w***@tbaytel.net
2008-11-25 19:45:48 UTC
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
My name is Brenda and the world must be aware of a dreadful experience
I went through with an invention marketing and promotion company known
as Davison Design in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
In January 2007, I had a doable concept for a product and considered
I had nothing to lose by locating a company to commercialize it for
me. Boy was I wrong! Living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, a small
northern city, there was minimal resources so I went to the Internet
to find reputable company to provide me professional direction.
Eventually I contacted Davison Design. Their employees responded with
nothing but excitement for my product idea. In fact, Justin McNeil
told me that “ he could not believe it was not out there already!” My
ego boosted and believing him a highly trained marketing professional
I hired Davison Design to commercialize it for me as I have no
experience in such matters. Looking back I now see how wrong I was to
hire Davison.
The attached complaint outlines line-item by line-item my complaints.
Consequently I am now of the personal opinion I was deliberately
misled, deceived, and given to understand it was patentable.
Therefore a rush was put on me to file a Provisional Patent
Application. To this end I scraped up from friends and family over
$17,000 (Canadian) to have Davison Design get it into the
marketplace. Needless to say it got no where fast and what I am left
holding is a stack of what now appears meaningless paperwork.
1. My invention is not a true representation of what I submitted to
Davison originally on January 24, 2007 nor is it a true representation
of what they wrote for me called a "Provisional Patent Application"
which they had me mail to the patent office. It was changed by Davison
engineers after which it became "their" invention not mine.
It doesn't look or work like the directions I submitted on January 24,
2007. Justin McNeil, Director of New Products on May 01, 2007 told me
it had to be changed from what I submitted to meet their "specialty"
contacts who know it can be changed to whatever they wanted; but
that's not the point. The point is, it is not what I submitted to
Davison. I told him and have continued to tell him over-and-over that
"I don't like it" to which I've been told (quote), "it has to be that
way." Supposedly it has to be that way to appeal to the manufacturing
equipment, facilities and marketing of the industrial supplier
Hospital Specialty Supply. After they submitted it (made a phone call
as they don't do anything by mail or email only by fax when it has to
be in writing and as per Wilma Wallace and Justin), the company
allegedly had no interest in it anyway. I've asked Davison to change
it back to what I originally submitted and they will not make any
changes unless the targeted corporation requests it.
Additionally, I spoke to someone in the IP Licensing field I found on
the web in a chat room and she knows Hospital Specialty and told me
they no longer manufacture in-house and if they were to they would
outsource it off-shore. They are now only a "supplier." No wonder they
were not interested!
2. I paid Davison U.S. $15,985.87 to patent and market what I thought
was my invention but it has since become their invention as it no
longer resembles what I submitted to them. They claim to have sent out
my product idea to 1500 Corporations. Davison also claimed a single
phone call presentation was made to Hospital Specialty Supply (they
will not prove or disclose other companies to me they claimed to have
made contact with via phone as they apparently do not communicate
anything in writing or very little). However, they provided a copy of
a letter they supposedly faxed to them BUT the date and year on it
was 2000!!! I did not contact Davison until 2007!!! A reasonable
person might deduce they took a stock letter in their computer system,
added the name/address of Hospital Specialty, but forgot to change the
date. Also a blank mail form......claiming that was proof that
Davison mailed my information to them.
3. I have been informed by Wilma Wallace, Licensing Department that I
now have to pay an additional $335 for each new company they select to
call for promotion of my invention. I’ve paid $15,985.87 now they
want more!!!!!!!!!! There is no mention I am aware of in my contract
that I must keep paying after a certain number of companies have been
contacted. The next one being Better Living Products International.
I'm not sure why because I've already paid a fortune and got nothing
of value but a bunch of faxed letters, a PPA that does not represent
my invention and an Inventegration packet I've no idea what to do with
it.
4. The Provisional Patent they faxed for me to mail to the US patent
office is not a representation of what I submitted to them. I spoke to
Justin about it and was told that's all I'm going to get so I had to
mail it. It expires in three months in December 2008. What a complete
waste of time and money it was!!!
