Edison Nation

Edison Nation is the leading online community and resource dedicated to inventors and idea people that helps independent inventors get their ideas, products and patents commercialized. Edison Nation produces Everyday Edisons, publishes Inventors Digest, has launched the $25 Million Edison Nation Innovation Fund and has partnered with the Edison Innovation Foundation.

Creating an account is easy and only takes a few seconds. Visit our sign-up page and fill out the short form under “First Time Here?” or click the Facebook icon to log in with your Facebook account.

Click here to log in.

Click here if you have forgotten your password.

If you have forgotten your username, you may also use your email address. If you have forgotten both your username and email address, please visit our support site to request assistance.

You may cancel your account of change your membership status at any time by visiting My Account.

An Insider is a member in our premium program. Insiders gain access to online features that are not available to regular members of Edison Nation. In addition, Insiders enjoy greater discounts on search submissions, a subscription to Inventors Digest and many other benefits.

Click here to view all Insider benefits

The cost to become an Insider is $9.25 per month.

Click here to become an Insider.

You may cancel your Insider membership or change your membership status at any time by visiting My Account. Here you can cancel membership, update your account details, as well as your billing information. Please make sure your physical mailing address is up to date on that page as it indicates where we will ship your free subscription to Inventors Digest – an exclusive Insider benefit. Upon cancellation, you will receive a confirmation e-mail stating that your account has been canceled.

Click here to contact us through our Support site.

We do not accept unsolicited submissions outside of our system.

Please visit www.edisonnation.com/searches to learn more about the current opportunities we have available through Edison Nation. You may submit your idea to any active search. Don’t see a search for your idea? Don’t worry! We’re adding new searches every week!

Yes, this program is global. We’d like to hear about your ideas no matter where you’re located.

You must be at least 18 years old to submit an idea. Innovators under 18 can submit their ideas through a parent or legal guardian.

As soon as you submit your idea, it will appear on your dashboard. As your idea progresses through each step of our patent-pending review process, you will be notified on your dashboard. Remember to log back into Edison Nation to track its progress!

Log into your Edison Nation account and follow your dashboard through the eight review stages. Always keep an eye on your dashboard for the latest updates.

Innovators whose products are selected to take to market will receive a $2,500 advance and up to 20 years of annual payments. See the Edison Nation Innovator Agreement for full terms.

Edison Nation members who have submitted an idea to one search can choose to “opt-in” to a different search if they choose. Insiders may do this for free! Click here to learn more about the Insider program. Points are earned the first time you submit each idea — not on free resubmissions.

Click here to view all of your ideas and submissions and click "edit" next to the idea you would like to edit.

Yes. If your idea is not selected – or at any time up until your idea reaches Stage 7 (“Finalist”) – you can opt out of the Live Product Search database at Edison Nation and pursue it independently.

The first step of each and every submission displays a list of requirements that include the fee for the submission. Each entry will be reviewed by a team of Edison Nation product development and intellectual property experts. Your submission fee helps defray a portion of the actual cost of reviewing each submission.

The red X means your idea has not been selected. If your idea is not selected the rights to your idea automatically revert back to you – all you have to do is click “opt out” next to your idea in your Live Product Search database. Of course, it might be a better fit for a different search – especially if you made it to Stage 7 – so you might consider leaving it in the database and giving it another shot.

No. Each entry will be reviewed by a team of product development and intellectual property experts. Your submission fee helps defray a portion of the actual cost of reviewing each submission. If your idea is not selected, you can opt out of the Live Product Search database at Edison Nation and pursue it independently.

This doesn’t guarantee development, but it’s a good thing. "Finalist" means one of the nation’s leading manufacturers or retailers is looking at your idea.

Each person who submits an idea can follow the progress of their idea through the screening process by watching their Edison Nation dashboard, which has eight stages. To view your dashboard, just visit www.edisonnation.com and click “log in.” If your product is selected, Edison Nation will become the owner and care taker of your intellectual property, in exchange for your $2,500 advance and annual payments. Please see the Edison Nation Innovator Agreement for full details on your relationship with Edison Nation.

Unfortunately, we don’t offer one-on-one feedback for all participants. However, if you are an Edison Insider you can receive direct feedback on any idea that makes it to Finalist stage (G7) and receives an R8. In the case that you are selected as a finalist, but the sponsor does not select your idea, this feedback will help you improve your idea.

If you're not an Edison Insider, consider upgrading now. Click here to learn more about the Insider program.

Please take a moment to review the explanation of our steps. We carefully look at your idea and match it against what that retailer and manufacturer is specifically looking for, as posted in our Live Product Search description. If your idea fails at one of the stages, knowing which stage it failed at can help you improve your idea.

