote is particularly telling. When an undercover FTC investigator contacted the company, the salesperson claimed that the History Channel had run a “whole segment” on World Patent Marketing. The truth? The defendants paid $17,000 to air their own ad on the channel. It ran once – at 6:00 AM on January 29, 2015. Not surprisingly, consumers started to speak up when their hefty cash outlays","id":3197408,"titre":"How an “invention promotion” outfit demoted the truth","url":"https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2017/09/how-invention-promotion-outfit-demoted-truth","pubDate":"Mon, 05 Oct 2026 08:07:08 +0200"},{"id":2820493,"description":"When an employer-sponsored health plan covers mastectomies for cancer but excludes them for gender dysphoria, is that sex discrimination under Title VII? The Eleventh... The post Lange v. Houston County appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Sat, 11 Apr 2026 08:26:13 +0200","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/lange-v-houston-county/","titre":"Lange v. Houston County"},{"pubDate":"Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:26:08 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/when-all-files-count-the-same-the-problem-of-undifferentiated-images-in-child-pornography-sentencing/","titre":"When All Files Count the Same: The Problem of Undifferentiated Images in Child Pornography Sentencing","id":2750225,"description":"Our society generally agrees that possessing, producing, and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is morally reprehensible. This societal judgment is represented in sentencing... The post When All Files Count the Same: The Problem of Undifferentiated Images in Child Pornography Sentencing appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"pubDate":"Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:26:08 +0100","titre":"Separating the Powers in the Administrative State: Article I","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/separating-the-powers-in-the-administrative-state-article-i/","source":"Harvard Law Review","id":2750227,"description":"All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States . . . . — U.S. Const. art. I, § 1 Typically, when Congress... The post Separating the Powers in the Administrative State: Article I appeared first on Harvard Law Review"},{"pubDate":"Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:26:07 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/united-states-v-johnson/","titre":"United States v. Johnson","id":2750222,"description":"Drug detection dogs are critical tools in the fight against drug trafficking. However, law enforcement canines are imperfect: They sometimes incorrectly alert when performing... The post United States v. Johnson appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"source":"Harvard Law Review","id":2750224,"description":"In 2009, President Barack Obama set off a “radioactive” debate when he told the White House Press Corps that he would seek a judge... The post Bad Boy Jurisprudence appeared first on Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:26:07 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/bad-boy-jurisprudence/","titre":"Bad Boy Jurisprudence"},{"titre":"Drug Scheduling as Institutional Design","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/drug-scheduling-as-institutional-design/","pubDate":"Thu, 12 Feb 2026 09:37:57 +0100","description":"The United States makes bad choices when it comes to psychoactive drugs. Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), U.S. drug law has simultaneously fueled mass incarceration, inhibited needed access, and enabled an opioid crisis. The post Drug Scheduling as Institutional Design appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2690615,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"titre":"Practical Consequences in Statutory Interpretation","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/practical-consequences-in-statutory-interpretation-2/","pubDate":"Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:49:12 +0100","description":"Modern textualism has long criticized the use of practical, or consequentialist, reasoning when construing statutes. And yet in practice, textualist jurists long have invoked practical consequences arguments to help justify their statutory constructions. The post Practical Consequences in Statutory Interpretation appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2629447,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"pubDate":"Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:49:11 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/elam-v-early/","titre":"Elam v. Early","id":2629441,"description":"Courts often consult entrenched, preratification sources such as Blackstone’s Commentaries and The Digest of Justinian when rendering decisions in common law actions. These authorities... The post Elam v. Early appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"titre":"Protecting Noncitizens’ Liberty When the Executive Seeks to Punish","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/protecting-noncitizens-liberty-when-the-executive-seeks-to-punish/","pubDate":"Tue, 13 Jan 2026 16:49:11 +0100","description":"On March 15, 2025, the White House announced that President Trump had invoked an eighteenth-century wartime authority to order the summary removal of noncitizens who were believed to be members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.Proclamation No. 10,903, 90 Fed. Reg. 13033 (Mar. 14, 2025). The post Protecting Noncitizens’ Liberty When the Executive Seeks to Punish appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2629446,"source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"description":"Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.* In a bench statement delivered when the Supreme Court convened on May 9, 2025, Chief Justice Roberts offered... The post In Memoriam: Justice David H. Souter appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2567816,"source":"Harvard Law Review","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-139/in-memoriam-justice-david-h-souter/","titre":"In Memoriam: Justice David H. Souter","pubDate":"Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:05:22 +0100"},{"id":2175057,"description":"The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment provides that when the government takes private property for a public purpose, it must compensate the property... The post “Background Principles” and the General Law of Property appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review","pubDate":"Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:06:45 +0200","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/background-principles-and-the-general-law-of-property/","titre":"“Background Principles” and the General Law of Property"},{"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/when-rational-basis-review-bit/","titre":"When Rational Basis Review Bit","pubDate":"Thu, 15 May 2025 15:55:44 +0200","source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"Introduction Like many widows, Sandy Meadows faced economic uncertainty after her husband passed away. She, however, had a knack for arranging flowers and found... The post When Rational Basis Review Bit appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":2117260},{"pubDate":"Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:33:55 +0100","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/no-volume/federalism-rebalancing-and-the-roberts-court-a-departure-from-historical-patterns/","titre":"Federalism Rebalancing and the Roberts Court: A Departure from Historical Patterns","id":1973595,"description":"One of the early lessons we learn in life is that things seek balance. When a parent pushes their child on a swing set,... The post Federalism Rebalancing and the Roberts Court: A Departure from Historical Patterns appeared first on Harvard Law Review","source":"Harvard Law Review"},{"source":"Harvard Law Review","description":"Absent alcohol, dormant commerce clause doctrine is mostly familiar. Courts use strict scrutiny when state laws discriminate — facially, in purpose, or in effect — against... The post Does the Twenty-First Amendment Displace Pike Balancing? appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":1973596,"url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/does-the-twenty-first-amendment-displace-pike-balancing/","titre":"Does the Twenty-First Amendment Displace Pike Balancing?","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:33:55 +0100"},{"titre":"Dancing on Their Own: Alternatives to Copyright for the Choreographic Community","url":"https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-138/dancing-on-their-own-alternatives-to-copyright-for-the-choreographic-community/","pubDate":"Tue, 11 Mar 2025 16:33:53 +0100","description":"Throughout American history, dance has been the “stepchild” of the arts family, an afterthought when it comes to recognition, protection, and celebration. Even as... The post Dancing on Their Own: Alternatives to Copyright for the Choreographic Community appeared first on Harvard Law Review","id":1973593,"source":"Harvard Law Review"}]