Poulos LoPiccolo P.C. And Nagel Rice, L.L.P File Class Action Against World Patent Marketing Alleging Fraudulent Inventor Promotion Operation
On December 21, 2016, the law firms of Poulos LoPiccolo, P.C. [1305 South Roller Road, Ocean, New Jersey 07712; www.pllawfirm.com] and Nagel Rice, L.L.P. [103 Eisenhower Parkway, Roseland, New Jersey 07068; www.nagelrice.com] filed a class action lawsuit against Desa Industries, Inc., a New York based corporation, doing business as World Patent Marketing, headquartered in Miami Beach Florida (“WPM”), and W.P.M.’s Chief Executive Officer, Scott J. Cooper. You can review a copy of the Class Action Complaint and Jury Demand here.
WPM markets itself on the internet and through other marketing materials that it helps inventors patent their ideas and also offers manufacturing and marketing services of the inventors’ ideas. It represents itself as providing “one-stop-shopping for all your invention ideas”. However, it is alleged in the class action lawsuit that WPM’s marketing and advertising of its invention services “is all false and misleading advertising perpetrated by a sham enterprise”.
The two lead Plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Steven Harris of North Carolina and Crystal Carlson of Arizona, allege that they fell prey to WPM’s deceptive practices and were ultimately victimized out of tens of thousands of dollars for patent services they never received but paid for and were promised. In the Complaint, the Plaintiffs describe a multi-tiered fraudulent scheme in which they were first lured by a glitzy website into paying approximately $1,200.00 for a “Global Invention Royalty Analysis” (the “GIRA”), the stated purpose of which “is to enable the inventor to professionally prepare and present their invention so that it will get the exposure and support that it needs.” When the Plaintiffs received their respective GIRAs, they received a colorful, polished, legitimate looking bound portfolio that was full of false, deceptive and misleading information solely intended to induce the inventor to continue to the second tier of the WPM scheme. It is alleged that the information, ratings and analysis of the consumer’s invention are manipulated and misrepresented in the GIRA by Cooper and other WPM representatives.
The Complaint alleges that once the aspiring inventors are initially deceived by their inventions’ ratings as misrepresented in the GIRA, they are then provided with a “10 Point Patent Protection and Publicity Commitment” brochure and contract (the “PPPC”). The “10 Point Patent Protection and Publicity Commitment” itemizes ten specific services that WPM will provide once the inventor selects one of eleven patent applications and development add-ons. The patent applications range in prices from $7,995.00 to $34,995.00. Once the consumer selects one of the patent applications and signs the PPPC, the transaction is completed. After that, Plaintiffs allege, WPM essentially goes dark, having been paid tens of thousands of dollars, and provides little to none of the services promised in the “10 Point Patent Protection and Publicity Commitment”. Most significantly, according to Plaintiffs, both Harris and Carlson’s patent applications were left abandoned by WPM. It is believed that is common amongst most, if not all, of WPM’s customers.
The class action lawsuit alleges allegations of violation of the American Inventors Protection Act of 1999, 35 U.S.C. § 297, which governs “invention promoters” such as WPM, as well as various state consumer protection statutes including New York, Arizona and North Carolina, and causes of action for common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
If you have been victimized in a manner such as the scheme alleged above, please immediately contact the attorneys at Poulos LoPiccolo, P.C., toll free at 1 (800) 757-2304. We protect consumers who have been defrauded and victimized by all types of schemes and misrepresentations perpetrated by businesses and corporations across the country.
