![]() "It's near impossible to compete with trading companies in China that have a pre-existing customer base," he says. ![]() As for the manufacturers who create the cheap knock-offs, he says fighting them is an exercise in futility. Big retailers will respect a patentįromm says that retailers, such as Walmart, Best Buy and Target, will often respect an inventor's rights, but there's no way to enforce the exclusivity of a patent when it comes to street sellers. ![]() He's had to go to court to defend some of those patents, as well. On the top floor of his three-storey home in Toronto's affluent Forest Hill neighbourhood, he has a room lined with the many toys he's invented. He also declines to give a dollar figure for what he spent on lawyers' fees.įromm has invented dozens of products over the years, selling toy designs to Disney and others. "Unless you're a huge corporation, really it's a battle of resources. "It's a downward spiral to involve yourself in litigation," he says. Many others got away scot-free, as he was unable to track all the copycats down, or in some cases, had lost the stomach to fight. (CBC)įromm says he did launch successful lawsuits against a few of the companies that infringed on his patent, but won't give financial details of any settlements. Toronto-based patent lawyer Elias Borges helped one of his clients by negotiating a license fee from the party that had infringed on the patent. "A patent gives you the right to sue someone for patent infringement, but it's still up to you to do that. "A patent doesn't protect you in the sense that no one is going to come running to your rescue," says Borges, who hasn't worked with Fromm. Patent lawyer Elias Borges insists that patents do offer a type of exclusivity to innovators, but the trick is that they must be enforced. The need to thwart knock-off artists is a lesson Fromm learned the hard way with the Quik Pod - a cautionary tale for inventors of all kinds. "It's less obtrusive than the stick," says Fromm. It uses a proprietary type of glue that fastens securely, but releases instantly when the user twists it free. The new Selfie Stick-It allows photographers to attach their phone or camera to any vertical surface. He says it's 'less obtrusive' than a stick. It will debut on The Shopping Channel later this spring.įromm's newest invention, the Selfie Stick-It, makes it possible to attach a smartphone or camera to any vertical surface, and snap the picture with a remote. ![]() That's why he'll take a different approach when he launches the new selfie device he's created. "It's like they're stealing your child," says Fromm, as he examines similar products at Henry's, a massive camera store in downtown Toronto that was the first to retail his invention. No one seemed to care that Fromm had a patent for his invention, which he named the Quik Pod, dating back to 2005 - two years before the debut of the wildly popular iPhone put cameras in everyone's pockets. ![]() The lows came when unscrupulous manufacturers cashed in on the exploding popularity of the device, cranking out cheap knock-offs. "Also making it on Oprah's The O list, the Today show, The Tonight Show, Ellen - and selling out all the inventory on The Shopping Channel." The Toronto entrepreneur credited with creating the selfie stick has experienced the highs and the lows of inventing a wildly successful product.Īmong the highs? "Seeing it used on stage by the Beach Boys," says Wayne Fromm. ![]()
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