Handling of Unsolicited Ideas

Handling invention offers received from outside inventors

A common occurrence for most business people and technologists is non-employee innovation suggestions. These come from of new or improved products,  technologies, enhancements, and processes. The mere receipt of an unsolicited idea by a company employee can result in a misunderstanding and an expensive lawsuit if not handled properly.

The Handling of Unsolicited Ideas is designed for employees that engage with customers, suppliers, vendors, or other third parties. This course covers how employees should handle unsolicited ideas by third parties to avoid disputes and litigation risks.

The Handling of Unsolicited Ideas course is customized to each company’s practices. This course comes in a short version of 5 minutes and an extended version that includes instructions for completing an outside invention submission.

This course covers the following:

• Forms of receiving unsolicited ideas from outside inventors
• Risks of mishandling outside unsolicited ideas
• Procedures for the receiver of the unsolicited idea to follow
• Methods of contacting the Legal Department. if an unsolicited idea is received
• What happened after the Legal Dept. receives an unsolicited idea
• The internal review conducted by IP Stakeholders