At the Inventor Advisory Service (IAS), we believe that great ideas are all around us just waiting to be discovered. From our more than 40 years of experience, we have seen first-hand that the ideas and concepts of tomorrow are not only produced in fancy, high-tech, well-funded laboratories – they are also created in your kitchen, garage or a classroom. Everyone holds the ability to think creatively, to come up with new ideas, to contribute with solutions that transform or challenge established practices and solve new problems.
Background
Since 1972, the Inventor Advisory Service, based on funding from the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (DASTI), has provided confidential, independent and free-of-charge support to Danish citizens with the aim of helping our citizen-inventors to commercialize their ideas via license agreements to existing, established companies. Each year we consult more than 5000 citizen-inventors, screen approximately 1000 unique ideas/inventions and facilitate the commercialization of 12 to15 inventions a year. Over the last 40+ years we have gained significant, practical commercialization experience from helping thousands of inventors, screened over40.000 unique inventions and facilitated over 600 license agreements between Danish citizen-inventors and national and international companies.
Methodology and approach
The Inventor Advisory Service is a free advisory service based on a very practical ‘help-to-self-help’ method. Our goal is to coach and empower the citizen-inventor to become the lead driver of his idea and the commercialization process. We act as a sounding board inventors can turn to, raise questions and concerns and receive guidance during the entire innovation process – from early stage conceptualization of ideas to negotiating license agreements with companies.
During the process, the inventor gets assistance on different challenges – for example: idea validation, prototype development, business modelling, IP protection and negotiation with companies.
International outlook and potential
The Inventor Advisory Service is a unique innovation constellation, which at present only exist in the European country of Denmark and the Caribbean island of Trinidad & Tobago. We are passionate about sharing our systematic approach and methodology and are open to international collaborations aimed at transferring our experience to other national and cultural contexts.