5. I still have not been provided a prototype. I've spoken to Wilma
about it and she told me previously it was in a location they couldn't
get to so she couldn't send it to me besides they needed it for
presentations? How exactly do they need it for "presentations" as it
contradicts her statement that presentations are done over the phone.
I've continued to press her for its measurements.
The last time I pressed for its size I was finally told it was
17x11x12 and it weighed 2 Lbs. That is entirely too large and weighty
for the invention I submitted to them. It appears they are not going
to send it to me so once again I can only assume it exists even though
I've paid for it. I recall signing a Shipping Agreement but I would
like to bet if I called Hospital Specialty they would not know about
my product. The problem here is that Davison's contract forbids
clients from contacting companies they allegedly called.
6. While on the phone to Wilma Wallace I heard what sounded like a
recording of my voice. I asked her if our phone calls were being
recorded to which she said, MAYBE...POSSIBLY...MOST LIKELY BY DAVISON.
What Davison is doing is illegal in the state of Pennsylvania per "Can
We Tape": www.rcfp.org/taping/index.html
7. I've sent a letter back asking them to fix the issues I've brought
up on many occasions as listed above but it has not been responded to
via mail (written) I have had Wilma Wallace phone me and told me that
Davison will not respond via mail (written , unless administration
approves it). She told me that the prototype will not be changed and
that a refund is not an option. Andrew Cable (Andy) called from
licensing and said that changing the prototype or a refund is not an
option. On the September 24, 2008 Donna, Assistant to the VP of
Licensing, called to inform me that a response (from Davison). She
said the prototype is not going to be changed and that a refund is NOT
AN OPTION! MOREOVER, DAVISON WILL NOT REPLY IN WRITING WHICH I HAVE
REQUESTED PRIMARILY BECAUSE I CAN NO LONGER TRUST THE COMPANY! Their
contract stipulates I have to give them 30-days notice. A second
letter was sent on September 24th to comply with the contractual
obligations which allow Davison to correct their wrongs within 30
days.
8. On October 30th at 10:00 am, I had a phone appointment with Frank
Vescio, VP of Licensing with Davison. He wanted to discuss the issues
regarding the September 24th letter, which was the letter that I sent
after the September 4th letter stating that it was the second request
to have my issue resolved by Davison. Frank said, “your request to
have things in writing is denied because they don’t have to give you
anything in writing”. Frank seemed to have no interest or knowledge
of the contents that was in the original complaint letter sent
September 4th, 2008. He did not have that letter in front of him to
discuss the real issues I had with Davison, yet he said, “he disagrees
with the statements I made”. How can he disagree with any statements
when he doesn’t have knowledge of the contents within the letter of
Sept. 4th stating my complaints to Davison!!!!! He told me “this
phone call will be cut short and someone above (him) will contact me
regarding the issues”. As of November 15, 2008, Davison had not
contacted me.
9. In the meantime, I hired a professional Arlington, VA Patent Search
Company to do a patent search and an attorney to render a legal
opinion on whether he deems it more likely patentable than not. The
attorney’s response in written form on November 14, 2008 made it clear
Davison’s invention is not patentable since the relevant features are
disclosed in patents already. The bottom line is Davison employees
unfairly took advantage of my naivety when it comes to patenting and
commercializing inventions. I relied on what they told me as they
represented themselves as professionals.
10. In my opinion I was misled and more importantly my invention was
obviously not acceptable in the form it was so they changed it to suit
their fancy. All I am asking is to be made whole and put back in the
condition I was before they added their creation to it. As to all
those alleged other 1499 manufacturers they supposedly contacted, not
only do I question their existence but it’s no wonder they were not
interested after they reviewed Davison’s creative spin (adding a
toilet paper holder hanging below a contraption NOT part of my
invention). Likely their original patent search found it not
patentable but the sales team execs couldn’t let an enthusiastic
novice like me walk so they had their engineering department render
what I now know is called a design-around…But it was NOT part of the
invention I submitted to them and frankly looks like a misplaced
appendage.
