How do you even measure success with companies like InventHelp?

[Amelia Bennett]

Not sure where to land on this, so I figured I’d just ask people who’ve looked into it before.

I’ve always thought InventHelp was basically a bridge between someone with an idea and everyone you’d need to move forward (lawyers, marketing, licensing). But the link above paints a totally different impression: it suggests the vast majority of inventors don’t really get traction and that the business model is structured around upfront fees rather than outcomes. I’ve seen mentions of a settlement from a few years back, scattered BBB complaints, and USPTO complaint listings, but the success stories on their own site make it feel like there must be some middle ground.

I don’t want to jump to the “they’re a scam” conclusion, but I also don’t want to ignore patterns if they’re documented. So I guess my real question is:

If a service like this has mixed results, what are the objective things someone should look for in the public record to decide whether it’s worth engaging? Court settlements? Regulatory actions? Customer complaint ratios? Something else?

If anyone has worked with them or dug into the legal side, what convinced you one way or the other?

 

[Harry Collins]

Not sure where to land on this, so I figured I’d just ask people who’ve looked into it before.

I’ve always thought InventHelp was basically a bridge between someone with an idea and everyone you’d need to move forward (lawyers, marketing, licensing). But the link above paints a totally different impression: it suggests the vast majority of inventors don’t really get traction and that the business model is structured around upfront fees rather than outcomes. I’ve seen mentions of a settlement from a few years back, scattered BBB complaints, and USPTO complaint listings, but the success stories on their own site make it feel like there must be some middle ground.

I don’t want to jump to the “they’re a scam” conclusion, but I also don’t want to ignore patterns if they’re documented. So I guess my real question is:

If a service like this has mixed results, what are the objective things someone should look for in the public record to decide whether it’s worth engaging? Court settlements? Regulatory actions? Customer complaint ratios? Something else?

If anyone has worked with them or dug into the legal side, what convinced you one way or the other?

I’m not anti-InventHelp, but I’ll say this: what finally helped me form an opinion was ignoring the marketing completely and just looking at what’s verifiable. I found a settlement agreement in federal court (Western District of Pennsylvania) that resolved advertising-related claims without the company admitting wrongdoing. That at least told me there had been friction between expectations and delivery. Then I checked the BBB record and USPTO complaint page. You can see themes in the complaints, but there are also people who felt the service did exactly what they expected.

What I took away is that they sell a process, not results. If someone expects them to get a product licensed, they might feel burned. If they expect packaged marketing and patent support, maybe it’s fine.

 

[Amelia Bennett]

That’s actually a useful way to break it down. Instead of “good or bad,” thinking of it as “what is the product they’re really selling” feels like a better approach. I’ll dig into the settlement docket you mentioned and skim the USPTO complaints to see how consistent the feedback is. If anyone knows where to find objective success statistics or disclosures, I’d definitely be interested — that seems like the missing piece for me.

I’m not anti-InventHelp, but I’ll say this: what finally helped me form an opinion was ignoring the marketing completely and just looking at what’s verifiable. I found a settlement agreement in federal court (Western District of Pennsylvania) that resolved advertising-related claims without the company admitting wrongdoing. That at least told me there had been friction between expectations and delivery. Then I checked the BBB record and USPTO complaint page. You can see themes in the complaints, but there are also people who felt the service did exactly what they expected.

What I took away is that they sell a process, not results. If someone expects them to get a product licensed, they might feel burned. If they expect packaged marketing and patent support, maybe it’s fine.