Stage 1: Submission Received   Your Submission has been submitted successfully.

Stage 2: Pre-Screen   Your submission has met the minimum requirements of the search.

Stage 3: Initial IP   Your submission has passed our first round of competitive analysis and intellectual property review.

Stage 4: Research & Design   We review and benchmark your submission against competitive products. In some cases, our product designers may enhance your idea to take it to the next level.

Stage 5: Final Consideration   We benchmark your submission against the other submissions for the search. The best move forward for more in-depth intellectual property review (stage 6). Key review criteria include: market potential, price point, match for the search sponsor, and any other requirements defined in the search description.

Stage 6: Final IP Review   We perform a more in-depth analysis of competing intellectual property, patents and ideas in the public domain.

Stage 7: Finalists   This is our final review. If your submission passes this stage, it will be presented to the search sponsor for consideration. (Edison Nation will present all Finalists)

Stage 8: Success   If your submission has passed this stage (the exclamation point turns green), it has been selected by the search sponsor to take to market. We will contact you directly with more details and send you your advance payment!

Click here to download and review the Live Product Search Innovator Agreement.

No.

Yes. If selected, Edison Nation will be assigned the rights to your patent in exchange for a $2,500 advance and up to 20 years of annual payments. Please see the terms of the Edison Nation Innovator Agreement.

When we launched Edison Nation, we partnered with major retailers and manufacturers to help them fill specific product needs through our Live Product Searches. Along the way we’ve learned that many great ideas come when you aren’t looking for them at all. With the Edison Nation Innovation Fund, we are searching for, investing in and bringing to market those ideas that break the mold.

If your idea is chosen, we will invest up to $250,000 development dollars into your innovation and bring it to market – just like the ideas featured in our television series, Everyday Edisons. You will have a development partner in Edison Nation for life and receive an industry-leading royalty.

Our Live Product Searches are dedicated to pursuing licensing opportunities. If your idea is selected, we negotiate a fair royalty structure that suits both our partnering sponsor and you, as the inventor. Our Name Searches offer branding opportunities. Casting for Everyday Edisons gives you a shot at being on public television, as well as having your product concept developed and brought to market. The Edison Nation Innovation Fund is designed to develop and bring your product idea to market, much like on the television series but we have the flexibility to accept many more ideas. When a concept is selected, it will receive up to $250,000 in development as we turn it into a retail-ready product and bring it to market.

Your idea will go through the same Edison Nation review process as found in our Live Product Search program. Please remember to log into your Edison Nation account and keep an eye on your dashboard. You will be able to track the progress and each phase it is in.

The Innovation Fund review process involves an extensive internal review process based on specific criteria. Before submissions proceed through each stage they are reviewed numerous team members and are closely scrutinized. The financial elements involved in the potential development of these items calls for this sort of exhaustive process. We do have targeted dates internally as to when we anticipate all final decisions to be made and that should be occurring in the very near future. It is not unusual in a search like this for an item to remain under review at a particular stage for several weeks.

We will launch a series of searches three times a year. These searches are a new and improved version of our Edison Insider Open Search, previously held just twice a year.

There is no limit to the number of ideas we'll select from these searches.

Insiders with issued patents or patent-pending innovations earn exclusive representation with our expert Licensing Team. The Insider Licensing Program enables us to shop your great ideas to industry partners year-round. Sometimes a great idea doesn’t require more development – it just needs a chance and the support of a seasoned licensing veteran. To enter your patented (or patent-pending) idea into our Licensing Program, just submit it to one of our Innovation Fund searches and that’s exactly what it will receive, whether it is selected for development through our Innovation Fund or not.

Cost to be a part of the program? Submit your patented (or patent-pending) idea to an Innovation Fund search for just $35 and maintain your Insider membership.

The pay off? Representation by the same expert Licensing Team that has brought to market Gyro Bowl, Mister Steamy, Emery Cat and the other Edison Nation products featured on our Successes page.

Click here to learn more about becoming an Insider.

It costs $100 to submit an idea to the Innovation Fund series of searches for regular Edison Nation members. It’s just $35 to submit as an Insider.

Plain and simple, the stakes are much higher. We are looking for compelling, market-shaking innovations. If selected, we will invest up to $250,000 in the development of your idea. Live Product Searches cost less and are a great way to get your product to market when it matches what a sponsor is looking for. We have decided that we don’t want to see good ideas slip through the cracks simply because a sponsor is not looking for them so we created the Innovation Fund so that we could take the product to market ourselves.

No.

Click here to download and review the Edison Nation Innovation Fund Innovator Agreement.

Click here to download and review the Live Product Search Innovator Agreement.