My name is Brenda and the world must be aware of a dreadful experience
I went through with an invention marketing and promotion company known
as Davison Design in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
In January 2007, I had a doable concept for a product and considered
I had nothing to lose by locating a company to commercialize it for
me. Boy was I wrong! Living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, a small
northern city, there was minimal resources so I went to the Internet
to find reputable company to provide me professional direction.
Eventually I contacted Davison Design. Their employees responded with
nothing but excitement for my product idea. In fact, Justin McNeil
told me that “ he could not believe it was not out there already!” My
ego boosted and believing him a highly trained marketing professional
I hired Davison Design to commercialize it for me as I have no
experience in such matters. Looking back I now see how wrong I was to
hire Davison.
The attached complaint outlines line-item by line-item my complaints.
Consequently I am now of the personal opinion I was deliberately
misled, deceived, and given to understand it was patentable.
Therefore a rush was put on me to file a Provisional Patent
Application. To this end I scraped up from friends and family over
$17,000 (Canadian) to have Davison Design get it into the
marketplace. Needless to say it got no where fast and what I am left
holding is a stack of what now appears meaningless paperwork.
1. My invention is not a true representation of what I submitted to
Davison originally on January 24, 2007 nor is it a true representation
of what they wrote for me called a "Provisional Patent Application"
which they had me mail to the patent office. It was changed by Davison
engineers after which it became "their" invention not mine.
It doesn't look or work like the directions I submitted on January 24,
2007. Justin McNeil, Director of New Products on May 01, 2007 told me
it had to be changed from what I submitted to meet their "specialty"
contacts who know it can be changed to whatever they wanted; but
that's not the point. The point is, it is not what I submitted to
Davison. I told him and have continued to tell him over-and-over that
"I don't like it" to which I've been told (quote), "it has to be that
way." Supposedly it has to be that way to appeal to the manufacturing
equipment, facilities and marketing of the industrial supplier
Hospital Specialty Supply. After they submitted it (made a phone call
as they don't do anything by mail or email only by fax when it has to
be in writing and as per Wilma Wallace and Justin), the company
allegedly had no interest in it anyway. I've asked Davison to change
it back to what I originally submitted and they will not make any
changes unless the targeted corporation requests it.
Additionally, I spoke to someone in the IP Licensing field I found on
the web in a chat room and she knows Hospital Specialty and told me
they no longer manufacture in-house and if they were to they would
outsource it off-shore. They are now only a "supplier." No wonder they
were not interested!
2. I paid Davison U.S. $15,985.87 to patent and market what I thought
was my invention but it has since become their invention as it no
longer resembles what I submitted to them. They claim to have sent out
my product idea to 1500 Corporations. Davison also claimed a single
phone call presentation was made to Hospital Specialty Supply (they
will not prove or disclose other companies to me they claimed to have
made contact with via phone as they apparently do not communicate
anything in writing or very little). However, they provided a copy of
a letter they supposedly faxed to them BUT the date and year on it
was 2000!!! I did not contact Davison until 2007!!! A reasonable
person might deduce they took a stock letter in their computer system,
added the name/address of Hospital Specialty, but forgot to change the
date. Also a blank mail form......claiming that was proof that
Davison mailed my information to them.
3. I have been informed by Wilma Wallace, Licensing Department that I
now have to pay an additional $335 for each new company they select to
call for promotion of my invention. I’ve paid $15,985.87 now they
want more!!!!!!!!!! There is no mention I am aware of in my contract
that I must keep paying after a certain number of companies have been
contacted. The next one being Better Living Products International.
I'm not sure why because I've already paid a fortune and got nothing
of value but a bunch of faxed letters, a PPA that does not represent
my invention and an Inventegration packet I've no idea what to do with
it.
4. The Provisional Patent they faxed for me to mail to the US patent
office is not a representation of what I submitted to them. I spoke to
Justin about it and was told that's all I'm going to get so I had to
mail it. It expires in three months in December 2008. What a complete
waste of time and money it was!!!
5. I still have not been provided a prototype. I've spoken to Wilma
about it and she told me previously it was in a location they couldn't
get to so she couldn't send it to me besides they needed it for
presentations? How exactly do they need it for "presentations" as it
contradicts her statement that presentations are done over the phone.
I've continued to press her for its measurements.
The last time I pressed for its size I was finally told it was
17x11x12 and it weighed 2 Lbs. That is entirely too large and weighty
for the invention I submitted to them. It appears they are not going
to send it to me so once again I can only assume it exists even though
I've paid for it. I recall signing a Shipping Agreement but I would
like to bet if I called Hospital Specialty they would not know about
my product. The problem here is that Davison's contract forbids
clients from contacting companies they allegedly called.
6. While on the phone to Wilma Wallace I heard what sounded like a
recording of my voice. I asked her if our phone calls were being
recorded to which she said, MAYBE...POSSIBLY...MOST LIKELY BY DAVISON.
What Davison is doing is illegal in the state of Pennsylvania per "Can
We Tape": www.rcfp.org/taping/index.html
7. I've sent a letter back asking them to fix the issues I've brought
up on many occasions as listed above but it has not been responded to
via mail (written) I have had Wilma Wallace phone me and told me that
Davison will not respond via mail (written , unless administration
approves it). She told me that the prototype will not be changed and
that a refund is not an option. Andrew Cable (Andy) called from
licensing and said that changing the prototype or a refund is not an
option. On the September 24, 2008 Donna, Assistant to the VP of
Licensing, called to inform me that a response (from Davison). She
said the prototype is not going to be changed and that a refund is NOT
AN OPTION! MOREOVER, DAVISON WILL NOT REPLY IN WRITING WHICH I HAVE
REQUESTED PRIMARILY BECAUSE I CAN NO LONGER TRUST THE COMPANY! Their
contract stipulates I have to give them 30-days notice. A second
letter was sent on September 24th to comply with the contractual
obligations which allow Davison to correct their wrongs within 30
days.
8. On October 30th at 10:00 am, I had a phone appointment with Frank
Vescio, VP of Licensing with Davison. He wanted to discuss the issues
regarding the September 24th letter, which was the letter that I sent
after the September 4th letter stating that it was the second request
to have my issue resolved by Davison. Frank said, “your request to
have things in writing is denied because they don’t have to give you
anything in writing”. Frank seemed to have no interest or knowledge
of the contents that was in the original complaint letter sent
September 4th, 2008. He did not have that letter in front of him to
discuss the real issues I had with Davison, yet he said, “he disagrees
with the statements I made”. How can he disagree with any statements
when he doesn’t have knowledge of the contents within the letter of
Sept. 4th stating my complaints to Davison!!!!! He told me “this
phone call will be cut short and someone above (him) will contact me
regarding the issues”. As of November 15, 2008, Davison had not
contacted me.
9. In the meantime, I hired a professional Arlington, VA Patent Search
Company to do a patent search and an attorney to render a legal
opinion on whether he deems it more likely patentable than not. The
attorney’s response in written form on November 14, 2008 made it clear
Davison’s invention is not patentable since the relevant features are
disclosed in patents already. The bottom line is Davison employees
unfairly took advantage of my naivety when it comes to patenting and
commercializing inventions. I relied on what they told me as they
represented themselves as professionals.
10. In my opinion I was misled and more importantly my invention was
obviously not acceptable in the form it was so they changed it to suit
their fancy. All I am asking is to be made whole and put back in the
condition I was before they added their creation to it. As to all
those alleged other 1499 manufacturers they supposedly contacted, not
only do I question their existence but it’s no wonder they were not
interested after they reviewed Davison’s creative spin (adding a
toilet paper holder hanging below a contraption NOT part of my
invention). Likely their original patent search found it not
patentable but the sales team execs couldn’t let an enthusiastic
novice like me walk so they had their engineering department render
what I now know is called a design-around…But it was NOT part of the
invention I submitted to them and frankly looks like a misplaced
appendage.